Psalm 6 → 42

Reasoning: 7424 Output: 5485 Total: 12909

Argument

Short thesis: Read as a two‑scene sequence, Psalm 6 is the night‑of‑crisis (sickness, divine estrangement, enemies, tears, vow for deliverance), and Psalm 42 resumes the same speaker’s experience in the aftermath—still distant and harassed, but moving toward temple praise, with recurring tears, the same “soul/bones/enemies” vocabulary, and a concrete answering of petitions uttered in Psalm 6. The lexical overlaps (especially rarer words), parallel forms, and shared motifs make a credible case that Psalm 42 can be read as the logical follow‑on to Psalm 6.

1) Strong lexical bonds (rarer/marked words first)
- דִמְעָה “tears” + 1cs suffix (identical form): Ps 6:7 בְּדִמְעָתִי; Ps 42:4 דִמְעָתִי. The same marked noun with the same suffix ties the laments: in 6 the tears flood the bed at night; in 42 the tears become “my bread day and night.”
- עֶצֶם “bone(s)” + 1cs suffix (identical lexeme, same class): Ps 6:3 נִבְהֲלוּ עֲצָמָי “my bones are terrified”; Ps 42:11 בְּרֶצַח בְּעַצְמוֹתַי “with a deadly wound in my bones.” The “bones” as the seat of suffering recur, an uncommon self‑reference that marks continuity of the same body in pain.
- חֶסֶד “steadfast love” (same noun): Ps 6:5 הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ “save me for the sake of your ḥesed”; Ps 42:9 יוֹמָם יְצַוֶּה יְהוָה חַסְדּוֹ “By day YHWH commands his ḥesed.” Psalm 42 explicitly portrays what Psalm 6 requested: the ḥesed that was begged for is now “commanded” (dispensed) daily.
- תְּפִלָּה “prayer” (same noun): Ps 6:10 יְהוָה תְּפִלָּתִי יִקָּח “YHWH accepts my prayer”; Ps 42:9 …שִׁירוֹ עִמִּי תְּפִלָּה לְאֵל חַיָּי “His song is with me—prayer to the God of my life.” Psalm 42 picks up Psalm 6’s assurance that the prayer was heard and depicts prayer accompanying him through the night.
- Root י־ש־ע “save”: Ps 6:5 הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי; Ps 42:6,12 יְשׁוּעוֹת פָּנָיו/פָּנַי “salvations of his face/my face.” The vocabulary of salvation moves from the plea to the confident refrain “I will yet praise him—salvations of his presence.”
- לַיְלָה “night” (recurring time‑word, same form): Ps 6:7 בְכָל־לַיְלָה “all night”; Ps 42:4 יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה; 42:9 וּבַלַּיְלָה שִׁירוֹ. Psalm 42 widens Psalm 6’s night of tears into a day‑and‑night cycle, and even transforms the night: where Ps 6 had weeping, Ps 42 now has “His song … at night.”
- נֶפֶשׁ + 1cs “נַפְשִׁי” (very frequent but crucial in both): Ps 6:4,5; Ps 42:2,3,5–7,12. The same inward focus (“my soul”) carries the personal lament forward.
- אוֹיֵב/צוֹרֵר “enemy/adversary” (shared field): Ps 6:8,11; Ps 42:11. The foes who harried him in 6 are still active in 42, now taunting “Where is your God?”

2) Stylistic and formal continuities
- Superscriptional frame “לַמְנַצֵּחַ” “To the choirmaster” in both (6:1; 42:1), signaling performance/liturgical continuity.
- Individual lament form in both: complaint + petition + confidence. Psalm 6 ends with confidence formulas (“YHWH has heard…” 6:9–10); Psalm 42 cycles complaint and self‑exhortation with a confidence refrain (“Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him,” 42:6,12).
- Rhetorical questions anchoring estrangement: Ps 6:4 “וְאַתָּה יְהוָה, עַד־מָתָי?”; Ps 42:3 “מָתַי אָבוֹא…?” and 42:10 “לָמָה שְׁכַחְתָּנִי?” The “How long/When/Why” interrogation continues.
- Direct address and first‑person saturation: both psalms are “I–Thou–They” pieces with heavy 1cs suffixing (my tears, my bones, my soul, my enemies), producing a continuous voice.
- Sound‑motifs with קוֹל “sound/voice”: Ps 6:9 קוֹל בִּכְיִי “the sound of my weeping”; Ps 42:5 בְּקוֹל־רִנָּה “with the sound of rejoicing” and 42:8 לְקוֹל צִנּוֹרֶיךָ “at the sound of your waterfalls.” The “sound” moves from weeping to rejoicing, with God’s waters roaring in between.

