Psalm 6 → 38
Reasoning: 5120 Output: 4803 Total: 9923
Argument
Here is a case that Psalm 38 is designed to follow Psalm 6, drawing on shared form, rare/shared lexemes, and a logical progression of the experience portrayed. 1) A deliberate incipit echo - Identical prayer formula at the head of both poems: - Ps 6:2: יהוה אל־באפך תוכיחני ואל־בחמתך תיסרני - Ps 38:2: יהוה אל־בקצפך תוכיחני ובחמתך תיסרני - The two key verbs and their morphology are identical: תוכיחני … תיסרני (Hiphil 2ms impf + 1cs suffix). The only variation is the near-synonymous nouns for divine wrath (אף/קצף). This is the strongest single formal signal that Ps 38 is consciously continuing Ps 6. 2) A “remembrance” catchword that answers Ps 6’s crisis - Ps 6:6: כי אין במות זכרך… בשאול מי יודה־לך (“in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will praise you?”). - Ps 38 superscription: מזמור לדוד להזכיר (“for remembrance/to bring to remembrance”). - The rare liturgical label להזכיר deliberately picks up Ps 6’s זכרך. Ps 6 fears the disappearance of “remembrance/praise” in death; Ps 38 is explicitly framed as a “memorial” act that keeps the worshiper’s/Israel’s remembrance before God. This is an unusually tight editorial linkage via a rare lexeme. 3) Same lament genre and macro-structure, with intensification Both psalms are individual laments of the “sickness-under-discipline” type and share the same movements, but Ps 38 amplifies each: - Invocation + plea not to be rebuked in wrath (6:2; 38:2). - Bodily collapse under divine anger: - Bones: 6:3 נבהלו עצמותי; 38:4 אין־שלום בַעֲצָמַי. - Eyes failing: 6:8 עששה… עיני; 38:11 ואור־עיני… אין אתי. - Groaning: 6:7 באנחתי; 38:10 ואנחתי ממך לא נסתרה. - Heart: 38:10–11 מנַהֲמת לבי; לבי סחרחר (expands Ps 6’s general נפש distress, 6:4). - Enemies/social pressure: - 6:8, 11 צררי; אויבי. - 38:12–13, 17, 20–21 a fuller dossier: friends withdraw, ambushers plot, slanderers speak מרמות, they hope to rejoice at my fall. - Petition/hope and resolution: - 6:5, 10–11 שובה יהוה… הושיעני… שמע יהוה תחינתי. - 38:16, 22–23 כי לך יהוה הוחלתי… אל־תעזבני… חושה לעזרתי. 4) Lexical threads beyond the incipit Rarer/shared items and motifs that make 38 read like an expansion of 6: - אנחה “sigh/groan”: 6:7; 38:10 (same noun, same word class). - עצם “bone(s)”: 6:3; 38:4 (same root and somatic focus). - עין/אור עיניים: 6:8 “eyes waste away,” 38:11 “light of my eyes is gone” (the eye-lamp motif). - ישע: 6:5 הושיעני; 38:23 תשועתי (same root, prayer for saving help). - אויבי “my enemies”: 6:11; 38:20 (identical form). - Separation from evildoers/enmity: 6:9 סורו ממני כל־פעלי און; 38:21 משלמי רעה תחת טובה ישטנוני (different lexemes, same role in the plot). - Bed/lying imagery versus near-collapse: 6:7 wetting the bed with tears; 38:18 לצלע נכון (“ready to fall”), both portraying the sufferer at the brink. 