Psalm 4 → 62
Reasoning: 10624 Output: 5205 Total: 15829
Argument
Thesis: Psalm 62 reads like a developed answer to and outworking of Psalm 4. The silence commanded in Psalm 4 becomes the speaker’s settled inner state in Psalm 62; the rebuke of deceitful “sons of man” in Psalm 4 becomes a fuller portrait of their duplicity in Psalm 62; the call to “trust in the LORD” in Psalm 4 becomes a broad summons to all the people to trust in God in Psalm 62; and the problem of “my glory to shame” in Psalm 4 is resolved by “on God is my salvation and my glory” in Psalm 62. Formally, thematically, and lexically (in several rare, identical, and morphologically parallel items), Psalm 62 can be read as following Psalm 4. Strongest verbal/formal links (rarer, identical, or same form/word-class) - כזב “lie/falsehood” (rare in Psalms compared to שקר) - Ps 4:3 תבקשו כזב “you seek falsehood” (2mp) - Ps 62:5 ירצו כזב “they desire falsehood” (3mp) Weight: same noun, same semantic target (the opponents), placed in both psalms inside the “address-to-opponents” section, and in both cases just before a Selah pause. Very strong. - דמם “be silent” family - Ps 4:5 ודֹמּו סלה “be still/silent” (2mp imperative) - Ps 62:2 דּוּמִיָּה נפשי “my soul [is] in silence” (noun), and 62:6 דֹמִּי נפשי (often read as an imperative to the soul, “Be silent, my soul”) Weight: same root; in Ps 4 it is commanded; in Ps 62 it is realized and repeated. Strong, and conceptually sequential. - בטח “trust” - Ps 4:6 וּבִטְחו אֶל־יְהוָה “trust in the LORD” (2mp imperative) - Ps 62:9 בִּטְחו בו… עַם “trust in Him… people” (2mp imperative) Also Ps 4:9 לָבֶטַח “in safety” (adverb from בטח) and Ps 62:8 מַחְסִי בֵּאלֹהִים “my refuge is in God” (same semantic field) Weight: identical imperative form and shared trust/safety field. Strong. - לֵבָב “heart” in the identical person/number - Ps 4:5 אִמְרוּ בִּלְבַבְכֶם “say in your hearts” (2mp) - Ps 62:9 שִׁפְכוּ לְפָנָיו לְבַבְכֶם “pour out your hearts before Him” (2mp) Weight: identical noun with identical suffix (2mp), both as imperatives. Strong. - כבודי “my glory” - Ps 4:3 כְּבוֹדִי לִכְלִמָּה “my glory [turned] to shame” - Ps 62:8 וּכְבוֹדִי “and my glory [is on God]” Weight: identical form (1cs), and direct thematic reversal. Strong. - בני איש “sons of man/men of rank” - Ps 4:3 בְּנֵי אִישׁ “sons of man” (addressee) - Ps 62:10 בְּנֵי אִישׁ (contrasted with בני אדם; both weighed as vapor) Weight: same phrase; in both psalms the phrase labels those pursuing vanity/deceit. Moderate–strong. - עד־מה / עד־אנה “How long?” - Ps 4:3 עַד־מֶה “How long?” - Ps 62:4 עַד־אָנה “How long?” Weight: same lament formula marking address to opponents. Moderate–strong. - שמע “hear” - Ps 4:2 וּשְׁמַע תְּפִלָּתִי “hear my prayer” (2ms imperative to God); 4:4 יְהוָה יִשְׁמַע “the LORD will hear” (3ms) - Ps 62:12 שְׁתַּיִם… שָׁמָעְתִּי “two [things] I have heard” (1cs) Weight: same root used in a narrative progression: from petition for God to hear (Ps 4), to the psalmist reporting what he has heard from God (Ps 62). Strong conceptually. - יחד “together” - Ps 4:9 בְּשָׁלוֹם יַחְדָּו “in peace, together [both] I lie down and sleep” - Ps 62:10 מֵהֶבֶל יַחַד “altogether [they are] lighter than a breath” Weight: same root; different usage but useful as a stitching word across conclusions about peace/sleep vs human insubstance. Moderate. - נשא “lift/exalt” (same root, different forms/classes) - Ps 4:7 נְסָה־עָלֵינוּ אוֹר פָּנֶיךָ “lift up the light of your face upon us” (imperative) - Ps 62:5 אַךְ מִשְּׂאֵתוֹ… לְהַדִּיחַ “only from his high position they plan to cast him down” (noun משׂאת “exaltation”) Weight: same root; the “lifting up” in Ps 4 (by God) contrasts with enemies trying to “cast down” exaltation in Ps 62. Moderate. Stylistic and structural continuities - Superscriptions match the same performance frame: לַמְנַצֵּחַ… מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד appears in both. Psalm 4 adds בִּנְגִינוֹת (with strings); Psalm 62 adds עַל־יְדוּתוּן (to/for Jeduthun). Both are explicitly liturgical and performance-directed, as if composed for sequenced use. - Shared psalm form: “individual trust/complaint to God → direct address to deceptive opponents → exhortation to the community → closing assurance” - Ps 4: cry for answer (v2) → address “sons of man… love emptiness/seek lies” (v3) → imperatives: be still, sacrifice rightly, trust (vv5–6) → communal concern “Many say, Who will show us good?” (v7) → assurance of joy and safe sleep (vv8–9). - Ps 62: personal