Psalm 6 → 37

Reasoning: 8128 Output: 7095 Total: 15223

Argument

Thesis: Psalm 37 can be read as a wisdom “sequel” to the individual lament of Psalm 6. The personal crisis, prayer, and assurance of Psalm 6 are generalized and taught to the community in Psalm 37. The connection is strengthened by rare shared roots, identical or near-identical Hebrew forms, parallel commands, and a coherent life-situation sequence (from chastening and fear to tested, elder counsel about the fate of the wicked and the security of the righteous).

1) Form and voice: from lament to wisdom-teaching
- Psalm 6 is an individual lament/penitential prayer (1st person, direct petition).
- Psalm 37 is an alphabetic wisdom psalm (didactic imperatives and aphorisms).
- Logical flow: after God “hears” and delivers (Ps 6:9–11), the same voice turns to instruct others how to live through similar trials (Ps 37’s string of imperatives). Psalm 37:25 (“I was young, now I am old”) explicitly marks a later-life, reflective stance consistent with having endured earlier crises like Ps 6.

2) Rare and/or salient Hebrew connections (weighted by rarity and form)
- Shared rare root מל״ל “wither”
  - Ps 6:3 אֻמְלַל אני “I am withered/languishing.”
  - Ps 37:2 יִמָּלוּ “they will wither” (of the wicked like grass).
  - This root is uncommon; Ps 6 uses it of the speaker; Ps 37 generalizes it to the wicked: a tight, concept-and-root link from personal withering to the evildoers’ withering.

- Anger/wrath lexemes paired in mirror fashion
  - Ps 6:2 אַל־בְּאַפְּךָ תּוֹכִיחֵנִי וְאַל־בַּחֲמָתְךָ תְיַסְּרֵנִי “Do not rebuke me in your anger/your wrath.”
  - Ps 37:8 הֶרֶף מֵאַף וַעֲזֹב חֵמָה “Let go of anger; forsake wrath.”
  - Identical nouns (אַף, חֵמָה) recur; in Ps 6 the plea is that God’s anger relent; in Ps 37 the human is commanded to relinquish his own anger. This is a deliberate, elegant reversal that reads naturally as “what I learned in my crisis is what I now command you.”

- Identical form of “shame”
  - Ps 6:11 יֵבֹשׁוּ … כָּל־אֹיְבָי “Let all my enemies be ashamed.”
  - Ps 37:19 לֹא־יֵבֹשׁוּ בְּעֵת רָעָה “They (the righteous) shall not be ashamed in evil times.”
  - Same yiqtol form יֵבֹשׁוּ; Ps 6 calls for enemies to be shamed; Ps 37 promises the opposite outcome for the righteous.

- Imperative סוּר “turn aside”
  - Ps 6:9 סוּרוּ מִמֶּנִּי כָּל־פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן “Depart from me, all workers of iniquity.”
  - Ps 37:27 סוּר מֵרָע וַעֲשֵׂה־טוֹב “Turn from evil and do good.”
  - Same root and mood; Ps 6 expels evildoers; Ps 37 urges the audience itself to “turn” from evil.

- Salvation vocabulary (ישׁ״ע) and rescue
  - Ps 6:5 הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ “Save me for the sake of your steadfast love.”
  - Ps 37:39–40 וּתְשׁוּעַת צַדִּיקִים מֵיְהוָה … וְיוֹשִׁיעֵם “The salvation of the righteous is from YHWH … he saves them.”
  - Same root across verb and noun; what was asked for in Ps 6 is asserted and taught in Ps 37.

- חסד/חסיד linkage
  - Ps 6:5 לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ “for the sake of your hesed.”
  - Ps 37:28 לֹא־יַעֲזֹב אֶת־חֲסִידָיו “He will not forsake his ḥasidim.”
  - The theological basis (divine hesed) in Ps 6 becomes the identity of the community God keeps (his ḥasidim) in Ps 37.