3) Thematic/narrative sequencing that makes 42 a plausible “next scene” after 6
- From deathbed logic to “living God”: Ps 6 argues, “For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give thanks to you?” (6:6). Psalm 42 counters repeatedly with “אֵל חָי/אֵל חַיָּי” “the living God / the God of my life” (42:3,9) and a vow “I will yet praise.” It reads like the survivor’s voice who was heard (Ps 6:9–10) and now insists on living praise.
- Vow → procession: In Ps 6 the psalmist pleads to be spared so he can give thanks (implicit vow). Ps 42:5 recalls or anticipates the fulfillment: “I used to go… to the house of God, with the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.” This is exactly the temple‑thanksgiving procession that typically follows a deliverance vow in Israelite cultic life.
- Night of tears → night of song: Ps 6: “All night I drench my bed with tears” (6:7). Ps 42: “By day YHWH commands his ḥesed, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life” (42:9). The same night is still there, but its content has shifted from tears alone to prayer‑song—a believable “next step.”
- Enemies not yet gone but answered: Ps 6 ends confident that enemies “will be ashamed and shaken… in a moment” (6:11). In Ps 42 the enemies still taunt “Where is your God?” (42:4,11), but the refrain answers them with hope and the pledge of future praise. The transition from certainty (6) to ongoing struggle (42) is psychologically realistic: assurance establishes footing, not instant social vindication.
- From “Return, YHWH” (6:5) to experienced ḥesed (42:9): The petition for God to turn and deliver (שׁוּבָה יְהוָה, חַלְּצָה נַפְשִׁי) is matched by an ongoing perception of God’s steadfast love and song.

4) Shared imagery networks
- Water overwhelms, then is harnessed for praise:
  - Ps 6: tears like a flood that soaks bed and couch.
  - Ps 42: the hydrological imagery escalates—“deep calls to deep,” “your breakers and waves have passed over me”—but is bracketed by “the sound of rejoicing” (42:5) and “his song… at night” (42:9). It reads as the same sufferer now interpreting his inundation theologically.
- Body language of depression: Ps 6 “I am languishing… my soul is greatly dismayed… my eye wastes away because of grief” (6:3–4,8). Ps 42 develops it with the rare reflexive verb “Why are you cast down (תִּשְׁתּוֹחֲחִי), my soul?” and “I walk in mourning (קֹדֵר) because of the oppression of the enemy” (42:10). The interior descent in 6 becomes explicit self‑counsel in 42.

5) Roots and forms (not just themes)
- Identical or closely related roots in the same word class:
  - דמ״ע (tears) noun sg. with 1cs suffix in both (strongest formal match).
  - עצ״ם (bones) noun pl. with 1cs suffix in both.
  - חס״ד (ḥesed) noun in both, moving from purpose (“for your ḥesed”) to provision (“he commands his ḥesed”).
  - פל״ל (prayer) noun in both, moving from “accepted” to “with me.”
  - ישׁ״ע (salvation) verb → noun: plea הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי in 6; noun יְשׁוּעוֹת in 42.
- Temporal adverbs/interrogatives in matching roles:
  - עַד־מָתָי “How long?” (6:4) ⇄ מָתַי “When?” (42:3). The same pressure of time—first open‑ended, then targeted on return to God’s presence.

6) Liturgical/history‑of‑life plausibility
- Common ancient Israelite sequence: crisis/illness → vow for deliverance → healing/survival → pilgrimage with thanksgiving offering and song (cf. Ps 66; 116). Ps 6 supplies the vow logic (“Who will give you thanks in Sheol?”). Ps 42 (and even more so if read with Ps 43, often paired) supplies the procession to God’s house with thanksgiving.
- Editorial macro‑flow: Ps 6 is Davidic and uses the Tetragrammaton; Ps 42 opens Book II and shifts to Elohistic diction, but 42:9 still names YHWH. That “bridge” verse can be read as answering the Davidic plea for ḥesed in 6 while introducing the Elohistic Korahite voice that carries David’s piety forward.

7) Small but telling correspondences
- “Voice of weeping” (קוֹל בִּכְיִי, 6:9) turns to “voice of rejoicing” (בְּקוֹל־רִנָּה, 42:5).
- The timing contrast intensifies the link: 6:11 imagines enemies shamed “in a moment” (רָגַע); 42 depicts their taunt “all the day” (כָּל־הַיּוֹם, 42:4,11). The friction between “moment” and “all day” naturally motivates the refrain “Hope in God, for I will yet praise him.”

Conclusion: You can make a strong case that Psalm 42 is an intentional “next act” after Psalm 6. The overlap of marked vocabulary (dim‘ati; ‘atzmotai; ḥesed; tefillah; the yasha‘ family), the recurrence of identical forms, shared night/tears/enemies/bones/soul motifs, and the way Psalm 42 narratively answers Psalm 6’s petitions (moving from death‑logic to “living God,” from night‑tears to night‑song, from vow to procession) together justify reading Psalm 42 as logically following on from Psalm 6.

