Psalm 4 → 55
Reasoning: 8128 Output: 5162 Total: 13290
Argument
Here are lines of evidence that Psalm 55 can be read as a logical continuation of Psalm 4, grouped by type of argument and highlighting the most probative links (rarer, identical, or structurally strategic features first). 1) Editorial/musical frame (superscription-level linkage) - Identical performance tag: למנצח בנגינות … לדוד in both superscriptions (Ps 4:1; Ps 55:1). This four-part frame (for the choirmaster + “with stringed instruments” + Davidic authorship) is a strong editorial signal that both belong to the same subcollection and could be performed/recited together. “בנגינות” is distinctive and much less common than, say, “מזמור.” - Complementary genre labels: Ps 4 = מזמור; Ps 55 = משכיל (didactic/instructional). A plausible sequence is hymn-like trust (Ps 4) followed by didactic-lament that teaches how to carry that trust through a harsher crisis (Ps 55). 2) Identical forms and high-value catchwords (exact strings) - ענני (imperative “answer me”): exact in both (Ps 4:2; Ps 55:3). Imperatives addressed to God with this very form are not frequent; its repetition signals purposeful linkage. - תפילתי (1cs “my prayer”): exact form in both (Ps 4:2; Ps 55:2). - ישמע (3ms “he will hear”): same finite form used programmatically for God’s response (Ps 4:4; Ps 55:18, 20). - בשלום (“in peace”): exact phrase in both climaxes (Ps 4:9; Ps 55:19), anchoring the outcome in shalom in both psalms. - יחדו (“together”): exact adverb in both (Ps 4:9; Ps 55:15), linking the communal/relational dimension. - רבים (“many”): same plural in both (Ps 4:7; Ps 55:19), framing the “many” who pressure or accompany the psalmist. These are unusually dense exact-form correspondences across distant psalms, and they cluster in rhetorically strategic positions (opening petitions and climactic confidence statements). 3) Root-level and near-identical lexical mesh (medium-to-strong links) - בטח “trust”: Ps 4:6 “ובטחו אל יהוה” (imperative to the community); Ps 55:24 “ואני אבטח בך” (first-person resolve). The move from exhortation to others (Ps 4) to personal resolve under trial (Ps 55) reads like a deliberate progression. - צדק/צדיק “righteousness/righteous”: Ps 4:2 “אלהי צדקי”; 4:6 “זבחו זבחי־צדק.” Ps 55:23 “לא יתן לעולם מוט לצדיק.” Same root structures the piety ethic in both, culminating in “the righteous will not be made to fall” in Ps 55. - קרא “call”: Ps 4:2, 4 “בקריא … ישמע”; Ps 55:17 “אני אל אלהים אקרא,” 55:18 “וישמע קולי.” Both center on the call-hear dynamic. - מרמה/כזב “deceit/falsehood”: Ps 4:3 “תבקשו כזב”; Ps 55:12, 24 “מרמה” (twice). Same theme of deceit intensifies from general society (Ps 4) to intimate betrayal (Ps 55). - בית אלהים / זבחי צדק: Ps 4 calls for right sacrifices; Ps 55:15 recalls procession “in the house of God.” Both presuppose temple-cult participation and righteous worship, tightening cultic continuity. 