Psalm 6 → 13

Reasoning: 5888 Output: 4360 Total: 10248

Argument

Short claim: Psalm 13 can be read as a deliberate “next step” after Psalm 6. Psalm 6 narrates an acute personal crisis (illness, terror, enemies) that moves to inner assurance that God has heard; Psalm 13 returns to the same cluster of problems after continued delay, intensifies the “how long?” complaint, and then lands in the same trust/praise resolution. The two share form, vocabulary, images, and theological logic, with several precise lexical hooks that make Psalm 13 sound like a reprise and development of Psalm 6.

Arguments, grouped by kind of evidence:

Form-critical and macro-structure
- Both are individual laments with the same basic sequence: address to YHWH → complaint → petition → confidence/trust → praise.
  - Psalm 6: complaint (vv. 2–4), petition (v. 5), rationale and complaint of death (v. 6), tears/enemies (vv. 7–8), assurance and enemy-shame (vv. 9–11).
  - Psalm 13: complaint with “how long” (vv. 2–3), petition (v. 4), enemy motif (v. 5), trust/vow of praise (v. 6).
- Both are “Davidic, to the choirmaster” pieces (Ps 6:1; Ps 13:1), suggesting the same liturgical stream in the collection.

Complaint-petition hook: “How long?”
- Psalm 6 introduces the impatient question: וְאַתָּה יְהוָה עַד־מָתָי “But you, YHWH—how long?” (6:4).
- Psalm 13 opens by amplifying this into the signature fourfold refrain: עַד־אָנָה … “How long…?” (13:2–3), naming the dimensions Psalm 6 implied: divine forgetfulness/hiding, inner turmoil, and enemy dominance.
- The shift from one “how long?” (6) to four “how longs?” (13) makes 13 read like an expansion and intensification of the same impatience first voiced in 6.

Death motif and the logic of rescue
- Psalm 6: “For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will praise you?” (כִּי אֵין בַּמָּוֶת זִכְרֶךָ; 6:6). This is a rationale: save me so I can keep praising.
- Psalm 13: “Light up my eyes lest I sleep the death” (הָאִירָה עֵינַי פֶּן־אִישַׁן הַמָּוֶת; 13:4). The same death-threat is now framed as imminent “death-sleep”; the “lest” (פֶּן) clauses in 13:4–5 mirror the motivational logic of 6:6.
- The imagery nuances match: Psalm 6 has the sickbed/night-of-tears (לַיְלָה … מִטָּתִי … עַרְשִׂי; 6:7), Psalm 13 fears that this night will become the final sleep (13:4). This reads naturally as a sequel.

Face/turning and divine relational stance
- Psalm 6: “Return, O YHWH” (שׁוּבָה יְהוָה; 6:5) implies God has “turned away.”
- Psalm 13 makes that implication explicit: “How long will you hide your face from me?” (עַד־אָנָה תַּסְתִּיר אֶת־פָּנֶיךָ מִמֶּנִּי; 13:2). The hester panim named in 13 is the condition to which the “return” of 6 responds.

Shared vocabulary and roots (identical roots and forms highlighted first)
- חסד “steadfast love”
  - 6:5 לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ “for the sake of your hesed.”
  - 13:6 בְּחַסְדְּךָ בָטַחְתִּי “I have trusted in your hesed.”
  - Same theologically weighty, relatively marked covenant term; Psalm 13 explicitly grounds trust in the very hesed invoked as motive in Psalm 6.
- ישׁע “save/salvation”
  - 6:5 הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי “save me.”
  - 13:6 בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ “in your salvation.”
  - Same root; verb in 6 becomes the noun “salvation” in 13’s trust refrain.
- נֶפֶשׁ “soul/life”
  - 6:5 חַלְּצָה נַפְשִׁי “deliver my soul.”
  - 6:4 וְנַפְשִׁי נִבְהֲלָה מְאֹד “my soul is greatly terrified.”
  - 13:3 בְּנַפְשִׁי “in my soul” (inner counsel and turmoil).
- עַיִן “eye(s)”
  - 6:8 עָשְׁשָׁה … עֵינִי “my eye wastes away.”
  - 13:4 הָאִירָה עֵינַי “light up my eyes.”
  - Same noun, contrasting states: dimmed eyes in 6, need for re-illumination in 13—clear thematic pickup.
- אויב/צר “enemy/adversary”
  - 6:8,11 צוֹרְרַי; אֹיְבַי “my adversaries/enemies.”
  - 13:3,5 אֹיְבִי … צָרַי “my enemy … my adversaries.”
  - Same conflict horizon continues; in 6 they end “ashamed/dismayed,” in 13 the psalmist fears they will “rejoice” unless God intervenes.
- מָוֶת “death”
  - 6:6 בַּמָּוֶת “in death.”
  - 13:4 הַמָּוֶת “death” (as sleep).
- זכר/שכח “remember/forget” conceptual pair
  - 6:6 זִכְרֶךָ “your remembrance” (by the worshiper).
  - 13:2 תִּשְׁכָּחֵנִי “will you forget me?” (by God).
  - The antithetical pairing is pointed: in 6 the psalmist argues he’ll remember/praise God if spared; in 13 he laments God’s forgetting—tight conceptual linkage.
- ידה/שיר “praise/sing”
  - 6:6 מִי יוֹדֶה־לָּךְ “who will give thanks to you [in Sheol]?”
  - 13:6 אָשִׁירָה לַיהוָה “I will sing to YHWH.”
  - Not the same root, but the same performative end: renewed praise as the telos of deliverance.

