Psalm 12 → 122

Argument generated 2026-02-20T02:16:08

Argument model gpt-5.2

Pair ID 1760

Reasoning: 1367 Output: 3878 Total: 5245

Argument

## 1) Same “Davidic voice,” same compact 9‑verse frame
- **Superscriptions**: both are explicitly **לְדָוִד** (Ps 12:1; Ps 122:1). Whatever their historical layers, an editor can present them as consecutive utterances from the same speaker.
- **Similar scale**: in the Masoretic versification *including the superscription*, both psalms are **9 verses long**. That kind of matching length is a simple but real editorial cue for “these belong together.”

## 2) A tight lexical chain around *speech*: from corrupt words → healed words
Psalm 12 is dominated by the crisis of human speech; Psalm 122 begins and ends with the restoration of speech in worship and communal blessing.

### 2a) אמר / “to say” (rarely becomes this programmatic unless intentional)
- Ps 12 repeatedly uses **אמר**-language:
  - **אָֽמְר֨וּ** (“they said”) (12:5)
  - **יֹאמַר יְהוָה** (“YHWH says”) (12:6)
  - **אִמֲרוֹת יְהוָה** (“the words of YHWH”) (12:7)
- Ps 122 opens with the same root in a matching syntactic slot:
  - **שָׂמַחְתִּי בְּאֹמְרִים לִי** (“I rejoiced when they *said* to me…”) (122:1)

**Logical progression:**  
In Ps 12, “what they *say*” is arrogant self-assertion (**“לִלְשֹׁנֵנוּ נַגְבִּיר… מִי אָדוֹן לָנוּ”** 12:5). In Ps 122, “what they *say*” becomes an invitation to worship (**“בֵּית יְהוָה נֵלֵךְ”** 122:1). It reads like a deliberate narrative reversal: *speech was the disease; now speech becomes the cure.*

### 2b) דבר / “to speak” (same verb class)
- Ps 12: **יְדַבְּרוּ … יְדַבֵּרוּ** (12:3), **מְדַבֶּרֶת** (12:4) — corrupt speaking everywhere.
- Ps 122: **אֲדַבְּרָה־נָּא שָׁלוֹם בָּךְ** (“let me speak peace in you”) (122:8).

Not just “same root,” but the speaking itself is re-aimed: **speech that harmed community (Ps 12)** becomes **speech that builds community and peace (Ps 122)**.

### 2c) שָׂפָה / “lip” (speech organ imagery → disappears into shalom speech)
- Ps 12 is saturated with “lips/tongue”:
  - **שְׂפַת חֲלָקוֹת** (12:3), **שִׂפְתֵי חֲלָקוֹת** (12:4)
  - **לָשׁוֹן** (12:4–5), **שְׂפָתֵינוּ** (12:5)
- Ps 122 doesn’t repeat “lip/tongue,” but it *answers the problem* by relocating speech into liturgy and blessing: going up **“לְהֹדוֹת לְשֵׁם יְהוָה”** (122:4) and speaking **שָׁלוֹם** (122:8).

**Effect:** Psalm 122 reads naturally as what happens *after* the Psalm 12 speech-crisis is met by a re-formation of communal speech in the presence of YHWH.

## 3) “Neighbor/companion” repaired: רֵעַ moves from deception → solidarity
- Ps 12: **אִישׁ אֶת־רֵעֵהוּ** (“a man with his neighbor”) in the context of **שָׁוְא** and **חֲלָקוֹת** (12:3).
- Ps 122: **אַחַי וְרֵעָי** (“my brothers and my companions/friends”) as the reason to bless Jerusalem (122:8).

So the *same social unit* (“neighbor/companion”) is first shown broken by false speech, then shown restored into covenant fellowship.

## 4) From “Who is lord over us?” to recognized authority and courts
Psalm 12’s arrogant slogan is political as well as moral:

- Ps 12: **מִי אָדֹון לָנוּ** (“Who is master/lord over us?”) (12:5)

Psalm 122 answers by pointing to legitimate, covenantal authority centered in Jerusalem:

- Ps 122: **כִּסְאוֹת לְמִשְׁפָּט** (“thrones for judgment”) (122:5)
- **כִּסְאוֹת לְבֵית דָּוִיד** (“thrones of the house of David”) (122:5)

**Logical sequence:**  
If Psalm 12 laments a society where people deny any authority higher than their own mouths, Psalm 122 depicts the corrective: pilgrimage to the place where **judgment** is administered and where Davidic/covenantal order is acknowledged.

## 5) Spatial logic: “wicked all around” → a city with gates, walls, and ordered gathering
Psalm 12 ends with a destabilized public space:

- **סָבִיב רְשָׁעִים יִתְהַלָּכוּן** (“The wicked prowl all around”) (12:9)

Psalm 122 immediately re-spatializes life into Jerusalem as structured, bounded, and communal:

- **עֹמְדוֹת הָיוּ רַגְלֵינוּ בִּשְׁעָרַיִךְ** (“our feet were standing within your gates”) (122:2)
- Jerusalem is **“הַבְּנוּיָה… שֶׁחֻבְּרָה־לָּהּ יַחְדָּו”** (122:3): an image of integration/solidity.