4) Structural/form-critical alignment (form of the psalm) Both are individual laments with the same macro-moves: - Direct invocation and petition to be heard and answered (Ps 4:2; Ps 55:2–3). - Naming the human problem (Ps 4:3: בני איש loving ריק/כזב; Ps 55:4–15: enemies + city violence + betrayal by a close friend). - A mid-psalm theological assertion that God hears (Ps 4:4; Ps 55:18–20). - Didactic imperatives to the audience (Ps 4:5–6; Ps 55:23), including trust language. - A confidence-laden close (Ps 4:8–9; Ps 55:19, 24), featuring the identical bǝšālôm and trust. The pairing shows a classic “lament-to-trust” arc in both, but Ps 55 elaborates and intensifies it. 5) Thematic and experiential progression (how Ps 55 “follows” Ps 4) - From night rest to round-the-clock praying: Ps 4 ends, “In peace, together I lie down and sleep … you make me dwell secure.” Ps 55 expands to “Evening, morning, and noon I complain and moan, and he hears my voice” (55:18). This reads like the next day’s continuation of the same trust—now sustained all day under fresh pressure. - From general social critique to intimate betrayal: Ps 4 rebukes בני איש for loving vanity and seeking lies; Ps 55 names an אלופי ומיודעי, a close associate who betrays, and a city riddled with deceit. The social problem of Ps 4 is escalated and particularized in Ps 55. - From exhorting others to trust to modeling how to carry a burden: Ps 4: “ובטחו אל יהוה.” Ps 55 answers with the practical “השׁלך על יהוה יהבך והוא יכלכלך” (55:23). The second psalm turns Ps 4’s maxim into a pastoral prescription. - Peace words to peace outcome: Ps 4’s “בשלום … לבטח” returns as “פדה בשלום נפשי … לא יתן לעולם מוט לצדיק” (55:19, 23). The same theological payoff (divine securing) is reasserted in harsher circumstances. 6) Cultic and life-pattern coherence - Shared cultic world: sacrifices (Ps 4), temple processions (Ps 55). Both assume worship in Zion and instruction amid a gathered community. - Daily prayer cycle: Ps 4 is widely read as an evening psalm; Ps 55 explicitly names evening–morning–noon. That creates a liturgical day: you go to bed in shalom (Ps 4) and keep calling all day under stress (Ps 55). - Possible historical backdrop: If Ps 3–4 are often read against the Absalom crisis, Ps 55’s portrait of betrayal by a trusted counselor and urban strife resonates with the Ahithophel episode. That makes Ps 55 a plausible “later development” of the same crisis trajectory—after the initial resolution to trust (Ps 4) comes the sharper test of betrayal (Ps 55). 7) Stylistic echoes - Imperative clusters to God (ענני; האזינה; הקשיבה) and to humans (רגזו … זבחו … בטחו; השלך … והוא יכלכלך). - Recurring use of Selah in both (pausal markers), reinforcing performative affinity. - Parallel sound/semantic pairs around speech and silence: Ps 4 “ודֹמוּ” (be still) on the bed; Ps 55 stresses incessant speech/“moaning” and the duplicity of smooth words—two sides of how speech is handled before God vs. by the treacherous. Bottom line - Hard links: the superscriptional frame; exact