confidence “my soul in silence… my rock” (vv2–3) → address to assailants (vv4–5) → personal refrain of trust (vv6–8) → communal exhortation “Trust in Him at all times, people; pour out your hearts” (v9) → wisdom closure about human vanity, ill-gotten gain, and God’s power/chesed/justice (vv10–13). The parallel movements make Ps 62 a natural “next step” that expands Ps 4’s instructions into a fuller teaching piece. Idea-by-idea developments that look like a continuation - Silence: Ps 4 commands it to the audience (ודֹמּוּ), largely as restraint on the bed; Ps 62 opens with it realized internally as a sustained stance (דּוּמִיָּה נַפְשִׁי), then reiterates it. Command → internalization. - Trust: Ps 4 issues the basic imperative “trust in the LORD” (וּבִטְחו אֶל־יְהוָה); Ps 62 universalizes it: “Trust in Him at all times, people” (בִּטְחו בו בְכָל־עֵת עָם), and grounds it in a theology of refuge, rock, and hope. - Deceit and duplicity: Ps 4 rebukes “loving emptiness” and “seeking lies” (רִיק / כָּזָב). Ps 62 both repeats “lies” (כָּזָב) and paints the duplicity in detail: blessing outwardly while cursing inwardly. The same vice is revisited with sharper contours. - My glory vs shame: In Ps 4, “my glory” is shamed by opponents (כְּבוֹדִי לִכְלִמָּה). In Ps 62, “my glory” is stabilized “upon God” (עַל־אֱלֹהִים יִשְׁעִי וּכְבוֹדִי), answering the earlier dishonor. - “Many say… Who will show us good?” (Ps 4:7) receives practical answers in Ps 62: - What is “good”? Not harvest abundance or wealth: Ps 4 contrasts inner joy with “their grain and wine abounding”; Ps 62 warns, “If riches increase, do not set your heart [on them]” (חַיִל… אַל־תָּשִׁיתוּ לֵב). - Where is the “good”? In God’s face/presence and character: Ps 4 prays “lift up the light of your face upon us,” and Ps 62 concludes with what the psalmist has heard from God: “Power belongs to God… and to you, Lord, is steadfast love; for you repay a man according to his work.” The divine “word heard” in Ps 62 answers the plaintive “many say” of Ps 4. - Hearing: Ps 4 asks God to “hear” and asserts “the LORD hears when I call”; Ps 62 completes the communication loop: “Once God has spoken; twice I have heard…” The petition → assurance → reception arc is complete. - Exclusive reliance: Ps 4: “You, LORD, alone (לְבָדָד) make me dwell in safety.” Ps 62 builds an inclusio with repeated אַךְ “only/indeed,” stressing exclusive reliance on God (“only He is my rock and salvation,” etc.). Different lexemes, same exclusivity motif. - From private to public: Ps 4 ends with a personal peace/sleep; Ps 62 moves from personal rest to corporate exhortation and sapiential teaching. It is exactly what you would expect if the experience of Ps 4 matures into instruction for the community. Life-setting and liturgical plausibility - Daily rhythm: Ps 4 is classically read as an evening psalm (“In peace I will both lie down and sleep”). Ps 62 then fits the next-step stance for the new day: quiet waiting, settled trust, and teaching others (“Trust in Him at all times, people”), as opposition persists. - Festival/harvest and wealth: Ps 4 mentions grain and wine abounding, relativizing material plenty against God-given joy. Ps 62 generalizes the same caution: if wealth increases, don’t set your heart on it; God alone is refuge and the one who repays justly. Same social-religious concern, broadened. - Performance notes: Both are “for the choir director,” with specific musical ascriptions (בְּנְגִינוֹת; עַל־יְדוּתוּן), supporting the idea they could be intentionally paired or sequenced in a liturgical setting. Summary of why Psalm 62 “follows” Psalm 4 - Lexically, they share several striking, rarer, and identical forms at key junctures (כָזָב; דמם family; בִּטְחוּ; לְבַבְכֶם; כְּבוֹדִי; בני איש), including the same rhetorical “How long?” and structurally aligned Selah breaks after exposing deceit. - Formally, both move from personal appeal to confronting deceivers to instructing the audience, with Psalm 62 expanding Psalm 4’s imperatives into full communal teaching and wisdom closure. - Thematically, Psalm 62 provides the realized inner silence, the stabilized glory, the clarified object of trust, and the heard divine word that Psalm 4 seeks. - In plausible life/liturgy, Psalm 62 is the morning/daylong posture that naturally succeeds Psalm 4’s evening trust. On these grounds—lexical, structural, thematic, and liturgical—Psalm 62 can be argued to follow Psalm 4 as a deliberate continuation and deepening of its message.
