Psalm 6 → 51

Reasoning: 9728 Output: 5577 Total: 15305

Argument

Short answer: Read Psalm 6 as the cry of a chastened, death‑threatened worshiper, and Psalm 51 as the confession, cleansing, and restoration that follow that chastening. The two psalms share superscriptional style, lament form, and a thick web of Hebrew links (especially rarer or identical forms) that make Psalm 51 a natural “next step” after Psalm 6.

High‑value lexical and form links (rarer/identical forms and roots)
- Identical imperative “חָנֵּנִי” (“Be gracious to me”): Ps 6:3; Ps 51:3. Opening with the same uncommon, urgent plea is a strong seam.
- Root שוב with paragogic he in imperatives (an uncommon stylistic touch):
  - Ps 6:5 שׁוּבָה יְהוָה (“Return, YHWH”)
  - Ps 51:14 הָשִׁיבָה לִּי שְׂשׂוֹן יִשְׁעֶךָ (“Restore to me the joy of your salvation”)
  - Plus שוב in both conclusions: Ps 6:11 יָשֻׁבוּ … יֵבֹשׁוּ; Ps 51:15 חַטָּאִים אֵלֶיךָ יָשׁוּבוּ.
  The same root, used programmatically in both psalms, ties plea, outcome, and mission together.
- Root ישׁע:
  - Ps 6:5 הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי (“save me”)
  - Ps 51:14 שְׂשׂוֹן יִשְׁעֶךָ; Ps 51:16 אֱלֹהֵי תְשׁוּעָתִי. Same root in petition and restoration.
- “חֶסֶד” as the ground of appeal:
  - Ps 6:5 לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ
  - Ps 51:3 כְּחַסְדֶּךָ. Same covenantal argument, different prepositions.
- Root שמע:
  - Ps 6:9–10 שָׁמַע יְהוָה (triple “YHWH heard…”)
  - Ps 51:10 תַּשְׁמִיעֵנִי (“Make me hear”) and 51:17 “אֲדֹנָי שְׂפָתַי תִּפְתָּח” (hearing/praise sequence).
  The “hearing” axis moves from God hearing tears (Ps 6) to God making the penitent hear joy (Ps 51).
- “עֶצֶם/עֲצָמוֹת”:
  - Ps 6:3 “נִבְהֲלוּ עֲצָמָי” (my bones are terror‑stricken)
  - Ps 51:10 “תָּגֵלְנָה עֲצָמוֹת דִּכִּיתָ” (the bones you crushed will rejoice).
  Same noun, same body‑level chastening, with Ps 51 explicitly reversing Ps 6.
- Purpose particle לְמַעַן with divine prerogative:
  - Ps 6:5 לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ
  - Ps 51:6 לְמַעַן תִּצְדַּק בְּדָבְרֶךָ (accepting God’s right to judge).
- Superscriptions with identical frame:
  - Both begin “לַמְנַצֵּחַ … מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד.” The matching performance/headnote formula is not universal in the Psalter and helps pair them.

