Psalm 4 → 6
Reasoning: 9792 Output: 4393 Total: 14185
Argument
Here are lines of argument—moving from strongest to more general—that can justify reading Psalm 6 as a logical sequel to Psalm 4. 1) Framing and performance setting - Identical superscription core: both begin with למנצח + בנגינות + מזמור לדוד (Ps 4:1; Ps 6:1). This marks them as matched pieces for the same performance guild (“with stringed instruments”). Psalm 6 only adds על־השמינית (an 8‑string/low register), a natural variant for a deeper lament that still belongs to the same musical set. - Same basic genre sequence: both are individual laments that move to confidence and closure. 2) “Hear my prayer” thread realized - Exact form repetition and then fulfillment: - חנֵּנִי “Be gracious to me” appears as the same form in both psalms (Ps 4:2; Ps 6:3). Identical form, identical plea. - תְּפִלָּתִי “my prayer” appears in both (Ps 4:2; Ps 6:10). - שמע “hear” is programmatic and progresses: Ps 4 anticipates hearing—יְהוָה יִשְׁמַע (imperfect, Ps 4:4), while Ps 6 announces it as accomplished—שָׁמַע יְהוָה (perfect, Ps 6:9–10). That is a classic lament-to-trust development: “God will hear” (Ps 4) → “God has heard” (Ps 6). 3) Night-bed scene: from instruction to experience - Ps 4 prescribes the bed as the place of nocturnal self-examination and quiet trust: אמרו בלבבכם על־מִשְׁכַּבְכֶם וְדֹמּו (4:5), and ends with serene sleep: בְּשָׁלוֹם… אֶשְׁכְּבָה וְאִישָׁן (4:9). - Ps 6 shows that very night-space in lived experience of distress: יָגַעְתִּי בְּאַנְחָתִי… בְכָל־לַיְלָה מִטָּתִי… בְּדִמְעָתִי עַרְשִׂי אַמְסֶה (6:7). The same setting (מִשְׁכָּב / מִטָּה / עֶרֶשׂ; “bed/couch”) and the explicit “night” (לַיְלָה) create a concrete continuation of Ps 4’s counsel: the psalmist actually wrestles through the night. - Result: Ps 6 concludes where Ps 4 aimed—confident assurance that YHWH has indeed heard. It is the “worked-out” night after Ps 4’s evening admonition. 4) Lament formulae that escalate - “How long?” shifts from men to God: - Ps 4 challenges the human opponents: בְּנֵי־אִישׁ עַד־מֶה (4:3). - Ps 6 turns the cry directly to God: וְאַתָּה יְהוָה עַד־מָתָי (6:4). This is a logical deepening: first confront the human source of trouble; then confront divine delay. - Parallel rhetorical “Who?” questions: - מִי־יַרְאֵנוּ טוֹב (4:7). - בִּשְׁאוֹל מִי יוֹדֶה־לָּךְ (6:6). Both employ מִי to frame existential stakes—who will show good? who will praise you?—but Ps 6 sharpens it to life-and-death worship (“if I die, I cannot praise you”). 5) Adversaries addressed and dismissed - Ps 4 names and admonishes the hostile group: “sons of man” who love emptiness and seek lies (4:3), with imperatives (רגזו… אל תחטאו; אמרו… ודֹמו; זבחו… ובִטְחוּ). - Ps 6 advances to banishment: סוּרוּ מִמֶּנִּי כָּל־פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן (6:9). Same speech-act (imperatives to opponents), now with decisive separation after divine hearing (6:9–11). The “many who say” in Ps 4 (רַבִּים אֹמְרִים, 4:7) become the “enemies” of Ps 6 (כָּל־אֹיְבַי; צֹרְרַי), who end up ashamed and turned back (6:11). 6) Anger and discipline: from ethic to theology - Ps 4 warns the opponents about anger and sin: רִגְזוּ וְאַל־תֶּחֱטָאוּ (4:5). - Ps 6 pleads that God’s anger not be the mode of correction: יְהוָה אַל־בְּאַפְּךָ תוֹכִיחֵנִי וְאַל־בַּחֲמָתְךָ תְיַסְּרֵנִי (6:2). The thematic pivot from human anger to divine anger/discipline logically follows: if anger is mishandled (Ps 4), divine discipline looms (Ps 6); the psalmist begs for mercy instead. 