Evaluation
No evaluation has been recorded for this pair yet.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 4 and Psalm 62 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 62 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 62:
Psalm 62
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
עַֽל־
יְדוּת֗וּן
מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. אַ֣ךְ
אֶל־
אֱ֭לֹהִים
דּֽוּמִיָּ֣ה
נַפְשִׁ֑י
מִ֝מֶּ֗נּוּ
יְשׁוּעָתִֽי׃
3. אַךְ־
ה֣וּא
צ֭וּרִי
וִֽישׁוּעָתִ֑י
מִ֝שְׂגַּבִּ֗י
לֹא־
אֶמּ֥וֹט
רַבָּֽה׃
4. עַד־
אָ֤נָה ׀
תְּה֥וֹתְת֣וּ
עַלc
אִישׁ֮
תְּרָצְּח֢וּ
כֻ֫לְּכֶ֥ם
כְּקִ֥יר
נָט֑וּי
גָּ֝דֵ֗ר
הַדְּחוּֽיָה׃
5. אַ֤ךְ
מִשְּׂאֵת֨וֹ ׀
יָ֥עֲצ֣וּ
לְהַדִּיחַ֮
יִרְצ֢וּ
כָ֫זָ֥ב
בְּפִ֥יו
יְבָרֵ֑כוּ
וּ֝בְקִרְבָּ֗ם
יְקַלְלוּ־
סֶֽלָה׃
6. אַ֣ךְ
לֵ֭אלֹהִים
דּ֣וֹמִּי
נַפְשִׁ֑י
כִּי־
מִ֝מֶּ֗נּוּ
תִּקְוָתִֽי׃
7. אַךְ־
ה֣וּא
צ֭וּרִי
וִֽישׁוּעָתִ֑י
מִ֝שְׂגַּבִּ֗י
לֹ֣א
אֶמּֽוֹט׃
8. עַל־
אֱ֭לֹהִים
יִשְׁעִ֣י
וּכְבוֹדִ֑י
צוּר־
עֻזִּ֥י
מַ֝חְסִ֗י
בֵּֽאלֹהִֽים׃
9. בִּטְח֘וּ
ב֤וֹ
בְכָל־
עֵ֨ת ׀
עָ֗ם
שִׁפְכֽוּ־
לְפָנָ֥יו
לְבַבְכֶ֑ם
אֱלֹהִ֖ים
מַחֲסֶה־
לָּ֣נוּ
סֶֽלָה׃
10. אַ֤ךְ ׀
הֶ֥בֶל
בְּנֵֽי־
אָדָם֮
כָּזָ֢ב
בְּנֵ֫י
אִ֥ישׁ
בְּמֹאזְנַ֥יִם
לַעֲל֑וֹת
הֵ֝֗מָּה
מֵהֶ֥בֶל
יָֽחַד׃
11. אַל־
תִּבְטְח֣וּ
בְעֹשֶׁק֮
וּבְגָזֵ֢ל
אַל־
תֶּ֫הְבָּ֥לוּ
חַ֤יִל ׀
כִּֽי־
יָנ֑וּב
אַל־
תָּשִׁ֥יתוּ
לֵֽב׃
12. אַחַ֤ת ׀
דִּבֶּ֬ר
אֱלֹהִ֗ים
שְׁתַּֽיִם־
ז֥וּ
שָׁמָ֑עְתִּי
כִּ֥י
עֹ֝֗ז
לֵאלֹהִֽים׃
13. וּלְךָֽ־
אֲדֹנָ֥י
חָ֑סֶד
כִּֽי־
אַתָּ֨ה
תְשַׁלֵּ֖ם
לְאִ֣ישׁ
כְּֽמַעֲשֵֽׂהוּ׃