Psalm 6 → 28
Reasoning: 8512 Output: 4586 Total: 13098
Argument
Here are mutually reinforcing ways to argue that Psalm 28 can be read as a logical sequel to Psalm 6. Direct lexical/formulaic ties (ranked by strength) - Identical rare phrase (very strong): “פֹעֲלֵי אָוֶן” - Ps 6:9 סוּרוּ מִמֶּנִּי כָּל־פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן - Ps 28:3 אַל־תִּמְשְׁכֵנִי … וְעִם־פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן - Same exact noun phrase, same morphology. In the Psalter this collocation is comparatively marked; its reappearance here strongly links the two psalms and keeps the same adversary group in view. In Ps 6 the speaker expels them; in Ps 28 he asks God not to be counted with them, i.e., to complete the separation. - Hearing-formula with the same components (strong): שׁמע + קוֹל + תחנונ/תחינה - Ps 6:9–10 שָׁמַע יְהוָה קוֹל בִּכְיִי; שָׁמַע יְהוָה תְּחִנָּתִי; יְהוָה תְּפִלָּתִי יִקָּח - Ps 28:2 שְׁמַע קוֹל תַּחֲנוּנַי; 28:6 בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה כִּי־שָׁמַע קוֹל תַּחֲנוּנָי - The string “שׁמע … קוֹל … תַּחֲנוּנַי/תְּחִנָּתִי” (same root, same word class) recurs; Ps 28:6 virtually answers Ps 6:9–10 with the same diction. - Same salvation root ישע in identical imperative morphology (strong): - Ps 6:5 הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי - Ps 28:9 הוֹשִׁיעָה …; 28:8 יְשׁוּעוֹת - The plea for rescue in Ps 6 returns in Ps 28, then broadens to the people. - Same root שוב in parallel imperatives (moderately strong): - Ps 6:5 שׁוּבָה יְהוָה …; v. 11 יָשֻׁבוּ יֵבֹשׁוּ רָגַע - Ps 28:4 הָשֵׁב גְּמוּלָם לָהֶם - Both psalms deploy שוב to ask God to “turn” (to the supplicant in Ps 6; against the wicked in Ps 28), creating a fitting next-step development. Shared motifs and near-synonyms - Threat of death/underworld (strong thematic bridge): - Ps 6:6 “בַּמָּוֶת … בִשְׁאוֹל” (death/Sheol); “מי יוֹדֶה לָּךְ?” - Ps 28:1 “וְנִמְשַׁלְתִּי עִם־יוֹרְדֵי בוֹר” (the Pit as Sheol-synonym) - The move from fearing death’s silence (Ps 6) to being spared the Pit (Ps 28) undergirds a sequential reading. - Silence vs. hearing (tight conceptual hinge): - Ps 6 climaxes in “YHWH has heard” (שָׁמַע) my plea. - Ps 28 opens with the dread of divine silence (אַל־תֶּחֱרַשׁ; פֶן־תֶּחֱשֶׁה) but immediately reaffirms that YHWH has indeed heard (v. 6). This tension-resolution structure naturally continues the end of Ps 6. - Separation from evildoers (concept carried forward): - Ps 6:9 the speaker himself orders separation: “סוּרוּ מִמֶּנִּי כָל־פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן.” - Ps 28:3 he asks God to effect the separation judicially: “אַל־תִּמְשְׁכֵנִי עִם־רְשָׁעִים וְעִם־פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן.” - Lament-to-praise arc fulfilled: - Ps 6:6 argues “Who praises you in Sheol?” and asserts in faith that God has heard. - Ps 28:7 realizes the argument: “וַיַּעֲלֹז לִבִּי וּמִשִּׁירִי אֲהוֹדֶנּוּ” — he now actually offers the song of thanks that Ps 6 had made the case for. Form and structure - Both are individual laments that pivot sharply to confidence and praise near the end: - Ps 6: vv. 2–8 complaint/petition; vv. 9–11 confidence/judgment on enemies. - Ps 28: vv. 1–5 petition; vv. 6–9 blessing/praise and communal benediction. - Ps 28’s praise section reads like the liturgical completion of Ps 6’s confidence section. - Cultic progression (private crisis → temple thanksgiving): - Ps 6 is home-bound, nocturnal, and illness-coded (“מִטָּתִי … עַרְשִׂי,” “רְפָאֵנִי”). - Ps 28 is temple-facing: “בְּנָשְׂאִי יָדַי אֶל־דְּבִיר קָדְשֶׁךָ.” - In ancient Israel, a sick person’s lament often culminated in a votive thanksgiving at the sanctuary. Ps 28 fits that second, cultic phase. Events and roles in Israelite life - From individual deliverance to royal/intercessory scope: - Ps 6 is purely individual. - Ps 28 closes with royal