So where Ps 12 ends in an “everywhere-threat” (**סָבִיב**), Ps 122 answers with “arrived-at-center” (gates, built city, gathered tribes).

## 6) Covenant-community “missing” → covenant-community “assembled”
Ps 12 opens with collapse of fidelity in the general population:

- **גָמַר חָסִיד… פַסּוּ אֱמוּנִים מִבְּנֵי אָדָם** (12:2)

Ps 122 depicts the faithful actually present and doing the classic covenant act:

- **שֶׁשָּׁם עָלוּ שְׁבָטִים… עֵדוּת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל** (122:4)

That phrase **עֵדוּת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל** (“testimony/ordinance for Israel”) frames pilgrimage as covenant obedience. It reads like the resolution to the complaint “faithful people have vanished.”

## 7) Shared Israelite life-sequence: oppression → appeal → divine response → pilgrimage/thanksgiving
Psalm 12 contains a miniature salvation pattern:
- Cry for rescue (12:2)
- Social oppression (12:6)
- Divine oracle **“עַתָּה אָקוּם”** (“Now I will arise”) (12:6)
- Confidence in preservation (12:8)

Psalm 122 fits as the next “episode” in a common Israelite rhythm: once YHWH “arises” to protect, the community responds by **going up** to the central sanctuary to give thanks (**לְהֹדוֹת**) and to seek the city’s **שָׁלוֹם**.

Even the movement-logic aligns:
- Ps 12: God says **אָקוּם** (“I will arise”) (12:6)
- Ps 122: the people enact ascent: **שֶׁשָּׁם עָלוּ שְׁבָטִים** (“there the tribes go up”) (122:4)

Not the same root, but a coherent “rise → ascent” narrative arc.

---

### Bottom line argument
Psalm 12 is a lament about a society destroyed by deceitful *speech*, denial of legitimate authority, and predatory wickedness “all around.” Psalm 122 reads naturally as the next step: the speaker enters Jerusalem with a restored community, where *speech* becomes worship and blessing, authority is embodied in “thrones for judgment,” and social relations (“neighbor/companion”) are repaired into brotherhood and peace. The repeated, strategically placed roots **אמר**, **דבר**, and **רֵע** make that progression feel editorially intentional rather than accidental.

Evaluation

Score: 2.0

Evaluated at: 2026-02-20T02:16:25 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5.2

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 718 Output: 4701 Total: 5419

Checklist

Has verse refs: Yes
Factual error detected: Yes
Only generic motifs: No
Counterargument considered: No
LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: Yes

Vocabulary specificity: 2.0 / 10

Flags: hallucination

Multiple correct lexical links with refs (אמר/דבר/רֵע etc.), but key premise ‘Psalm 122 follows/constitutes consecutive Davidic utterance after Ps 12’ is false (they’re not adjacent). Factual error → cap 2.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 12 and Psalm 122 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 122 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 122:
Psalm 122
1. שִׁ֥יר
        הַֽמַּעֲל֗וֹת
        לְדָ֫וִ֥ד
        שָׂ֭מַחְתִּי
        בְּאֹמְרִ֣ים
        לִ֑י
        בֵּ֖ית
        יְהוָ֣ה
        נֵלֵֽךְ׃
2. עֹ֭מְדוֹת
        הָי֣וּ
        רַגְלֵ֑ינוּ
        בִּ֝שְׁעָרַ֗יִךְ
        יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃
3. יְרוּשָׁלִַ֥ם
        הַבְּנוּיָ֑ה
        כְּ֝עִ֗יר
        שֶׁחֻבְּרָה־
        לָּ֥הּ
        יַחְדָּֽו׃
4. שֶׁשָּׁ֨ם
        עָל֪וּ
        שְׁבָטִ֡ים
        שִׁבְטֵי־
        יָ֭הּ
        עֵד֣וּת
        לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל
        לְ֝הֹד֗וֹת
        לְשֵׁ֣ם
        יְהוָֽה׃
5. כִּ֤י
        שָׁ֨מָּה ׀
        יָשְׁב֣וּ
        כִסְא֣וֹת
        לְמִשְׁפָּ֑ט
        כִּ֝סְא֗וֹת
        לְבֵ֣ית
        דָּוִֽיד׃
6. שַׁ֭אֲלוּ
        שְׁל֣וֹם
        יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם
        יִ֝שְׁלָ֗יוּ
        אֹהֲבָֽיִךְ׃
7. יְהִֽי־
        שָׁל֥וֹם
        בְּחֵילֵ֑ךְ
        שַׁ֝לְוָ֗ה
        בְּאַרְמְנוֹתָֽיִךְ׃
8. לְ֭מַעַן
        אַחַ֣י
        וְרֵעָ֑י
        אֲדַבְּרָה־
        נָּ֖א
        שָׁל֣וֹם
        בָּֽךְ׃
9. לְ֭מַעַן
        בֵּית־
        יְהוָ֣ה
        אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ
        אֲבַקְשָׁ֖ה
        ט֣וֹב
        לָֽךְ׃