- “Enemy/distress” root צר
  - Ps 6:8 בְּכָל־צוֹרְרָי “because of all my foes.”
  - Ps 37:39 מָעוּזָּם בְּעֵת צָרָה “their stronghold in time of distress.”
  - Same root (צ־ר) in different nouns captures the move from being pressed by foes to being protected in distress.

- “Enemy” noun shared
  - Ps 6:11 כָּל־אֹיְבָי “all my enemies.”
  - Ps 37:20 אֹיְבֵי יְהוָה “the enemies of YHWH.”
  - Identical noun form with suffix; Ps 6’s “my enemies” is universalized to “enemies of YHWH.”

3) Time-language that resolves “How long?”
- Psalm 6:4 ends with the lament formula עַד־מָתָי “How long?”
- Psalm 37 repeatedly answers with patience/time language:
  - v7 דּוֹם לַיהוָה … “Be still for YHWH …”
  - v7–8 אֵל תִּתְחַר … “Do not fret …”
  - v9–11 “shortly” the wicked will be cut off; the humble will inherit the land.
  - v10 וְעוֹד מְעַט “yet a little while.”
- The impatient cry of Ps 6 is met by Ps 37’s counsel to wait, be still, and trust the timing of divine justice.

4) The same three-move arc, now generalized
- Plea and pain (Ps 6:2–8: chastening, panic, tears, “bones” and “soul” shaken) → Petition for deliverance (6:5–6) → Confidence and reversal (6:9–11: YHWH has heard; enemies shamed).
- Ps 37 recasts that arc for the community:
  - Counsel in the face of wicked success (vv1–8);
  - Promise of reversal and inheritance (vv9–22);
  - The Lord upholds and does not forsake (vv23–26, 28, 33);
  - Climax: “the salvation of the righteous is from YHWH … he saves them … because they take refuge in him” (vv39–40). That is the communal version of Ps 6:9–10 (“YHWH has heard my supplication”).

5) Lexical/phrase-level echoes that read like “lesson learned”
- Divine anger vs human anger:
  - Ps 6: “Do not discipline me in your anger/wrath.”
  - Ps 37: “Let go of your anger/wrath.” The one who has known God’s anger now teaches others not to answer evil with anger.
- Shame and swift reversal:
  - Ps 6: “They will turn back and be shamed in a moment” (רָגַע).
  - Ps 37:10 “Yet a little while (וְעוֹד מְעַט) and the wicked is no more.” Same motif of sudden reversal answers the lament’s plea.
- From tears to peace:
  - Ps 6:7 “I drench my bed with tears.”
  - Ps 37:11 “the meek … delight in abundance of peace (שָׁלוֹם).” The outcome of the process is shalom, not anxiety.

6) Shared collocational patterns for evildoers
- Ps 6:9 פֹעֲלֵי אָוֶן “workers of iniquity” (participial doers + abstract evil).
- Ps 37:1 עֹשֵׂי עַוְלָה; 7 עֹשֶׂה מְזִמּוֹת “doers of injustice/plots.” Same “doer + abstract evil” pattern (with different, but near-synonymous nouns), shifting from expelling them (Ps 6) to teaching how to coexist with their temporary success (Ps 37).

7) Life-setting plausibility in ancient Israel
- Psalm 6 fits the common “sickness + enemies” lament: bodily language (“bones”), mortal danger (“in death there is no remembrance,” “Sheol”), social opposition, appeal to divine hesed.
- A vowed outcome of many laments is to “teach” or “tell” after deliverance. Psalm 37 is precisely such public instruction: an elder’s catechesis on trusting YHWH, restraining anger and envy, and awaiting justice. The explicit age marker (“I was young; now I am old,” 37:25) makes it a natural chronological follow-on after early-life afflictions like Ps 6.

8) Editorial/contextual fit within Book I of the Psalter
- Both are “Of David” and sit in Book I, where lament is often followed by trust/teaching. Psalm 37, like Psalm 1 and 19, is a torah-wisdom anchor; it can be read as the reflective synthesis of earlier Davidic experiences, including the kind voiced in Psalm 6.