tones and corporate intercession: “יְהוָה … מָעוֹז יְשׁוּעוֹת מְשִׁיחוֹ … הוֹשִׁיעָה אֶת־עַמֶּךָ … וְנַשְּׂאֵם עַד־עוֹלָם.” - If David is the speaker in both, Ps 28 is the king’s public thanksgiving and blessing of the people after the private rescue prayed for in Ps 6. Semantic antitheses that resolve across the pair - “עַד־מָתַי?” (Ps 6:4) shifts to “עַד־עוֹלָם” (Ps 28:9). The cry of impatience becomes a promise of sustained divine shepherding. - Internal collapse vs. internal joy: “נִבְהֲלוּ עֲצָמָי … נַפְשִׁי נִבְהֲלָה” (Ps 6:3–4) answered by “בּוֹ בָטַח לִבִּי … וַיַּעֲלֹז לִבִּי” (Ps 28:7). - In Ps 6 enemies will be “יֵבֹשׁוּ וְיִבָּהֲלוּ” immediately; in Ps 28 the judicial form is spelled out: “תֶּן־לָהֶם כְּפָעֳלָם … יֶהֶרְסֵם וְלֹא יִבְנֵם.” Stylistic commonalities - Davidic framing in both superscriptions. - Dense use of second-person vocatives and imperatives to YHWH (אַל־ + jussive/imperative; שְׁמַע; הוֹשִׁיעָה/הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי; שׁוּבָה). - Rapid movement from lament to declarative confidence, characteristic of many Davidic laments, but here with especially tight lexical stitching (פֹעֲלֵי אָוֶן; שׁמע/קוֹל/תחנּה; ישע; שוב). Why the sequence “6 → 28” is especially fitting - Ps 6 ends by asserting, in faith, that YHWH has heard; Ps 28 states that YHWH has in fact heard and now receives sung praise. The fulfillment language in Ps 28:6–7 (“כִּי־שָׁמַע … וּמִשִּׁירִי אֲהוֹדֶנּוּ”) is exactly what Ps 6 had argued for and anticipated. - The identical adversary label פֹעֲלֵי אָוֶן reappears, but the agency shifts: from the psalmist’s expulsion (סוּרוּ מִמֶּנִּי) to God’s juridical sorting (“אַל־תִּמְשְׁכֵנִי עִם …”), a natural next step after private relief. - The cultic move from bed-bound tears (Ps 6) to lifted hands toward the debir (Ps 28) mirrors a known pattern of crisis vow and sanctuary thanksgiving in Israelite practice. In sum, the two psalms share marked vocabulary and formulas (especially פֹעֲלֵי אָוֶן; שׁמע/קוֹל/תחנּה; ישע; שוב), exhibit the same lament→confidence design, move from fear of Sheol/Pit to enacted praise, and progress from private deliverance to public/royal blessing. Those links make a strong case that Psalm 28 can be read as the narrative and liturgical follow-up to Psalm 6.
Evaluation
Score: 6.5
Evaluated at: 2025-11-19T04:00:10 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 3456 Output: 5432 Total: 8888
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 4.0 / 10
Multiple exact, verifiable links (פֹעֲלֵי אָוֶן; שְׁמַע קוֹל תַחֲנוּנַי) plus coherent progression (Sheol→pit, lament→praise). However, vocabulary is common elsewhere and Ps 27–28 pairing is stronger; no editorial marker. No caps.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 6 and Psalm 28 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 28 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 28:
Psalm 28
1. לְדָוִ֡ד
אֵ֘לֶ֤יךָ
יְהוָ֨ה ׀
אֶקְרָ֗א
צוּרִי֮
אַֽל־
תֶּחֱרַ֢שׁ
מִּ֫מֶּ֥נִּי
פֶּן־
תֶּֽחֱשֶׁ֥ה
מִמֶּ֑נִּי
וְ֝נִמְשַׁ֗לְתִּי
עִם־
י֥וֹרְדֵי
בֽוֹר׃
2. שְׁמַ֤ע
ק֣וֹל
תַּ֭חֲנוּנַי
בְּשַׁוְּעִ֣י
אֵלֶ֑יךָ
בְּנָשְׂאִ֥י
יָ֝דַ֗י
אֶל־
דְּבִ֥יר
קָדְשֶֽׁךָ׃
3. אַל־
תִּמְשְׁכֵ֣נִי
עִם־
רְשָׁעִים֮
וְעִם־
פֹּ֢עֲלֵ֫י
אָ֥וֶן
דֹּבְרֵ֣י
שָׁ֭לוֹם
עִם־
רֵֽעֵיהֶ֑ם
וְ֝רָעָ֗ה
בִּלְבָבָֽם׃
4. תֶּן־
לָהֶ֣ם
כְּפָעֳלָם֮
וּכְרֹ֢עַ
מַֽעַלְלֵ֫יהֶ֥ם
כְּמַעֲשֵׂ֣ה
יְ֭דֵיהֶם
תֵּ֣ן
לָהֶ֑ם
הָשֵׁ֖ב
גְּמוּלָ֣ם
לָהֶֽם׃
5. כִּ֤י
לֹ֤א
יָבִ֡ינוּ
אֶל־
פְּעֻלֹּ֣ת
יְ֭הוָה
וְאֶל־
מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה
יָדָ֑יו
יֶ֝הֶרְסֵ֗ם
וְלֹ֣א
יִבְנֵֽם׃
6. בָּר֥וּךְ
יְהוָ֑ה
כִּי־
שָׁ֝מַע
ק֣וֹל
תַּחֲנוּנָֽי׃
7. יְהוָ֤ה ׀
עֻזִּ֥י
וּמָגִנִּי֮
בּ֤וֹ
בָטַ֥ח
לִבִּ֗י
וְֽנֶ֫עֱזָ֥רְתִּי
וַיַּעֲלֹ֥ז
לִבִּ֑י
וּֽמִשִּׁירִ֥י
אֲהוֹדֶנּוּ׃c
8. יְהוָ֥ה
עֹֽז־
לָ֑מוֹ
וּמָ֘ע֤וֹז
יְשׁוּע֖וֹת
מְשִׁיח֣וֹ
הֽוּא׃
9. הוֹשִׁ֤יעָה ׀
אֶת־
עַמֶּ֗ךָ
וּבָרֵ֥ךְ
אֶת־
נַחֲלָתֶ֑ךָ
וּֽרְעֵ֥ם
וְ֝נַשְּׂאֵ֗ם
עַד־
הָעוֹלָֽם׃