7) Covenant-hesed linkage across roots - Ps 4 asserts the covenant status: הִפְלָה יְהוָה חָסִיד לוֹ (4:4). “YHWH has set apart his ḥasid.” - Ps 6 appeals to the covenant motive: הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ (6:5). Same root חסד; in Ps 4 it identifies the person the LORD favors; in Ps 6 it is the very ground for rescue. This is a pointed root-level interlock. 8) Worship logic: sacrifice ↔ thanksgiving - Ps 4 instructs: זִבְחוּ זִבְחֵי־צֶדֶק (4:6) and “trust in YHWH.” - Ps 6 argues: “If I die there is no זִכְרֶךָ… in Sheol who will יֹודֶה־לָּךְ?” (6:6). In other words: spare me so that I can render the praise/sacrifice you desire. The cultic through-line is tight: right sacrifices (Ps 4) → the life-preserving plea so praise can continue (Ps 6). 9) Deliverance vocabulary in the same semantic field - Ps 4: בַּצָּר הִרְחַבְתָּ לִּי “in distress you made space for me” (4:2). - Ps 6: חַלְּצָה נַפְשִׁי “draw out/deliver my life” (6:5). Different verbs, same “from tightness to safety” imagery. - Both close with a confidence formula: Ps 4 ends “you alone, YHWH, make me dwell לָבֶטַח” (4:9); Ps 6 ends with the confident triad “שָׁמַע… שָׁמַע… יִקָּח” (6:9–10) and the reversal of foes (6:11). 10) Face/eye and shalom/Sheol tension, tied to the priestly blessing - Ps 4 invokes the priestly-blessing vocabulary: נְשָׂא־עָלֵינוּ אוֹר פָּנֶיךָ יְהוָה → שָׁלוֹם (4:7–9). - Ps 6 portrays the loss of vitality in the eye: עָשְׁשָׁה מִכַּעַס עֵינִי (6:8), and the threat of שְׁאוֹל (6:6). Read together, Ps 6 is the plea for the restoration of the lifted Face and its peace envisioned in Ps 4. 11) Editorial/canonical stitching by catchwords/forms (rarer = weightier) - Identical forms: חָנֵּנִי (Ps 4:2; 6:3); תְּפִלָּתִי (Ps 4:2; 6:10); the triad למנצח + בנגינות + מזמור לדוד (titles). These are not just similar roots; they are the same words in the same slots. - Shared lament formulae: עַד־מֶה // עַד־מָתָי; מִי־…?; כי-clauses to ground petitions (Ps 4:4, 9; Ps 6:3, 6, 9). Even when not identical, they are the same compositional toolkit, deployed in a way that develops the thought from expectation (Ps 4) to realization (Ps 6). 12) Life-setting sequence plausible in ancient Israel - Day begins at evening; Ps 4 is an evening instruction and entrustment (bed, silence, trust, sleep). Ps 6 narrates the night’s ordeal (tears on the bed “all night”), and by the end speaks as if the prayer has broken through (perfect “has heard”), the enemies are dismissed—fitting a dawn vindication. This maps onto a real devotional cycle: evening admonition → night struggle → morning confidence. In sum: Psalm 4 sets the program—call, be gracious to me, trust on your bed, offer right worship, expect YHWH to hear, lie down in peace. Psalm 6 shows the next act—under discipline/illness the psalmist spends the night on that very bed pleading the same חנני, arguing from covenant חֶסֶד and the impossibility of praising God in Sheol, and then announces the fulfillment of Psalm 4’s expectation: “YHWH has heard… my prayer YHWH accepts,” with the opponents now sent away. The shared forms, roots, formulas, and the bed/night motif make a coherent, sequential reading not only possible but compelling.
