Psalm 4 → 107
Reasoning: 8768 Output: 7109 Total: 15877
Argument
Short version: Psalm 107 reads like the communal, historical answer to the private, nighttime prayer of Psalm 4. The key moves of Psalm 4—cry in straits, divine attention, right sacrifice and trust, inner joy and stillness, secure dwelling—are expanded and dramatized in Psalm 107’s four case studies and its public thanksgiving. The link is reinforced by multiple shared and rarer Hebrew lexemes, repeated collocations, and parallel liturgical logic. Details (grouped by kind of evidence; the strongest lexical ties are listed first) 1) Distress → widening/rescue (identical forms and closely paired ideas) - Identical form: בַצַּר “in distress.” Ps 4:2 בַּצָּר הִרְחַבְתָּ לִּי; Ps 107’s refrain (vv. 6, 13, 19, 28) וַיִּצְעֲקוּ … בַּצַּר לָהֶם “they cried … in their distress.” - Tightness vs. spaciousness: Ps 4:2 pairs “distress” (צַר) with “you made [it] wide for me” (הִרְחַבְתָּ). Ps 107 repeatedly uses the cognate “straits/tight places” מְצֻקוֹת (vv. 6, 13, 19, 28) from the same semantic field (narrowness) and answers with rescue verbs (יַצִּילֵם/יוֹשִׁיעֵם/יוֹצִיאֵם). Conceptually, 107 universalizes 4’s “from narrowness to breadth.” 2) Stillness/calm (rare root, strong) - Same root דמם “be still.” Ps 4:5 וְדֹמּוּ “be still” (imperative, private bed); Ps 107:29 לִדְמָמָה “to a calm” (sea stilled), v. 30 יִשְׁתֹּקוּ “they become quiet,” v. 29 וַיֶּחֱשׁוּ “they are hushed.” Psalm 107 turns the interior stillness of Ps 4 into cosmic/oceanic stillness. 3) Sacrifice and liturgical outcome (identical construction, functional sequel) - Same verb and construct: “זָבַח” + “זִבְחֵי־X.” - Ps 4:6 זִבְח֥וּ זִבְחֵי־צֶדֶק “offer sacrifices of righteousness” (imperative). - Ps 107:22 וְיִזְבְּחוּ זִבְחֵי תוֹדָה “let them sacrifice thanksgiving sacrifices” (jussive), with the expected todah-behavior: וְיסַפְּרוּ מַעֲשָׂיו בְּרִנָּה. Psalm 107 shows the communal fulfillment of Psalm 4’s instruction. 4) “Good” sought vs. “Good” confessed and given (tight question→answer) - Q → A: Ps 4:7 רַבִּים אֹמְרִים מִי־יַרְאֵנוּ טוֹב “Many say, ‘Who will show us good?’”; Ps 107:1 הֹדוּ לַיהוָה כִּי־טוֹב “Give thanks to YHWH, for he is good,” and v. 9 מִלֵּא־טוֹב “He fills [the hungry] with good.” 107 explicitly answers the question posed in 4. - Speech frame link: Ps 4:7 “רַבִּים אֹמְרִים …” vs. Ps 107:2 יֹאמְרוּ גְּאוּלֵי יְהוָה “Let the redeemed of YHWH say…”—what people ought to say in 107 answers what “many” are saying in 4. 5) Seeing (same root, pointed response) - Same root ראה: Ps 4:7 “מִי־יַרְאֵנוּ טוֹב” (Hiphil “who will cause us to see good?”); Ps 107:24 הֵמָּה רָאוּ מַעֲשֵׂי יְהוָה “they saw the deeds of YHWH,” and v. 42 יִרְאוּ יְשָׁרִים “the upright will see.” 107 supplies the ‘seeing’ 4 longs for. 6) Joy (same root) - Ps 4:8 נָתַתָּה שִׂמְחָה בְלִבִּי “You gave joy in my heart.” - Ps 107:30 וַיִּשְׂמְחוּ “they rejoiced,” and v. 42 וְיִשְׂמָחוּ “and [they] rejoice.” Private joy (4) becomes communal joy (107). 7) Sleep/safety → haven/settlement (shared root ישב and settled-security motif) - Ps 4:9 “בְּשָׁלוֹם … אֶשְׁכְּבָה וְאִישָׁן … לָבֶטַח תּוֹשִׁיבֵנִי” (Hiphil of ישב: “you make me dwell in safety”). - Ps 107:7 “אֶל־עִיר מוֹשָׁב” (twice; a settled “city of habitation”), v. 36 “וַיּוֹשֶׁב שָׁם רְעֵבִים,” v. 32 “וּבְמוֹשַׁב זְקֵנִים.” The individual’s safe “lying down” and God’s “making me dwell secure” become a people settled in secure habitations; the sea story climaxes with arrival at a safe harbor (vv. 30–31). The rest of Ps 4 is echoed by 107’s “calm harbor” and “dwelling.” 