Psalm 12 → 118
Reasoning: 4038 Output: 5323 Total: 9361
Argument
## 1) Genre / “plot” continuity: lament → oracle → thanksgiving procession **Psalm 12** is a classic complaint psalm that moves: - **Crisis in society**: faithfulness has vanished; people speak *שָׁוְא* and *שְׂפַת חֲלָקוֹת* (vv.2–5). - **Petition**: **הוֹשִׁיעָה יְהוָה** (v.2). - **Divine oracle**: **עַתָּה אָקוּם יֹאמַר יְהוָה** (v.6). - **Confidence**: YHWH will guard “forever” (v.8), though the wicked still “walk around” (v.9). **Psalm 118** reads naturally as what comes *after* that oracle has “hit the ground” in history: - It opens with **public thanksgiving** (vv.1–4). - It narrates the answered cry: “I called … he answered” (v.5; cf. Ps 12’s plea + oracle). - It culminates in **temple-entry / liturgy / sacrifice** (“open to me the gates…”, “bind the festival offering… to the altar”, vv.19–27). So at the level of Israelite life-setting, Psalm 12 fits a **distress-prayer**; Psalm 118 fits the **todah/victory-thanksgiving** that follows deliverance, often expressed at the sanctuary. --- ## 2) Strong lexical “seams” (especially identical forms) ### A) Identical imperative: הוֹשִׁיעָה - **Ps 12:2**: **הוֹשִׁיעָה יְהוָה** - **Ps 118:25**: **אָנָּא יְהוָה הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא** This is a very tight hook: the same marked plea (“Save!”) appears again, now in the well-known liturgical *hoshi‘ah-na* form. Read sequentially, Ps 118 sounds like the community taking up (and ritualizing) the earlier desperate cry. ### B) The “speech” axis: יֹאמַר / אָמְרוּ / אִמְרוֹת Psalm 12 is saturated with *speech* vocabulary and evaluates speech morally: - Human speech is false: **שָׁוְא יְדַבְּרוּ** (v.3); flattering lips/tongue (vv.3–5). - Divine speech is pure: **אִמֲרוֹת יְהוָה אֲמָרוֹת טְהֹרוֹת** (v.7). - The turning point is introduced as an oracle: **יֹאמַר יְהוָה** (v.6). Psalm 118 is also built around **formalized, communal speech**: - **יֹאמַר־נָא יִשְׂרָאֵל … / יֹאמְרוּ־נָא בֵית־אַהֲרֹן …** (vv.2–4): responsive proclamation. - It repeatedly frames action and victory “**בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה**” (vv.10–12). Read as a sequel: Psalm 12 contrasts corrupt human talk vs. pure divine words; Psalm 118 shows the *repaired* outcome—Israel speaking the right words together (refrain, call-and-response), anchored in YHWH’s name. --- ## 3) Human unreliability (אָדָם) → trust in YHWH A very clean conceptual progression is signaled by shared vocabulary: - **Ps 12:2**: “faithful people have vanished … from the **sons of man**” (**מִבְּנֵי אָדָם**) - **Ps 118:6, 8**: “What can **אָדָם** do to me?” … “Better to take refuge in YHWH than to trust in **אָדָם**.” Psalm 12’s diagnosis (“people can’t be trusted; they boast ‘who is lord over us?’”) finds a direct theological resolution in Psalm 118 (“don’t ground security in humans/princes; ground it in YHWH”). --- ## 4) Surrounded by wicked → surrounded by nations (shared סביב/סבב) An unusually strong linkage comes from the same *spatial threat-image*: - **Ps 12:9**: **סָבִיב רְשָׁעִים יִתְהַלָּכוּן** (“wicked prowl all around”) - **Ps 118:10–12**: **כָּל־גּוֹיִם סְבָבוּנִי … סַבּוּנִי גַם־סְבָבוּנִי … סַבּוּנִי כִדְבוֹרִים** (“all nations surrounded me… they surrounded me…”) Psalm 12 ends with the claustrophobic sense that corruption encircles the vulnerable; Psalm 118 reprises the same “encirclement” root but turns it into **victory testimony** (“in the name of YHWH כי אמילם”). --- ## 5) Promise of “safety/salvation” (ישע) → experienced salvation (ישועה) Psalm 12’s oracle contains the salvation-root: - **Ps 12:6**: **אָשִׁית בְּיֵשַׁע** (“I will set [him] in safety/salvation”) Psalm 118 then amplifies ישע/ישועה repeatedly: - **Ps 118:14**: **וַיְהִי־לִי לִישׁוּעָה** - **Ps 118:15**: **קוֹל רִנָּה וִישׁוּעָה** - **Ps 118:21**: **וַתְּהִי־לִי לִישׁוּעָה** So the “I will place him in safety” of Ps 12 reads naturally as the antecedent of Ps 118’s “he became *my salvation*.” --- ## 6) “Forever” as the frame: protection → חסד - **Ps 12:8**: YHWH will guard “**לְעוֹלָם**” - **Ps 118:1–4, 29**: **כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ** (inclusio) Psalm 12 asserts enduring protection against a corrupt “generation”; Psalm 118 turns “forever” into the liturgical refrain of covenant loyalty (**חֶסֶד**). That functions like a theological deepening of the same “duration claim.” (There’s also a root-link: **חָסִיד** is “gone” in Ps 12:2, but **חַסְדּוֹ** is proclaimed as enduring in Ps 118. Human covenant-loyalty fails; divine covenant-loyalty does not.) --- ## 7) From arrogant human “lordship” to “YHWH is for me” Psalm 12 quotes the oppressors’ ideology: - **Ps 12:5**: “Our lips are with us; **who is lord (אָדוֹן) over us?**” Psalm 118 answers with repeated, emphatic counter-confession: - **Ps 118:6–7**: **יְהוָה לִי** … **יְהוָה לִי בְּעֹזְרָי** So the sequel moves from a world where humans deny any master to a world re-centered on YHWH’s patronage and help. --- ## 8) A plausible Israelite event-sequence connecting both Putting the above into a single “life” sequence typical for Israel’s worship: 1. **Internal moral breakdown / oppression** (Ps 12: lying lips; the poor groan). 2. **A plea for rescue** (Ps 12:2). 3. **Oracle of divine intervention** (Ps 12:6). 4. **Deliverance in conflict / siege-like pressure** (Ps 118:10–13, surrounded; nearly falling; YHWH helped). 5. **Thanksgiving + temple procession + festival offering** (Ps 118:19–27). That is exactly the kind of movement the Psalms often model: lament is not the endpoint; it expects a public “answered prayer” psalm to follow. --- ### Summary claim You can justify “Psalm 118 follows Psalm 12” by arguing that Psalm 118 **picks up Psalm 12’s crisis vocabulary (אָדָם; סביב/סבב; אמר/יאמר; ישע; לעולם), repeats Psalm 12’s key petition in an identical form (הוֹשִׁיעָה), and supplies the expected narrative/liturgical resolution**: the pure words of YHWH replace corrupt speech, the encircling threat is broken, and the rescued worshiper/community enters the sanctuary to give thanks.
Evaluation
Score: 4.0
Evaluated at: 2026-02-16T02:17:22 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5.2
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 730 Output: 6156 Total: 6886
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 3.5 / 10
Multiple correct verse-anchored lexical overlaps (הושיעה, אדם, סביב/סבב, אמר/יאמר, ישועה), but most are common Psalter diction and no editorial/structural signal—especially given Ps 12 and 118 are non-adjacent—so H₀ stands.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 12 and Psalm 118 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 118 logically follows on from Psalm 12? Consider stylistic similarities, similarities of form, similarities of vocab or ideas, shared roots (if you're doing the search in Hebrew), connections to sequences of events common in ancient Israelite life, mythology or history shared by the two psalms.
Rarer words are more significant than commoner words. Identical forms are more significant than similar forms. The same word class is more significant than different word classes formed from the same root. Identical roots are more significant than suppletive roots.