Rarer or more pointed expressions shared or in deliberate counterpoint
- The eyes motif with strong verbs is relatively marked: 6:8 “my eye is wasted” (עָשְׁשָׁה); 13:4 “light up my eyes” (הָאִירָה). The antithetic pairing of the same noun with vivid, less common verbs strengthens the intertextual tie.
- The pairing of “return, YHWH” (6:5) with “hide your face” (13:2) engages the covenantal “face” theology (Num 6; Deut 31) in two complementary ways—again a marked thematic echo.
- “Pen” lest-clauses in 13:4–5 (פֶּן־אִישַׁן; פֶּן־יֹאמַר) articulate explicitly the consequences that in 6 are implicit in the “for” (כִּי) clauses (6:6). This feels like a crafted development.

Progression of the enemy theme
- Psalm 6 ends with assurance: “All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly dismayed; they shall turn back, be ashamed in a moment” (6:11).
- Psalm 13 revisits the enemy pressure before that outcome is visible: “How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?” (13:3); “Lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed’ … my adversaries rejoice when I slip” (13:5).
- Read together, 13 sounds like the period of waiting between the inner assurance of 6 and its outward vindication.

Night-bed-sleep frame
- Psalm 6: night-long weeping on bed/couch (6:7) and eye failing (6:8).
- Psalm 13: the fear that sleep becomes death (13:4); request to “light the eyes” so that the nightly descent does not end in the underworld.
- In ancient Israelite experience (and wider ANE), illness often moves through cycles of nocturnal suffering, threat of death, and plea for divine attention; “sleep” as death and “eyes” as life-light are common metaphors. Psalm 13 reads like the next night in the same crisis scenario.

Resolution and vow of praise
- Psalm 6: triple assurance that YHWH has heard (שָׁמַע … שָׁמַע … יִקָּח; 6:9–10) → enemies shamed (6:11).
- Psalm 13: trust in hesed (בְּחַסְדְּךָ בָטַחְתִּי), joy in salvation (יָגֵל לִבִּי בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ), and vow to sing (אָשִׁירָה; 13:6).
- The closure of 13 revisits and reinforces the assurance pivot that ends 6, as if closing the same arc a second time.

Stylistic/poetic fingerprints
- Dense vocatives and imperatives addressed to YHWH: 6 (חָנֵּנִי; רְפָאֵנִי; שׁוּבָה; חַלְּצָה; הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי) and 13 (הַבִּיטָה; עֲנֵנִי; הָאִירָה). The pile-up of imperatives is a shared style.
- Rapid alternation between complaint and confidence—both psalms turn sharply from lament to trust/praise, a hallmark of Davidic laments.

A plausible life-setting sequence
- Psalm 6: acute illness and moral-spiritual crisis under perceived divine anger; the psalmist reaches inward assurance that God has heard.
- Psalm 13: time passes, outward circumstances (especially enemies) still threaten, and the psalmist wrestles with divine hiddenness and delay; he renews petition and, again, vows praise upon deliverance.
- This matches common Israelite patterns: prolonged illness or persecution, oscillation between despair and trust, covenantal appeal to God’s face and hesed, and public praise after rescue.

In sum: Specific lexical hooks (hesed, yasha, nefesh, ayin, mavet, oyev/tsar; the “how long” refrain; the death/praise logic; face/return interlock), matched form, and a coherent life-situation arc together justify reading Psalm 13 as a logical follow-up to Psalm 6: same crisis, same God, same language, next movement.

Evaluation

Score: 6.5

Evaluated at: 2025-11-18T04:05:21 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 4032 Output: 5193 Total: 9225

Vocabulary specificity: 4.0 / 10

Multiple precise links (6:4 ad‑mātai → 13:2–3; death/praise logic 6:6 ↔ 13:4–5; hesed/yasha/eyes lexemes). However, most are common lament motifs; no editorial marker; counterpoint not addressed. No cap.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 6 and Psalm 13 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 13 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 13:
Psalm 13
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ
        מִזְמ֥וֹר
        לְדָוִֽד׃
2. עַד־
        אָ֣נָה
        יְ֭הוָה
        תִּשְׁכָּחֵ֣נִי
        נֶ֑צַח
        עַד־
        אָ֓נָה ׀
        תַּסְתִּ֖יר
        אֶת־
        פָּנֶ֣יךָ
        מִמֶּֽנִיt
3. עַד־
        אָ֨נָה
        אָשִׁ֪ית
        עֵצ֡וֹת
        בְּנַפְשִׁ֗י
        יָג֣וֹן
        בִּלְבָבִ֣י
        יוֹמָ֑ם
        עַד־
        אָ֓נָה ׀
        יָר֖וּם
        אֹיְבִ֣י
        עָלָֽי׃
4. הַבִּ֣יטָֽה
        עֲ֭נֵנִי
        יְהוָ֣ה
        אֱלֹהָ֑י
        הָאִ֥ירָה
        עֵ֝ינַ֗י
        פֶּן־
        אִישַׁ֥ן
        הַמָּֽוֶת׃
5. פֶּן־
        יֹאמַ֣ר
        אֹיְבִ֣י
        יְכָלְתִּ֑יו
        צָרַ֥י
        יָ֝גִ֗ילוּ
        כִּ֣י
        אֶמּֽוֹט׃
6. וַאֲנִ֤י ׀
        בְּחַסְדְּךָ֣
        בָטַחְתִּי֮
        יָ֤גֵ֥ל
        לִבִּ֗י
        בִּֽישׁוּעָ֫תֶ֥ךָ
        אָשִׁ֥ירָה
        לַיהוָ֑ה
        כִּ֖י
        גָמַ֣ל
        עָלָֽי׃