Psalm 6 → 5
Reasoning: 5952 Output: 4088 Total: 10040
Argument
Here are converging reasons to read Psalm 5 as a logical sequel to Psalm 6. Formal and editorial cues - Same superscription frame: both are “למנצח … מזמור לדוד,” with a specific musical direction (Ps 6: “בנגינות על־השמינית”; Ps 5: “אל־הנחילות”). That shared rubric plus distinctive performance notes marks them as closely related compositions in a curated sequence. Macro-structure and life-setting - Night-to-morning sequence: - Psalm 6 is explicitly nocturnal and bedroom-bound: “בכל־לילה” … “מִטָּתִי … עַרְשִׂי” (6:7), a night of tears and terror. - Psalm 5 is explicitly a morning prayer: “בֹקר תשמע קולי … בֹקר אערך־לך ואצפה” (5:4). - This mirrors a common liturgical rhythm in ancient Israel (evening lament → morning petition/worship), and matches the logic “weeping lodges for a night; but joy comes in the morning” (Ps 30:6). - Movement from bedside to temple: - From the private sickbed (6:3–8) to public worship: “אבא ביתך … אשתחוה אל־היכל־קדשך” (5:8). The plea of Ps 6:5 “הושיעני למען חסדך” is realized by Ps 5:8 “ברב חסדך אבוא ביתך.” Thematic and rhetorical development - From divine anger to divine favor: - Psalm 6 opens, “אל־באפך תוכיחני ואל־בחמתך תיסרני” (6:2), i.e., “do not discipline me in wrath.” - Psalm 5 closes with favor encircling the righteous: “כצנה רצון תעטרנו” (5:13). The wrath sought to be averted in Ps 6 give way to protective favor in Ps 5. - From personal peril of death to the deathliness of the wicked: - Psalm 6: “כי אין במות זכרך; בשאול מי יודה־לך” (6:6)—the psalmist fears death will silence his praise. - Psalm 5: “קבר פתוח גרונם” (5:10)—the language of the grave is now applied to the enemies. The death-threat has shifted from “me” (Ps 6) to “them” (Ps 5). - From lament to confident worship and guidance: - Psalm 6 ends with assurance (“שמע יהוה … תפילתי יקח”; 6:9–10) and a ban on evildoers. - Psalm 5 begins from that assurance: “בֹקר תשמע קולי … אערך־לך ואצפה” (future-confidence), and asks for moral guidance: “נחני בצדקתך … הַישַׁר לפני דרכך” (5:9). High-weight lexical ties (identical forms and rarer items) - Exact phrase “פֹעֲלֵי אָוֶן”: - Ps 6:9 “סורו ממני כל־פֹעֲלֵי אָוֶן” - Ps 5:6 “שָׂנֵאתָ כל־פֹעֲלֵי אָוֶן” - This precise, relatively marked collocation strongly yokes the two psalms: the exclusion the psalmist enacts in Ps 6 coheres with God’s own stance in Ps 5. - שמע + קול cluster: - Ps 6:9 “שמע יהוה קול בכיי”; 6:10 “שמע יהוה תחנתי … תפילתי יקח” - Ps 5:2–4 “האֲזינה … בינה הגיגי; הקשיבה לקול שַׁוְעי … בֹקר תשמע קולי” - Same roots, same word-class, repeated collocation of קוֹל + שמע: the “heard” of Ps 6 (perfects) flows into the “you will hear” of Ps 5 (imperfect). - חסד as the ground of appeal: - Ps 6:5 “הושיעני למען חסדך” - Ps 5:8 “ברב חסדך אבוא ביתך” - Identical noun and theology: divine חסד motivates deliverance (Ps 6) and grants access to worship (Ps 5). - Prayer vocabulary: - Ps 6:10 “תפילתי יקח” - Ps 5:3 “אליך אתפלל” - Same root פלל; Ps 6’s confidence (“my prayer is accepted”) is enacted in Ps 5 (“to you I pray”). - Death/Sheol lexemes: - Ps 6: “במות … בשאול” (6:6) - Ps 5: “קבר פתוח גרונם” (5:10) - The grave imagery is uncommon and thematically stitching. - Enemies set and their fate: - Ps 6:11 “יבֹשו ויבהלו מאד כל־אויבי” - Ps 5:11–12 “האֲשִׁימם אלהים … ירננו … ותסך עלימו” - Judicial verbs (אש״ם, “declare guilty”) and downfall language in Ps 5 correspond to the shame/panic of enemies in Ps 6. Structural and stylistic continuities - Both are individual laments that contain: address to YHWH → complaint → petition → motivation (“כי…”) → assurance/judgment on enemies. The shared form makes them easy to read as contiguous episodes of one experience. - Body-part imagery shifts from the sufferer to the wicked: - Ps 6: עצמות, נפש, עין, מיטה/ערש—his own failing body and tears. - Ps 5: פה/גרון/לשון—“their” deceitful bodies as instruments of sin. This is a logical narrative turn from self-affliction to moral diagnosis of the opposition. - “How long?” to “I watch”: - Ps 6:4 “ואתה יהוה, עד־מתי?” - Ps 5:4 “בֹקר … ואצפה”—from anguished waiting to vigilant, hopeful watchfulness. A plausible narrative reading - Night: beset by sickness and enemies, the psalmist pleads for mercy (Ps 6), rejects the company of evildoers, and receives an inner assurance that YHWH has heard. - Morning: buoyed by that assurance, he goes to the temple “ברב חסדך,” lays out his prayer like an ordered offering (“אערך־לך”), seeks guidance, and entrusts the wicked to God’s judgment while the righteous rejoice under divine favor (Ps 5). Taken together, the night-to-morning liturgical arc, the shared and even identical lexemes (especially פֹעֲלֵי אָוֶן; שמע/קול; חסד; פלל), the matched poetic form, and the theological progression from averted wrath to encircling favor provide strong reasons to read Psalm 5 as a logical follow-on to Psalm 6.