Evaluation

Score: 6.5

Evaluated at: 2025-11-19T04:18:26 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 5376 Output: 6348 Total: 11724

Vocabulary specificity: 4.5 / 10

Accurate, specific overlaps (דִמְעָתִי; עֲצָמַי; חֶסֶד; תְּפִלָּה; לַיְלָה; יְשׁוּעוֹת) with clear refs and a plausible sequence. But motifs are common, no strong editorial marker, and vast psalm-distance (Book I→II) weakens intentional linkage.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 6 and Psalm 42 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 42 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 42:
Psalm 42
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ
        מַשְׂכִּ֥יל
        לִבְנֵי־
        קֹֽרַח׃
2. כְּאַיָּ֗ל
        תַּעֲרֹ֥ג
        עַל־
        אֲפִֽיקֵי־
        מָ֑יִם
        כֵּ֤ן
        נַפְשִׁ֨י
        תַעֲרֹ֖ג
        אֵלֶ֣יךָ
        אֱלֹהִֽים׃
3. צָמְאָ֬ה
        נַפְשִׁ֨י ׀
        לֵאלֹהִים֮
        לְאֵ֢ל
        חָ֥י
        מָתַ֥י
        אָב֑וֹא
        וְ֝אֵרָאֶ֗ה
        פְּנֵ֣י
        אֱלֹהִֽים׃
4. הָֽיְתָה־
        לִּ֬י
        דִמְעָתִ֣י
        לֶ֭חֶם
        יוֹמָ֣ם
        וָלָ֑יְלָה
        בֶּאֱמֹ֥ר
        אֵלַ֥י
        כָּל־
        הַ֝יּ֗וֹם
        אַיֵּ֥ה
        אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃
5. אֵ֤לֶּה
        אֶזְכְּרָ֨ה ׀
        וְאֶשְׁפְּכָ֬ה
        עָלַ֨י ׀
        נַפְשִׁ֗י
        כִּ֤י
        אֶֽעֱבֹ֨ר ׀
        בַּסָּךְ֮
        אֶדַּדֵּ֗ם
        עַד־
        בֵּ֥ית
        אֱלֹ֫הִ֥ים
        בְּקוֹל־
        רִנָּ֥ה
        וְתוֹדָ֗ה
        הָמ֥וֹן
        חוֹגֵֽג׃
6. מַה־
        תִּשְׁתּ֬וֹחֲחִ֨י ׀
        נַפְשִׁי֮
        וַתֶּהֱמִ֢י
        עָ֫לָ֥י
        הוֹחִ֣ילִי
        לֵֽ֭אלֹהִים
        כִּי־
        ע֥וֹד
        אוֹדֶ֗נּוּ
        יְשׁוּע֥וֹת
        פָּנָֽיו׃
7. אֱ‍ֽלֹהַ֗י
        עָלַי֮
        נַפְשִׁ֢י
        תִשְׁתּ֫וֹחָ֥ח
        עַל־
        כֵּ֗ן
        אֶ֭זְכָּרְךָ
        מֵאֶ֣רֶץ
        יַרְדֵּ֑ן
        וְ֝חֶרְמוֹנִ֗ים
        מֵהַ֥ר
        מִצְעָֽר׃
8. תְּהֽוֹם־
        אֶל־
        תְּה֣וֹם
        ק֭וֹרֵא
        לְק֣וֹל
        צִנּוֹרֶ֑יךָ
        כָּֽל־
        מִשְׁבָּרֶ֥יךָ
        וְ֝גַלֶּ֗יךָ
        עָלַ֥י
        עָבָֽרוּ׃
9. יוֹמָ֤ם ׀
        יְצַוֶּ֬ה
        יְהוָ֨ה ׀
        חַסְדּ֗וֹ
        וּ֖dבַלַּיְלָה
        שירה
        שִׁיר֣וֹ
        עִמִּ֑י
        תְּ֝פִלָּ֗ה
        לְאֵ֣ל
        חַיָּֽי׃
10. אוֹמְרָ֤ה ׀
        לְאֵ֥ל
        סַלְעִי֮
        לָמָ֢ה
        שְׁכַ֫חְתָּ֥נִי
        לָֽמָּה־
        קֹדֵ֥ר
        אֵלֵ֗ךְ
        בְּלַ֣חַץ
        אוֹיֵֽב׃
11. בְּרֶ֤צַח ׀
        בְּֽעַצְמוֹתַ֗י
        חֵרְפ֥וּנִי
        צוֹרְרָ֑י
        בְּאָמְרָ֥ם
        אֵלַ֥י
        כָּל־
        הַ֝יּ֗וֹם
        אַיֵּ֥ה
        אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃
12. מַה־
        תִּשְׁתּ֬וֹחֲחִ֨י ׀
        נַפְשִׁי֮
        וּֽמַה־
        תֶּהֱמִ֢י
        עָ֫לָ֥י
        הוֹחִ֣ילִי
        לֵֽ֭אלֹהִים
        כִּי־
        ע֣וֹד
        אוֹדֶ֑נּוּ
        יְשׁוּעֹ֥ת
        פָּ֝נַ֗י
        וֵֽאלֹהָֽי׃