Evaluation
No evaluation has been recorded for this pair yet.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 4 and Psalm 6 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 6 logically follows on from Psalm 4? 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 4:
Psalm 4
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
בִּנְגִינ֗וֹת
מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. בְּקָרְאִ֡י
עֲנֵ֤נִי ׀
אֱלֹ֘הֵ֤י
צִדְקִ֗י
בַּ֭צָּר
הִרְחַ֣בְתָּ
לִּ֑י
חָ֝נֵּ֗נִי
וּשְׁמַ֥ע
תְּפִלָּתִֽי׃
3. בְּנֵ֥י
אִ֡ישׁ
עַד־
מֶ֬ה
כְבוֹדִ֣י
לִ֭כְלִמָּה
תֶּאֱהָב֣וּן
רִ֑יק
תְּבַקְשׁ֖וּ
כָזָ֣ב
סֶֽלָה׃
4. וּדְע֗וּ
כִּֽי־
הִפְלָ֣ה
יְ֭הוָה
חָסִ֣יד
ל֑וֹ
יְהוָ֥ה
יִ֝שְׁמַ֗ע
בְּקָרְאִ֥י
אֵלָֽיו׃
5. רִגְז֗וּ
וְֽאַל־
תֶּ֫חֱטָ֥אוּ
אִמְר֣וּ
בִ֭לְבַבְכֶם
עַֽל־
מִשְׁכַּבְכֶ֗ם
וְדֹ֣מּוּ
סֶֽלָה׃
6. זִבְח֥וּ
זִבְחֵי־
צֶ֑דֶק
וּ֝בִטְח֗וּ
אֶל־
יְהוָֽה׃
7. רַבִּ֥ים
אֹמְרִים֮
מִֽי־
יַרְאֵ֢נ֫וּ
ט֥וֹב
נְֽסָה־
עָ֭לֵינוּ
א֨וֹר
פָּנֶ֬יךָ
יְהוָֽה׃
8. נָתַ֣תָּה
שִׂמְחָ֣ה
בְלִבִּ֑י
מֵעֵ֬ת
דְּגָנָ֖ם
וְתִֽירוֹשָׁ֣ם
רָֽבּוּ׃
9. בְּשָׁל֣וֹם
יַחְדָּו֮
אֶשְׁכְּבָ֢ה
וְאִ֫ישָׁ֥ן
כִּֽי־
אַתָּ֣ה
יְהוָ֣ה
לְבָדָ֑ד
לָ֝בֶ֗טַח
תּוֹשִׁיבֵֽנִי׃
Psalm 6:
Psalm 6
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ
בִּ֭נְגִינוֹת
עַֽל־
הַשְּׁמִינִ֗ית
מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. יְֽהוָ֗ה
אַל־
בְּאַפְּךָ֥
תוֹכִיחֵ֑נִי
וְֽאַל־
בַּחֲמָתְךָ֥
תְיַסְּרֵֽנִי׃
3. חָנֵּ֥נִי
יְהוָה֮
כִּ֤י
אֻמְלַ֫ל
אָ֥נִי
רְפָאֵ֥נִי
יְהוָ֑ה
כִּ֖י
נִבְהֲל֣וּ
עֲצָֽtמָי׃
4. וְ֭נַפְשִׁי
נִבְהֲלָ֣ה
מְאֹ֑ד
ואת
וְאַתָּ֥ה
יְ֝הוָ֗ה
עַד־
מָתָֽי׃
5. שׁוּבָ֣ה
יְ֭הוָה
חַלְּצָ֣ה
נַפְשִׁ֑י
ה֝וֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִי
לְמַ֣עַן
חַסְדֶּֽךָ׃
6. כִּ֤י
אֵ֣ין
בַּמָּ֣וֶת
זִכְרֶ֑ךָ
בִּ֝שְׁא֗וֹל
מִ֣י
יֽוֹדֶה־
לָּֽךְ׃
7. יָגַ֤עְתִּי ׀
בְּֽאַנְחָתִ֗י
אַשְׂחֶ֣ה
בְכָל־
לַ֭יְלָה
מִטָּתִ֑י
בְּ֝דִמְעָתִ֗י
עַרְשִׂ֥י
אַמְסֶֽה׃
8. עָֽשְׁשָׁ֣ה
מִכַּ֣עַס
עֵינִ֑י
עָֽ֝תְקָ֗ה
בְּכָל־
צוֹרְרָֽי׃
9. ס֣וּרוּ
מִ֭מֶּנִּי
כָּל־
פֹּ֣עֲלֵי
אָ֑וֶן
כִּֽי־
שָׁמַ֥ע
יְ֝הוָ֗ה
ק֣וֹל
בִּכְיִֽי׃
10. שָׁמַ֣ע
יְ֭הוָה
תְּחִנָּתִ֑י
יְ֝הוָ֗ה
תְּֽפִלָּתִ֥י
יִקָּֽח׃
11. יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ ׀
וְיִבָּהֲל֣וּ
מְ֭אֹד
כָּל־
אֹיְבָ֑י
יָ֝שֻׁ֗בוּ
יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ
רָֽגַע׃