repeated forms (ענני; תפילתי; ישמע; בשלום; יחדו; רבים); and the matched trust/shalom closures. - Form and theme: Same lament-to-trust architecture; Ps 55 reads as a deliberate intensification and practical outworking of Ps 4’s counsel. - Liturgical logic: Ps 4 (evening trust) flows naturally into Ps 55 (daylong prayer), making them successive stations in a single pious “day” or in a single unfolding crisis. Put together, these editorial, lexical, structural, and liturgical correspondences provide a robust case that Psalm 55 is meant to be heard as a logical next movement after Psalm 4.
Evaluation
No evaluation has been recorded for this pair yet.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 4 and Psalm 55 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 55 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 55:
Psalm 55
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
בִּנְגִינֹ֗ת
מַשְׂכִּ֥יל
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. הַאֲזִ֣ינָה
אֱ֭לֹהִים
תְּפִלָּתִ֑י
וְאַל־
תִּ֝תְעַלַּ֗ם
מִתְּחִנָּתִֽי׃
3. הַקְשִׁ֣יבָה
לִּ֣י
וַעֲנֵ֑נִי
אָרִ֖יד
בְּשִׂיחִ֣י
וְאָהִֽימָה׃
4. מִקּ֤וֹל
אוֹיֵ֗ב
מִפְּנֵ֣י
עָקַ֣ת
רָשָׁ֑ע
כִּי־
יָמִ֥יטוּ
עָלַ֥י
אָ֝֗וֶן
וּבְאַ֥ף
יִשְׂטְמֽוּנִי׃
5. לִ֭בִּי
יָחִ֣יל
בְּקִרְבִּ֑י
וְאֵימ֥וֹת
מָ֝֗וֶת
נָפְל֥וּ
עָלָֽי׃
6. יִרְאָ֣ה
וָ֭רַעַד
יָ֣בֹא
בִ֑י
וַ֝תְּכַסֵּ֗נִי
פַּלָּצֽוּת׃
7. וָאֹמַ֗ר
מִֽי־
יִתֶּן־
לִּ֣י
אֵ֭בֶר
כַּיּוֹנָ֗ה
אָע֥וּפָה
וְאֶשְׁכֹּֽנָה׃
8. הִ֭נֵּה
אַרְחִ֣יק
נְדֹ֑ד
אָלִ֖ין
בַּמִּדְבָּ֣ר
סֶֽלָה׃
9. אָחִ֣ישָׁה
מִפְלָ֣ט
לִ֑י
מֵר֖וּחַ
סֹעָ֣ה
מִסָּֽעַר׃
10. בַּלַּ֣ע
אֲ֭דֹנָי
פַּלַּ֣ג
לְשׁוֹנָ֑ם
כִּֽי־
רָאִ֨יתִי
חָמָ֖ס
וְרִ֣יב
בָּעִֽיר׃
11. יוֹמָ֤ם
וָלַ֗יְלָה
יְסוֹבְבֻ֥הָ
עַל־
חוֹמֹתֶ֑יהָ
וְאָ֖וֶן
וְעָמָ֣ל
בְּקִרְבָּֽהּ׃
12. הַוּ֥וֹת
בְּקִרְבָּ֑הּ
וְֽלֹא־
יָמִ֥ישׁ
מֵ֝רְחֹבָ֗הּ
תֹּ֣ךְ
וּמִרְמָֽה׃
13. כִּ֤י
לֹֽא־
אוֹיֵ֥ב
יְחָֽרְפֵ֗נִי
וְאֶ֫שָּׂ֥א
לֹֽא־
מְ֭שַׂנְאִי
עָלַ֣י
הִגְדִּ֑יל
וְאֶסָּתֵ֥ר
מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃
14. וְאַתָּ֣ה
אֱנ֣וֹשׁ
כְּעֶרְכִּ֑י
אַ֝לּוּפִ֗י
וּמְיֻדָּֽעִי׃
15. אֲשֶׁ֣ר
יַ֭חְדָּו
נַמְתִּ֣יק
ס֑וֹד
בְּבֵ֥ית
אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים
נְהַלֵּ֥ךְ
בְּרָֽגֶשׁ׃
16. ישימות
יַשִּׁ֤י
מָ֨וֶת ׀
עָלֵ֗ימוֹ
יֵרְד֣וּ
שְׁא֣וֹל
חַיִּ֑ים
כִּֽי־
רָע֖וֹת
בִּמְגוּרָ֣ם
בְּקִרְבָּֽם׃
17. אֲ֭נִי
אֶל־
אֱלֹהִ֣ים
אֶקְרָ֑א
וַ֝יהוָ֗ה
יוֹשִׁיעֵֽנִי׃
18. עֶ֤רֶב
וָבֹ֣קֶר
וְ֭צָהֳרַיִם
אָשִׂ֣יחָה
וְאֶהֱמֶ֑ה
וַיִּשְׁמַ֥ע
קוֹלִֽי׃
19. פָּ֘דָ֤ה
בְשָׁל֣וֹם
נַ֭פְשִׁי
מִקֲּרָב־
לִ֑י
כִּֽי־
בְ֝רַבִּ֗ים
הָי֥וּ
עִמָּדִֽי׃
20. יִשְׁמַ֤ע ׀
אֵ֨ל ׀
וְֽיַעֲנֵם֮
וְיֹ֤שֵׁ֥ב
קֶ֗דֶם
סֶ֥לָה
אֲשֶׁ֤ר
אֵ֣ין
חֲלִיפ֣וֹת
לָ֑מוֹ
וְלֹ֖א
יָרְא֣וּ
אֱלֹהִֽים׃
21. שָׁלַ֣ח
יָ֭דָיו
בִּשְׁלֹמָ֗יו
חִלֵּ֥ל
בְּרִיתֽוֹ׃
22. חָלְק֤וּ ׀
מַחְמָאֹ֣ת
פִּיו֮
וּֽקֲרָב־
לִ֫בּ֥וֹ
רַכּ֖וּ
דְבָרָ֥יו
מִשֶּׁ֗מֶן
וְהֵ֣מָּה
פְתִחֽוֹת׃
23. הַשְׁלֵ֤ךְ
עַל־
יְהוָ֨ה ׀
יְהָבְךָ֮
וְה֢וּא
יְכַ֫לְכְּלֶ֥ךָ
לֹא־
יִתֵּ֖ן
לְעוֹלָ֥ם
מ֗וֹט
לַצַּדִּֽיק׃
24. וְאַתָּ֤ה
אֱלֹהִ֨ים ׀
תּוֹרִדֵ֬ם ׀
לִבְאֵ֬ר
שַׁ֗חַת
אַנְשֵׁ֤י
דָמִ֣ים
וּ֖dמִרְמָה
לֹא־
יֶחֱצ֣וּ
יְמֵיהֶ֑ם
וַ֝אֲנִ֗י
אֶבְטַח־
בָּֽךְ׃