Psalm 12:
Psalm 12
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
עַֽל־
הַשְּׁמִינִ֗ית
מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. הוֹשִׁ֣יעָה
יְ֭הוָה
כִּי־
גָמַ֣ר
חָסִ֑יד
כִּי־
פַ֥סּוּ
אֱ֝מוּנִ֗ים
מִבְּנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
3. שָׁ֤וְא ׀
יְֽדַבְּרוּ֮
אִ֤ישׁ
אֶת־
רֵ֫עֵ֥הוּ
שְׂפַ֥ת
חֲלָק֑וֹת
בְּלֵ֖ב
וָלֵ֣ב
יְדַבֵּֽרוּ׃
4. יַכְרֵ֣ת
יְ֭הוָה
כָּל־
שִׂפְתֵ֣י
חֲלָק֑וֹת
לָ֝שׁ֗וֹן
מְדַבֶּ֥רֶת
גְּדֹלֽוֹת׃
5. אֲשֶׁ֤ר
אָֽמְר֨וּ ׀
לִלְשֹׁנֵ֣נוּ
נַ֭גְבִּיר
שְׂפָתֵ֣ינוּ
אִתָּ֑נוּ
מִ֖י
אָד֣וֹן
לָֽנוּ׃
6. מִשֹּׁ֥ד
עֲנִיִּים֮
מֵאַנְקַ֢ת
אֶבְי֫וֹנִ֥ים
עַתָּ֣ה
אָ֭קוּם
יֹאמַ֣ר
יְהוָ֑ה
אָשִׁ֥ית
בְּ֝יֵ֗שַׁע
יָפִ֥יחַֽ
לֽוֹ׃
7. אִֽמֲר֣וֹת
יְהוָה֮
אֲמָר֢וֹת
טְהֹ֫ר֥וֹת
כֶּ֣סֶף
צָ֭רוּף
בַּעֲלִ֣יל
לָאָ֑רֶץ
מְ֝זֻקָּ֗ק
שִׁבְעָתָֽיִם׃
8. אַתָּֽה־
יְהוָ֥ה
תִּשְׁמְרֵ֑ם
תִּצְּרֶ֓נּוּ ׀
מִן־
הַדּ֖וֹר
ז֣וּ
לְעוֹלָֽם׃
9. סָבִ֗יב
רְשָׁעִ֥ים
יִתְהַלָּכ֑וּן
כְּרֻ֥ם
זֻ֝לּ֗וּת
לִבְנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
Psalm 118:
Psalm 118
1. הוֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
כִּי־
ט֑וֹב
כִּ֖י
לְעוֹלָ֣ם
חַסְדּֽוֹ׃
2. יֹֽאמַר־
נָ֥א
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל
כִּ֖י
לְעוֹלָ֣ם
חַסְדּֽוֹ׃
3. יֹֽאמְרוּ־
נָ֥א
בֵֽית־
אַהֲרֹ֑ן
כִּ֖י
לְעוֹלָ֣ם
חַסְדּֽוֹ׃
4. יֹֽאמְרוּ־
נָ֭א
יִרְאֵ֣י
יְהוָ֑ה
כִּ֖י
לְעוֹלָ֣ם
חַסְדּֽוֹ׃
5. מִֽן־
הַ֭מֵּצַ֥ר
קָרָ֣אתִי
יָּ֑הּ
עָנָ֖נִי
בַמֶּרְחָ֣ב
יָֽהּ׃
6. יְהוָ֣ה
לִ֭י
לֹ֣א
אִירָ֑א
מַה־
יַּעֲשֶׂ֖ה
לִ֣י
אָדָֽם׃
7. יְהוָ֣ה
לִ֭י
בְּעֹזְרָ֑י
וַ֝אֲנִ֗י
אֶרְאֶ֥ה
בְשֹׂנְאָֽי׃
8. ט֗וֹב
לַחֲס֥וֹת
בַּיהוָ֑ה