In sum: The movement from Ps 6’s “Do not rebuke me in your anger… How long?… Save me for your hesed… YHWH has heard… let my enemies be shamed” to Ps 37’s “Do not fret because of evildoers… let go of anger and wrath… trust, wait… the wicked will wither… the righteous will not be shamed… salvation is from YHWH” is a coherent narrative and theological progression. The case is strengthened by rare, shared roots (מל״ל), mirrored anger/wrath nouns (אַף/חֵמָה), identical verbal forms (יֵבֹשׁוּ), shared imperatives (סוּר), and the same salvation/hesed lexicon (ישׁ״ע; חסד/חסיד). Psalm 37 reads like the distilled lesson learned from the crisis of Psalm 6.

Evaluation

Score: 2.0

Evaluated at: 2025-11-19T04:11:57 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 3840 Output: 7938 Total: 11778

Vocabulary specificity: 3.0 / 10

Root מל״ל link is incorrect: Ps 6:3 אֻמְלַל is from אמ״ל, not מל״ל → factual error cap to 2. Other links (אַף/חֵמָה; יֵבֹשׁוּ; סוּר; ישע) are common across Psalms; no editorial marker.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 6 and Psalm 37 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 37 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 37:
Psalm 37
1. לְדָוִ֨ד ׀
        אַל־
        תִּתְחַ֥ר
        בַּמְּרֵעִ֑ים
        אַל־
        תְּ֝קַנֵּ֗א
        בְּעֹשֵׂ֥י
        עַוְלָֽה׃
2. כִּ֣י
        כֶ֭חָצִיר
        מְהֵרָ֣ה
        יִמָּ֑לוּ
        וּכְיֶ֥רֶק
        דֶּ֝֗שֶׁא
        יִבּוֹלֽוּן׃
3. בְּטַ֣ח
        בַּֽ֭יהוָה
        וַעֲשֵׂה־
        ט֑וֹב
        שְׁכָן־
        אֶ֝֗רֶץ
        וּרְעֵ֥ה
        אֱמוּנָֽה׃
4. וְהִתְעַנַּ֥ג
        עַל־
        יְהוָ֑ה
        וְיִֽתֶּן־
        לְ֝ךָ֗
        מִשְׁאֲלֹ֥ת
        לִבֶּֽךָ׃
5. גּ֣וֹל
        עַל־
        יְהוָ֣ה
        דַּרְכֶּ֑ךָ
        וּבְטַ֥ח
        עָ֝לָ֗יו
        וְה֣וּא
        יַעֲשֶֽׂה׃
6. וְהוֹצִ֣יא
        כָא֣וֹר
        צִדְקֶ֑ךָ
        וּ֝מִשְׁפָּטֶ֗ךָ
        כַּֽצָּהֳרָֽיִם׃
7. דּ֤וֹם ׀
        לַיהוָה֮
        וְהִתְח֢וֹלֵ֫ל
        ל֥וֹ
        אַל־
        תִּ֭תְחַר
        בְּמַצְלִ֣יחַ
        דַּרְכּ֑וֹ
        בְּ֝אִ֗ישׁ
        עֹשֶׂ֥ה