8) Heart-language and interiority (same noun) - Ps 4:5 אִמְרוּ בִלְבַבְכֶם …; v. 8 בְלִבִּי. - Ps 107:12 וַיַּכְנַע … לִבָּם “he bowed down their heart.” Both psalms target the heart’s posture as the locus of right response. 9) Hesed/hasid interplay (root-related theme of covenant loyalty) - Ps 4:4 הִפְלָה יְהוָה חָסִיד לוֹ “YHWH has set apart his ḥasid.” (hasid = one in loyal relationship) - Ps 107:1, 8, 15, 21, 31; 43 “חַסְדּוֹ / חַסְדֵי יְהוָה” dominate the refrain. The individual hasid of 4 is now multiplied into a congregation that publicly celebrates YHWH’s hesed. (Note: 4:4 uses פלה “set apart,” distinct from פלא “wonders” that appears in 107, but the proximity of ḥasid/ḥesed is thematic.) 10) Audience address and wisdom framing (formal similarity) - Ps 4 exhorts: “רִגְזוּ וְאַל־תֶּחֱטָאוּ … זִבְחוּ … וּבִטְחוּ” (imperatives to the audience). - Ps 107 concludes with wisdom appeal: “מִי־חָכָם וְיִשְׁמָר־אֵלֶּה וְיִתְבּוֹנְנוּ חַסְדֵי יְהוָה” (v. 43). Both psalms mix prayer with didactic exhortation, ending by instructing hearers how to respond properly. 11) “Sons of man” frame (near-formulaic echo) - Ps 4:3 בְּנֵי־אִישׁ (address to “sons of man”), critiquing their love of “ריק/כזב.” - Ps 107’s refrain addresses the same human horizon: “לִבְנֵי אָדָם” (vv. 8, 15, 21, 31). Not identical nouns (איש/אדם), but the “sons of X” frame ties both to universal human experience; 107 corrects the vanity of 4 by rehearsing God’s real wonders. 12) Life-setting and liturgical logic (how 107 “follows” 4 in practice) - Evening-to-assembly arc: Ps 4 is an evening prayer (“on your beds… be still”; “I lie down and sleep”) that resolves in trust and joy. Ps 107 is the next public step: the rescued gather, bring their todah offerings (זִבְחֵי תוֹדָה), and tell God’s deeds “בִּקְהַל־עָם … וּבְמוֹשַׁב זְקֵנִים” (v. 32). Private vow and inner quiet in 4 flower into public thanksgiving and testimony in 107—the classic todah sequence (cry → rescue → vow fulfillment) known in Israelite worship. - Historical universalization: Ps 4 speaks from an individual crisis with opponents who love “worthlessness” and “lies.” Ps 107 maps that pattern onto Israel’s corporate story (wilderness wandering, imprisonment, sickness, and the sea)—the same distress→cry→deliverance→praise logic scaled up to the nation. Summary of the strongest lexical hooks by your criteria - Identical, relatively marked forms: בַצַּר (Ps 4:2; Ps 107:6, 13, 19, 28); the “זִבְחֵי־X” construct with the same verb זבח (Ps 4:6; Ps 107:22); root דמם in both (Ps 4:5; Ps 107:29). - Same roots, same word-class: ראה (Ps 4:7 Hiphil; Ps 107:24, 42 Qal); שמח (Ps 4:8; Ps 107:30, 42); ישב (Ps 4:9 Hiphil; Ps 107:7, 32, 36 in noun/verb collocations); לב (Ps 4:5, 8; Ps 107:12). - Thematic complementarity: “Who will show us good?” (Ps 4) → “Give thanks … for He is good … He fills the hungry with good” (Ps 107). “Be still” on your bed (Ps 4) → “He makes the storm a calm” and brings to a quiet haven (Ps 107). “Offer right sacrifice” (Ps 4) → “Sacrifice thanksgiving” and recount His deeds (Ps 107). Taken together, Psalm 107 reads as a communal, historical, and liturgical amplification of Psalm 4’s nighttime trust: it answers the question of “the good,” enacts the sacrifice and praise demanded, and extends the individual’s stillness and safety into the public calm of God’s redeemed people.