מִ֝בְּטֹ֗חַ
בָּאָדָֽם׃
9. ט֗וֹב
לַחֲס֥וֹת
בַּיהוָ֑ה
מִ֝בְּטֹ֗חַ
בִּנְדִיבִֽים׃
10. כָּל־
גּוֹיִ֥ם
סְבָב֑וּנִי
בְּשֵׁ֥ם
יְ֝הוָ֗ה
כִּ֣י
אֲמִילַֽם׃
11. סַבּ֥וּנִי
גַם־
סְבָב֑וּנִי
בְּשֵׁ֥ם
יְ֝הוָ֗ה
כִּ֣י
אֲמִילַֽם׃
12. סַבּ֤וּנִי
כִדְבוֹרִ֗ים
דֹּ֭עֲכוּ
כְּאֵ֣שׁ
קוֹצִ֑ים
בְּשֵׁ֥ם
יְ֝הוָ֗ה
כִּ֣י
אֲמִילַֽם׃
13. דַּחֹ֣ה
דְחִיתַ֣נִי
לִנְפֹּ֑ל
וַ֖יהוָ֣ה
עֲזָרָֽנִי׃
14. עָזִּ֣י
וְזִמְרָ֣ת
יָ֑הּ
וַֽיְהִי־
לִ֝֗י
לִֽישׁוּעָֽה׃
15. ק֤וֹל ׀
רִנָּ֬ה
וִֽישׁוּעָ֗ה
בְּאָהֳלֵ֥י
צַדִּיקִ֑ים
יְמִ֥ין
יְ֝הוָה
עֹ֣שָׂה
חָֽיִל׃
16. יְמִ֣ין
יְ֭הוָה
רוֹמֵמָ֑ה
יְמִ֥ין
יְ֝הוָה
עֹ֣שָׂה
חָֽיִל׃
17. לֹֽא
אָמ֥וּת
כִּי־
אֶֽחְיֶ֑ה
וַ֝אֲסַפֵּ֗ר
מַֽעֲשֵׂ֥י
יָֽהּ׃
18. יַסֹּ֣ר
יִסְּרַ֣נִּי
יָּ֑הּ
וְ֝לַמָּ֗וֶת
לֹ֣א
נְתָנָֽנִי׃
19. פִּתְחוּ־
לִ֥י
שַׁעֲרֵי־
צֶ֑דֶק
אָֽבֹא־
בָ֝ם
אוֹדֶ֥ה
יָֽהּ׃
20. זֶֽה־
הַשַּׁ֥עַר
לַיהוָ֑ה
צַ֝דִּיקִ֗ים
יָבֹ֥אוּ
בֽוֹ׃
21. א֭וֹדְךָ
כִּ֣י
עֲנִיתָ֑נִי
וַתְּהִי־
לִ֝֗י
לִֽישׁוּעָֽה׃
22. אֶ֭בֶן
מָאֲס֣וּ
הַבּוֹנִ֑ים
הָ֝יְתָ֗ה
לְרֹ֣אשׁ
פִּנָּֽה׃
23. מֵאֵ֣ת
יְ֭הוָה
הָ֣יְתָה
זֹּ֑את
הִ֖יא
נִפְלָ֣את
בְּעֵינֵֽינוּ׃
24. זֶה־
הַ֭יּוֹם
עָשָׂ֣ה
יְהוָ֑ה
נָגִ֖ילָה
וְנִשְׂמְחָ֣ה
בֽוֹ׃
25. אָֽנָּ֣א
יְ֭הוָה
הוֹשִׁ֘יעָ֥ה
נָּ֑א
אָֽנָּ֥א
יְ֝הוָ֗ה
הַצְלִ֘יחָ֥ה
נָּֽא׃
26. בָּר֣וּךְ
הַ֭בָּא
בְּשֵׁ֣ם
יְהוָ֑ה
בֵּ֝רַֽכְנוּכֶ֗ם
מִבֵּ֥ית
יְהוָֽה׃
27. אֵ֤ל ׀
יְהוָה֮
וַיָּ֢אֶ֫ר
לָ֥נוּ
אִסְרוּ־
חַ֥ג
בַּעֲבֹתִ֑ים
עַד־
קַ֝רְנ֗וֹת
הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃
28. אֵלִ֣י
אַתָּ֣ה
וְאוֹדֶ֑ךָּ
אֱ֝לֹהַ֗י
אֲרוֹמְמֶֽךָּ׃
29. הוֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
כִּי־
ט֑וֹב
כִּ֖י
לְעוֹלָ֣ם
חַסְדּֽוֹ׃