5) The narrative logic: from raw plea to owned guilt - Ps 6 focuses on mortal danger and God’s anger, with no explicit confession; the rationale is God’s חֶסֶד and the worshiper’s inability to praise God from Sheol (6:5–6). - Ps 38 makes explicit what is implicit in Ps 6: the disciplinary suffering is deserved. Note the dense sin-language: - 38:4–6: אין מתום בבשרי… מִפני חטאתי… עוונותי עברו ראשי. - 38:6: מפני איוולתי. - 38:19: עווני אגיד; אדאג מחטאתי. - Thus Ps 38 “follows” Ps 6 by moving from a cry to stop wrath (Ps 6) to full confession within that wrath (Ps 38) while retaining the same opening prayer and lament frame. 6) Life-setting continuity in ancient Israel - Both fit temple supplication in illness attributed to divine rebuke (discipline theology; cf. Deuteronomic retribution). Ps 6’s “return” and “save me” are the initial audience with God; Ps 38’s להזכיר corresponds to a later liturgical act “to bring to remembrance,” often linked to a memorial offering (cf. Lev 2:2, 9, 16; azkārâ), i.e., a subsequent stage in the same crisis where the sufferer brings a memorial to elicit divine attention. - The progression from personal weeping (Ps 6) to social isolation and public slander (Ps 38) matches a typical escalation: prolonged illness leads to stigmatization, abandonment by friends, and predation by enemies, a well-attested social dynamic in lament psalms. 7) Form-critical alignment - Both are individual laments with near-identical components: address, negative jussives (“do not rebuke/discipline”), complaint (body-soul-enemy triad), petition for deliverance, confidence/assurance, enemies’ shame motif. - Ps 38 is a “long-form” version of Ps 6’s pattern: it retains all key slots and fills them with more detailed symptomatology and confession while saving the identical opening formula and a cognate closing plea. 8) Editorial stitching by catchwords and rare cues - The strongest stitches are: - Exact repetition of תוכיחני … תיסרני with יהוה + ב…חֲמָתְךָ (vv. 2 in both psalms). - The זכר/להזכיר catchword from 6:6 to 38’s title. - Repeated, less common lament lexemes in the same semantic fields (אנחה; bone/eye collapse imagery). These are precisely the kinds of signals redactors use to create purposeful sequences. Conclusion On form, diction, and plot, Ps 38 reads as a developed sequel to Ps 6: it begins with the same incipit, answers Ps 6’s “no remembrance in death” with a psalm “for remembrance,” intensifies the same illness-under-anger scenario, and advances the spiritual logic from urgent plea to explicit confession, all while preserving the same structural contour and closing with parallel petitions for swift deliverance.