Evaluation
Score: 6.5
Evaluated at: 2025-11-11T04:04:57 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 4096 Output: 7940 Total: 12036
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 4.5 / 10
Accurate, verse-anchored links (בצר, דמם, זִבְחֵי‑X, טוב Q→A) and plausible private→public rationale. But motifs/lexemes are common across Psalms and no editorial marker links 4→107. No cap applied.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 4 and Psalm 107 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 107 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 107:
Psalm 107
1. הֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
כִּי־
ט֑וֹב
כִּ֖י
לְעוֹלָ֣ם
חַסְדּֽוֹ׃
2. יֹ֭אמְרוּ
גְּאוּלֵ֣י
יְהוָ֑ה
אֲשֶׁ֥ר
גְּ֝אָלָ֗ם
מִיַּד־
צָֽר׃
3. וּֽמֵאֲרָצ֗וֹת
קִ֫בְּצָ֥ם
מִמִּזְרָ֥ח
וּמִֽמַּעֲרָ֑ב
מִצָּפ֥וֹן
וּמִיָּֽם׃
4. תָּע֣וּ
בַ֭מִּדְבָּר
בִּישִׁימ֣וֹן
דָּ֑רֶךְ
עִ֥יר
מ֝וֹשָׁ֗ב
לֹ֣א
מָצָֽאוּ׃
5. רְעֵבִ֥ים
גַּם־
צְמֵאִ֑ים
נַ֝פְשָׁ֗ם
בָּהֶ֥ם
תִּתְעַטָּֽף׃
6. וַיִּצְעֲק֣וּ
אֶל־
יְ֭הוָה
בַּצַּ֣ר
לָהֶ֑ם
מִ֝מְּצֽוּקוֹתֵיהֶ֗ם
יַצִּילֵֽם׃
7. וַ֭יַּֽדְרִיכֵם
בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ
יְשָׁרָ֑ה
לָ֝לֶ֗כֶת
אֶל־
עִ֥יר
מוֹשָֽׁב׃
8. יוֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
חַסְדּ֑וֹ
וְ֝נִפְלְאוֹתָ֗יו
לִבְנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
9. כִּי־
הִ֭שְׂבִּיעַ
נֶ֣פֶשׁ
שֹׁקֵקָ֑ה
וְנֶ֥פֶשׁ
רְ֝עֵבָה
מִלֵּא־
טֽוֹב׃
10. יֹ֭שְׁבֵי
חֹ֣שֶׁךְ
וְצַלְמָ֑וֶת
אֲסִירֵ֖י
עֳנִ֣י
וּבַרְזֶֽל׃
11. כִּֽי־
הִמְר֥וּ
אִמְרֵי־
אֵ֑ל
וַעֲצַ֖ת
עֶלְי֣וֹן
נָאָֽצוּ׃
12. וַיַּכְנַ֣ע
בֶּעָמָ֣ל
לִבָּ֑ם
כָּ֝שְׁל֗וּ
וְאֵ֣ין
עֹזֵֽר׃
13. וַיִּזְעֲק֣וּ
אֶל־
יְ֭הוָה
בַּצַּ֣ר
לָהֶ֑ם
מִ֝מְּצֻֽקוֹתֵיהֶ֗ם
יוֹשִׁיעֵֽם׃
14. יֽ֭וֹצִיאֵם
מֵחֹ֣שֶׁךְ
וְצַלְמָ֑וֶת
וּמוֹסְר֖וֹתֵיהֶ֣ם
יְנַתֵּֽק׃
15. יוֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
חַסְדּ֑וֹ
וְ֝נִפְלְאוֹתָ֗יו
לִבְנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
16. כִּֽי־
שִׁ֭בַּר
דַּלְת֣וֹת
נְחֹ֑שֶׁת
וּבְרִיחֵ֖י
בַרְזֶ֣ל
גִּדֵּֽעַ׃
17. אֱ֭וִלִים
מִדֶּ֣רֶךְ
פִּשְׁעָ֑ם
וּֽ֝מֵעֲוֺ֥נֹתֵיהֶ֗םt
יִתְעַנּֽוּ׃