Evaluation
Score: 6.5
Evaluated at: 2025-11-18T03:55:00 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 4160 Output: 4919 Total: 9079
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
Multiple precise links (פעלי און; night→morning 6:7 vs 5:4; חסד 6:5 vs 5:8; שמע/קול) suggest sequencing. Yet motifs are common, no decisive editorial marker, and canonical order is opposite. No caps triggered.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 6 and Psalm 5 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 5 logically follows on from Psalm 6? 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 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׃
Psalm 5:
Psalm 5
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
אֶֽל־
הַנְּחִיל֗וֹת
מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. אֲמָרַ֖י
הַאֲזִ֥ינָה ׀
יְהוָ֗ה
בִּ֣ינָה
הֲגִֽיגִי׃
3. הַקְשִׁ֤יבָה ׀
לְק֬וֹל
שַׁוְעִ֗י
מַלְכִּ֥י
וֵאלֹהָ֑י
כִּֽי־
אֵ֝לֶ֗יךָ
אֶתְפַּלָּֽל׃
4. יְֽהוָ֗ה
בֹּ֭קֶר
תִּשְׁמַ֣ע
קוֹלִ֑י
בֹּ֥קֶר
אֶֽעֱרָךְ־
לְ֝ךָ֗
וַאֲצַפֶּֽה׃
5. כִּ֤י ׀
לֹ֤א
אֵֽל־
חָפֵ֘ץ
רֶ֥שַׁע ׀
אָ֑תָּה
לֹ֖א
יְגֻרְךָ֣
רָֽע׃
6. לֹֽא־
יִתְיַצְּב֣וּ
הֽ֭וֹלְלִים
לְנֶ֣גֶד
עֵינֶ֑יךָ
שָׂ֝נֵ֗אתָ
כָּל־
פֹּ֥עֲלֵי
אָֽוֶן׃
7. תְּאַבֵּד֮
דֹּבְרֵ֢י
כָ֫זָ֥ב
אִישׁ־
דָּמִ֥ים
וּמִרְמָ֗ה
יְתָ֘עֵ֥ב ׀
יְהוָֽה׃
8. וַאֲנִ֗י
בְּרֹ֣ב
חַ֭סְדְּךָ
אָב֣וֹא
בֵיתֶ֑ךָ
אֶשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֥ה
אֶל־
הֵֽיכַל־
קָ֝דְשְׁךָ֗
בְּיִרְאָתֶֽךָ׃
9. יְהוָ֤ה ׀
נְחֵ֬נִי
בְצִדְקָתֶ֗ךָ
לְמַ֥עַן
שׁוֹרְרָ֑י
הושר
הַיְשַׁ֖ר
לְפָנַ֣י
דַּרְכֶּֽךָ׃
10. כִּ֤י
אֵ֪ין
בְּפִ֡יהוּ
נְכוֹנָה֮
קִרְבָּ֢ם
הַ֫וּ֥וֹת
קֶֽבֶר־
פָּת֥וּחַ
גְּרוֹנָ֑ם
לְ֝שׁוֹנָ֗ם
יַחֲלִֽיקוּן׃
11. הַֽאֲשִׁימֵ֨ם ׀
אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים
יִפְּלוּ֮
מִֽמֹּעֲצ֢וֹתֵ֫יהֶ֥ם
בְּרֹ֣ב
פִּ֭שְׁעֵיהֶם
הַדִּיחֵ֑מוֹ
כִּי־
מָ֥רוּ
בָֽךְ׃
12. וְיִשְׂמְח֨וּ
כָל־
ח֪וֹסֵי
בָ֡ךְ
לְעוֹלָ֣ם
יְ֭רַנֵּנוּ
וְתָסֵ֣ךְ
עָלֵ֑ימוֹ
וְֽיַעְלְצ֥וּ
בְ֝ךָ֗
אֹהֲבֵ֥י
שְׁמֶֽךָ׃
13. כִּֽי־
אַתָּה֮
תְּבָרֵ֢ךְ
צַ֫דִּ֥יק
יְהוָ֑ה
כַּ֝צִּנָּ֗ה
רָצ֥וֹן
תַּעְטְרֶֽנּוּ׃