        מְזִמּֽוֹת׃
8. הֶ֣רֶף
        מֵ֭אַף
        וַעֲזֹ֣ב
        חֵמָ֑ה
        אַל־
        תִּ֝תְחַ֗ר
        אַךְ־
        לְהָרֵֽעַ׃
9. כִּֽי־
        מְ֭רֵעִים
        יִכָּרֵת֑וּן
        וְקֹוֵ֥י
        יְ֝הוָ֗ה
        הֵ֣מָּה
        יִֽירְשׁוּ־
        אָֽרֶץ׃
10. וְע֣וֹד
        מְ֭עַט
        וְאֵ֣ין
        רָשָׁ֑ע
        וְהִתְבּוֹנַ֖נְתָּ
        עַל־
        מְקוֹמ֣וֹ
        וְאֵינֶֽנּוּ׃
11. וַעֲנָוִ֥ים
        יִֽירְשׁוּ־
        אָ֑רֶץ
        וְ֝הִתְעַנְּג֗וּ
        עַל־
        רֹ֥ב
        שָׁלֽוֹם׃
12. זֹמֵ֣ם
        רָ֭שָׁע
        לַצַּדִּ֑יק
        וְחֹרֵ֖ק
        עָלָ֣יו
        שִׁנָּֽיו׃
13. אֲדֹנָ֥י
        יִשְׂחַק־
        ל֑וֹ
        כִּֽי־
        רָ֝אָ֗ה
        כִּֽי־
        יָבֹ֥א
        יוֹמֽוֹ׃
14. חֶ֤רֶב ׀
        פָּֽתְח֣וּ
        רְשָׁעִים֮
        וְדָרְכ֢וּ
        קַ֫שְׁתָּ֥ם
        לְ֭הַפִּיל
        עָנִ֣י
        וְאֶבְי֑וֹן
        לִ֝טְב֗וֹחַ
        יִשְׁרֵי־
        דָֽרֶךְ׃
15. חַ֭רְבָּם
        תָּב֣וֹא
        בְלִבָּ֑ם
        וְ֝קַשְּׁתוֹתָ֗ם
        תִּשָּׁבַֽרְנָה׃
16. טוֹב־
        מְ֭עַט
        לַצַּדִּ֑יק
        מֵ֝הֲמ֗וֹן
        רְשָׁעִ֥ים
        רַבִּֽים׃
17. כִּ֤י
        זְרוֹע֣וֹת
        רְ֭שָׁעִים
        תִּשָּׁבַ֑רְנָה
        וְסוֹמֵ֖ךְ
        צַדִּיקִ֣ים
        יְהוָֽה׃
18. יוֹדֵ֣עַ
        יְ֭הוָה
        יְמֵ֣י
        תְמִימִ֑ם
        וְ֝נַחֲלָתָ֗ם
        לְעוֹלָ֥ם
        תִּהְיֶֽה׃
19. לֹֽא־
        יֵ֭בֹשׁוּ
        בְּעֵ֣ת
        רָעָ֑ה
        וּבִימֵ֖י
        רְעָב֣וֹן
        יִשְׂבָּֽעוּ׃
20. כִּ֤י
        רְשָׁעִ֨ים ׀
        יֹאבֵ֗דוּ
        וְאֹיְבֵ֣י
        יְ֭הוָה
        כִּיקַ֣ר
        כָּרִ֑ים
        כָּל֖וּ
        בֶעָשָׁ֣ן
        כָּֽלוּ׃
21. לֹוֶ֣ה
        רָ֭שָׁע
        וְלֹ֣א
        יְשַׁלֵּ֑ם
        וְ֝צַדִּ֗יק
        חוֹנֵ֥ן
        וְנוֹתֵֽן׃
22. כִּ֣י
        מְ֭בֹרָכָיו
        יִ֣ירְשׁוּ
        אָ֑רֶץ
        וּ֝מְקֻלָּלָ֗יו
        יִכָּרֵֽתוּ׃
23. מֵ֭יְהוָה
        מִֽצְעֲדֵי־
        גֶ֥בֶר
        כּוֹנָ֗נוּ
        וְדַרְכּ֥וֹ
        יֶחְפָּֽץ׃
24. כִּֽי־
        יִפֹּ֥ל
        לֹֽא־
        יוּטָ֑ל
        כִּֽי־
        יְ֝הוָ֗ה