18. כָּל־
אֹ֭כֶל
תְּתַעֵ֣ב
נַפְשָׁ֑ם
וַ֝יַּגִּ֗יעוּ
עַד־
שַׁ֥עֲרֵי
מָֽוֶת׃
19. וַיִּזְעֲק֣וּ
אֶל־
יְ֭הוָה
בַּצַּ֣ר
לָהֶ֑ם
מִ֝מְּצֻֽקוֹתֵיהֶ֗ם
יוֹשִׁיעֵֽם׃
20. יִשְׁלַ֣ח
דְּ֭בָרוֹ
וְיִרְפָּאֵ֑ם
וִֽ֝ימַלֵּ֗ט
מִשְּׁחִיתוֹתָֽם׃
8
21. יוֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
חַסְדּ֑וֹ
וְ֝נִפְלְאוֹתָ֗יו
לִבְנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
8
22. וְ֭יִזְבְּחוּ
זִבְחֵ֣י
תוֹדָ֑ה
וִֽיסַפְּר֖וּ
מַעֲשָׂ֣יו
בְּרִנָּֽה׃
8
23. יוֹרְדֵ֣י
הַ֭יָּם
בָּאֳנִיּ֑וֹת
עֹשֵׂ֥י
מְ֝לָאכָ֗ה
בְּמַ֣יִם
רַבִּֽים׃
8
24. הֵ֣מָּה
רָ֭אוּ
מַעֲשֵׂ֣י
יְהוָ֑ה
וְ֝נִפְלְאוֹתָ֗יו
בִּמְצוּלָֽה׃
8
25. וַיֹּ֗אמֶר
וַֽ֭יַּעֲמֵד
ר֣וּחַ
סְעָרָ֑ה
וַתְּרוֹמֵ֥ם
גַּלָּֽיו׃
8
26. יַעֲל֣וּ
שָׁ֭מַיִם
יֵרְד֣וּ
תְהוֹמ֑וֹת
נַ֝פְשָׁ֗ם
בְּרָעָ֥ה
תִתְמוֹגָֽג׃
27. יָח֣וֹגּוּ
וְ֭יָנוּעוּ
כַּשִּׁכּ֑וֹר
וְכָל־
חָ֝כְמָתָ֗ם
תִּתְבַּלָּֽע׃
28. וַיִּצְעֲק֣וּ
אֶל־
יְ֭הוָה
בַּצַּ֣ר
לָהֶ֑ם
וּֽ֝מִמְּצֽוּקֹתֵיהֶ֗ם
יוֹצִיאֵֽם׃
29. יָקֵ֣ם
סְ֭עָרָה
לִדְמָמָ֑ה
וַ֝יֶּחֱשׁ֗וּ
גַּלֵּיהֶֽם׃
30. וַיִּשְׂמְח֥וּ
כִֽי־
יִשְׁתֹּ֑קוּ
וַ֝יַּנְחֵ֗ם
אֶל־
מְח֥וֹז
חֶפְצָֽם׃
31. יוֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
חַסְדּ֑וֹ
וְ֝נִפְלְאוֹתָ֗יו
לִבְנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
32. וִֽ֭ירֹמְמוּהוּ
בִּקְהַל־
עָ֑ם
וּבְמוֹשַׁ֖ב
זְקֵנִ֣ים
יְהַלְלֽוּהוּ׃
33. יָשֵׂ֣ם
נְהָר֣וֹת
לְמִדְבָּ֑ר
וּמֹצָ֥אֵי
מַ֝֗יִם
לְצִמָּאֽוֹן׃
34. אֶ֣רֶץ
פְּ֭רִי
לִמְלֵחָ֑ה
מֵ֝רָעַ֗ת
יֹ֣שְׁבֵי
בָֽהּ׃
35. יָשֵׂ֣ם
מִ֭דְבָּר
לַֽאֲגַם־
מַ֑יִם
וְאֶ֥רֶץ
צִ֝יָּ֗ה
לְמֹצָ֥אֵי
מָֽיִם׃
36. וַיּ֣וֹשֶׁב
שָׁ֣ם
רְעֵבִ֑ים
וַ֝יְכוֹנְנ֗וּ
עִ֣יר
מוֹשָֽׁב׃
37. וַיִּזְרְע֣וּ
שָׂ֭דוֹת
וַיִּטְּע֣וּ
כְרָמִ֑ים
וַ֝יַּעֲשׂ֗וּ
פְּרִ֣י
תְבֽוּאָה׃
38. וַיְבָרֲכֵ֣ם
וַיִּרְבּ֣וּ
מְאֹ֑ד
וּ֝בְהֶמְתָּ֗ם
לֹ֣א
יַמְעִֽיט׃
39. וַיִּמְעֲט֥וּ
וַיָּשֹׁ֑חוּ
מֵעֹ֖צֶר
רָעָ֣ה
וְיָגֽוֹן׃
8
40. שֹׁפֵ֣ךְ
בּ֭וּז
עַל־
נְדִיבִ֑ים
וַ֝יַּתְעֵ֗ם
בְּתֹ֣הוּ
לֹא־
דָֽרֶךְ׃
41. וַיְשַׂגֵּ֣ב
אֶבְי֣וֹן
מֵע֑וֹנִי
וַיָּ֥שֶׂם
כַּ֝צֹּ֗אן
מִשְׁפָּחֽוֹת׃
42. יִרְא֣וּ
יְשָׁרִ֣ים
וְיִשְׂמָ֑חוּ
וְכָל־
עַ֝וְלָ֗ה
קָ֣פְצָה
פִּֽיהָ׃
43. מִי־
חָכָ֥ם
וְיִשְׁמָר־
אֵ֑לֶּה
וְ֝יִתְבּֽוֹנְנ֗וּ
חַֽסְדֵ֥י
יְהוָֽה׃