Evaluation
Score: 7.5
Evaluated at: 2025-11-19T04:13:06 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 4160 Output: 5639 Total: 9799
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 6.5 / 10
Strong, specific overlaps: identical incipit (6:2; 38:2), ‘זכר/להזכיר’ linkage (6:6; 38 superscription), and multiple matching somatic lexemes; plausible progression to confession. Still, many motifs are common, and non-adjacency weakens editorial pairing.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 6 and Psalm 38 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 38 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 38:
Psalm 38
1. מִזְמ֖וֹר
לְדָוִ֣ד
לְהַזְכִּֽיר׃
2. יְֽהוָ֗ה
אַל־
בְּקֶצְפְּךָ֥
תוֹכִיחֵ֑נִי
וּֽבַחֲמָתְךָ֥
תְיַסְּרֵֽנִי׃
3. כִּֽי־
חִ֭צֶּיךָ
נִ֣חֲתוּ
בִ֑י
וַתִּנְחַ֖ת
עָלַ֣י
יָדֶֽךָ׃
4. אֵין־
מְתֹ֣ם
בִּ֭בְשָׂרִי
מִפְּנֵ֣י
זַעְמֶ֑ךָ
אֵין־
שָׁל֥וֹם
בַּ֝עֲצָמַ֗י
מִפְּנֵ֥י
חַטָּאתִֽי׃
5. כִּ֣י
עֲ֭וֺנֹתַי
עָבְר֣וּ
רֹאשִׁ֑י
כְּמַשָּׂ֥א
כָ֝בֵ֗ד
יִכְבְּד֥וּ
מִמֶּֽנִּי׃
6. הִבְאִ֣ישׁוּ
נָ֭מַקּוּ
חַבּוּרֹתָ֑י
מִ֝פְּנֵ֗י
אִוַּלְתִּֽי׃
7. נַעֲוֵ֣יתִי
שַׁחֹ֣תִי
עַד־
מְאֹ֑ד
כָּל־
הַ֝יּ֗וֹם
קֹדֵ֥ר
הִלָּֽכְתִּי׃
8. כִּֽי־
כְ֭סָלַי
מָלְא֣וּ
נִקְלֶ֑ה
וְאֵ֥ין
מְ֝תֹ֗ם
בִּבְשָׂרִֽי׃
9. נְפוּג֣וֹתִי
וְנִדְכֵּ֣יתִי
עַד־
מְאֹ֑ד
שָׁ֝אַ֗גְתִּי
מִֽנַּהֲמַ֥ת
לִבִּֽי׃
10. אֲֽדנָ֗tי
נֶגְדְּךָ֥
כָל־
תַּאֲוָתִ֑י
וְ֝אַנְחָתִ֗י
מִמְּךָ֥
לֹא־
נִסְתָּֽרָה׃
11. לִבִּ֣י
סְ֭חַרְחַר
עֲזָבַ֣נִי
כֹחִ֑י
וְֽאוֹר־
עֵינַ֥י
גַּם־
הֵ֝֗ם
אֵ֣ין
אִתִּֽי׃
12. אֹֽהֲבַ֨י ׀
וְרֵעַ֗י
מִנֶּ֣גֶד
נִגְעִ֣י
יַעֲמֹ֑דוּ
וּ֝קְרוֹבַ֗י
מֵרָחֹ֥ק
עָמָֽדוּ׃
13. וַיְנַקְשׁ֤וּ ׀
מְבַקְשֵׁ֬י
נַפְשִׁ֗י
וְדֹרְשֵׁ֣י
רָ֭עָתִי
דִּבְּר֣וּ
הַוּ֑וֹת
וּ֝מִרְמ֗וֹת
כָּל־
הַיּ֥וֹם
יֶהְגּֽוּ׃
14. וַאֲנִ֣י
כְ֭חֵרֵשׁ
לֹ֣א
אֶשְׁמָ֑ע
וּ֝כְאִלֵּ֗ם
לֹ֣א
יִפְתַּח־
פִּֽיו׃
15. וָאֱהִ֗י
כְּ֭אִישׁ
אֲשֶׁ֣ר
לֹא־
שֹׁמֵ֑עַ
וְאֵ֥ין
בְּ֝פִ֗יו
תּוֹכָֽחוֹת׃
16. כִּֽי־
לְךָ֣
יְהוָ֣ה
הוֹחָ֑לְתִּי
אַתָּ֥ה
תַ֝עֲנֶ֗ה
אֲדֹנָ֥י
אֱלֹהָֽי׃
17. כִּֽי־
אָ֭מַרְתִּי
פֶּן־
יִשְׂמְחוּ־
לִ֑י
בְּמ֥וֹט
רַ֝גְלִ֗י
עָלַ֥י
הִגְדִּֽילוּ׃
18. כִּֽי־
אֲ֭נִי
לְצֶ֣לַע
נָכ֑וֹן
וּמַכְאוֹבִ֖י
נֶגְדִּ֣י
תָמִֽיד׃
19. כִּֽי־
עֲוֺנִ֥י
אַגִּ֑יד
אֶ֝דְאַ֗ג
מֵ֖חַטָּאתִֽי׃
20. וְֽ֭אֹיְבַי
חַיִּ֣ים
עָצֵ֑מוּ
וְרַבּ֖וּ
שֹׂנְאַ֣י
שָֽׁקֶר׃
21. וּמְשַׁלְּמֵ֣י
רָ֭עָה
תַּ֣חַת
טוֹבָ֑ה
יִ֝שְׂטְנ֗וּנִי
תַּ֣חַת
רדופי־
רָֽדְפִי־
טֽוֹב׃
22. אַל־
תַּֽעַזְבֵ֥נִי
יְהוָ֑ה
אֱ֝לֹהַ֗י
אַל־
תִּרְחַ֥ק
מִמֶּֽנִּי׃
23. ח֥וּשָׁה
לְעֶזְרָתִ֑י
אֲ֝דֹנָ֗י
תְּשׁוּעָתִֽי׃