        סוֹמֵ֥ךְ
        יָדֽוֹ׃
25. נַ֤עַר ׀
        הָיִ֗יתִי
        גַּם־
        זָ֫קַ֥נְתִּי
        וְֽלֹא־
        רָ֭אִיתִי
        צַדִּ֣יק
        נֶעֱזָ֑ב
        וְ֝זַרְע֗וֹ
        מְבַקֶּשׁ־
        לָֽחֶם׃
26. כָּל־
        הַ֭יּוֹם
        חוֹנֵ֣ן
        וּמַלְוֶ֑ה
        וְ֝זַרְע֗וֹ
        לִבְרָכָֽה׃
27. ס֣וּר
        מֵ֭רָע
        וַעֲשֵׂה־
        ט֗וֹב
        וּשְׁכֹ֥ן
        לְעוֹלָֽם׃
28. כִּ֤י
        יְהוָ֨ה ׀
        אֹ֘הֵ֤ב
        מִשְׁפָּ֗ט
        וְלֹא־
        יַעֲזֹ֣ב
        אֶת־
        חֲ֭סִידָיו
        לְעוֹלָ֣ם
        נִשְׁמָ֑רוּ
        וְזֶ֖רַע
        רְשָׁעִ֣ים
        נִכְרָֽת׃
29. צַדִּיקִ֥ים
        יִֽירְשׁוּ־
        אָ֑רֶץ
        וְיִשְׁכְּנ֖וּ
        לָעַ֣ד
        עָלֶֽיהָ׃
30. פִּֽי־
        צַ֭דִּיק
        יֶהְגֶּ֣ה
        חָכְמָ֑ה
        וּ֝לְשׁוֹנ֗וֹ
        תְּדַבֵּ֥ר
        מִשְׁפָּֽט׃
31. תּוֹרַ֣ת
        אֱלֹהָ֣יו
        בְּלִבּ֑וֹ
        לֹ֖א
        תִמְעַ֣ד
        אֲשֻׁרָיו׃c
32. צוֹפֶ֣ה
        רָ֭שָׁע
        לַצַּדִּ֑יק
        וּ֝מְבַקֵּ֗שׁ
        לַהֲמִיתוֹ׃
33. יְ֭הוָה
        לֹא־
        יַעַזְבֶ֣נּוּ
        בְיָד֑וֹ
        וְלֹ֥א
        יַ֝רְשִׁיעֶ֗נּוּ
        בְּהִשָּׁפְטֽוֹ׃
34. קַוֵּ֤ה
        אֶל־
        יְהוָ֨ה ׀
        וּשְׁמֹ֬ר
        דַּרְכּ֗וֹ
        וִֽ֭ירוֹמִמְךָ
        לָרֶ֣שֶׁת
        אָ֑רֶץ
        בְּהִכָּרֵ֖ת
        רְשָׁעִ֣ים
        תִּרְאֶֽה׃
35. רָ֭אִיתִי
        רָשָׁ֣ע
        עָרִ֑יץ
        וּ֝מִתְעָרֶ֗ה
        כְּאֶזְרָ֥ח
        רַעֲנָֽן׃
36. וַ֭יַּֽעֲבֹר
        וְהִנֵּ֣ה
        אֵינֶ֑נּוּ
        וָֽ֝אֲבַקְשֵׁ֗הוּ
        וְלֹ֣א
        נִמְצָֽא׃
37. שְׁמָר־
        תָּ֭ם
        וּרְאֵ֣ה
        יָשָׁ֑ר
        כִּֽי־
        אַחֲרִ֖ית
        לְאִ֣ישׁ
        שָׁלֽוֹם׃
38. וּֽ֭פֹשְׁעִים
        נִשְׁמְד֣וּ
        יַחְדָּ֑ו
        אַחֲרִ֖ית
        רְשָׁעִ֣ים
        נִכְרָֽתָה׃
39. וּתְשׁוּעַ֣ת
        צַ֭דִּיקִים
        מֵיְהוָ֑ה
        מָֽ֝עוּזָּ֗ם
        בְּעֵ֣ת
        צָרָֽה׃
40. וַֽיַּעְזְרֵ֥ם
        יְהוָ֗ה
        וַֽיְפַלְּ֫טֵ֥ם
        יְפַלְּטֵ֣ם
        מֵ֭רְשָׁעִים
        וְיוֹשִׁיעֵ֑ם
        כִּי־
        חָ֥סוּ
        בֽוֹ׃