Motif pairs that move from distress (Ps 6) to cleansing and praise (Ps 51)
- Divine anger/discipline:
  - Ps 6:2 “אַל־בְּאַפְּךָ תּוֹכִיחֵנִי … בַּחֲמָתְךָ תְיַסְּרֵנִי”
  - Ps 51:6 “לְמַעַן תִּצְדַּק … תִּזְכֶּה בְשָׁפְטֶךָ”
  Progression from pleading against wrath to acknowledging God’s righteous judgment.
- Sickness/near‑death versus ritual purification:
  - Ps 6:3–8 illness imagery, tears, failing eyes; v6 “שְׁאוֹל” and loss of praise if dead.
  - Ps 51:7–11 cleansing cluster: כַּבֵּס/טַהֵר/אֵזוֹב/מְחֵה. Hyssop (אֵזוֹב) especially evokes purification from corpse‑defilement (Num 19; Lev 14) and blood‑guilt (51:16 מִדָּמִים) — a concrete cultic answer to the death‑threat of Ps 6.
- Tears to joy:
  - Ps 6:7–8 “יָגַעְתִּי בְּאַנְחָתִי … בְּדִמְעָתִי”
  - Ps 51:10 “תַּשְׁמִיעֵנִי שָׂשׂוֹן וְשִׂמְחָה”
  The lament’s weeping is explicitly answered by the request for joy.
- Threat of lost praise versus opened mouth:
  - Ps 6:6 “בַּמָּוֶת זִכְרֶךָ … מִי יוֹדֶה־לָּךְ”
  - Ps 51:17 “אֲדֹנָי שְׂפָתַי תִּפְתָּח וּפִי יַגִּיד תְּהִלָּתֶךָ”
  Exactly the consequence Ps 6 feared is reversed: the mouth is opened to praise.
- Enemies/sinners:
  - Ps 6:9 “סוּרוּ מִמֶּנִּי כָּל־פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן”
  - Ps 51:15 “אֲלַמְּדָה פֹּשְׁעִים דְּרָכֶיךָ וְחַטָּאִים אֵלֶיךָ יָשׁוּבוּ”
  From expelling evildoers to instructing sinners so they return — a maturation of the response to wickedness.
- Salvation vow:
  - Ps 6:5 “הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי …”
  - Ps 51:14–17 “הָשִׁיבָה … שְׂשׂוֹן יִשְׁעֶךָ … אֱלֹהֵי תְשׁוּעָתִי … פִּי יַגִּיד תְּהִלָּתֶךָ”
  Petition for rescue in Ps 6 culminates in restored joy and testimony in Ps 51.

Form and structural similarities
- Both are individual laments that pivot to confidence/praise:
  - Ps 6 turns at vv. 9–11 (“YHWH has heard…”).
  - Ps 51 turns at vv. 12–19 (renewal, mission, and worship), then broadens to Zion (vv. 20–21).
- Both open with strings of second‑person imperatives and negatives (Ps 6:2–5; Ps 51:3–11), then move to assurance and/or vow.
- Repetition for effect: Ps 6’s triple “שָׁמַע יְהוָה” (vv. 9–10); Ps 51’s triad for cleansing “מְחֵה/כַּבֵּס/טַהֵר.”

A plausible life‑sequence in ancient Israel behind the pairing
- Stage 1 (Ps 6): Under divine chastening, possibly expressed as illness and threat of death (a common Deuteronomic‑prophetic interpretation of suffering), the worshiper pleads for mercy, healing, and rescue so he can go on praising God.
- Stage 2 (Ps 51): After prophetic confrontation (explicit in the superscription) the same worshiper confesses guilt (especially bloodguilt, מִדָּמִים), submits to God’s judgment, seeks cultic purification (אֵזוֹב), asks for inner re‑creation (לֵב טָהוֹר … רוּחַ נָכוֹן), and vows public praise and instruction. The closing concern for Zion (vv. 20–21) is the communal outworking of restored kingship/worship.
- Read this way, 51 answers 6 point‑for‑point: the rebuke feared in anger (6:2) is now accepted as just (51:6); terrified bones (6:3) become rejoicing bones (51:10); tears (6:7–8) become joy (51:10, 14); the fear that the dead cannot praise (6:6) becomes opened lips that do praise (51:17).

Notes on weighting and rarity
- Especially weighty:
  - The identical “חָנֵּנִי” opening plea.
  - The repeated שוב with paragogic imperatives (שׁוּבָה / הָשִׁיבָה) and with plural “יָשׁוּבוּ.”
  - The “עֲצָמַי/עֲצָמוֹת” nexus with a stark semantic reversal (terror → rejoicing).
  - The salvation root ישׁע and the hearing root שמע in both.
- Semantically close but different roots:
  - Ps 6 “פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן” (אָוֶן) vs. Ps 51’s עָוֹן (iniquity) — related in sound/field but distinct roots; still, the assonance “אוֶן/עָוֹן” across adjacent penitential themes likely isn’t accidental.

Traditional frame
- Both psalms are counted among the seven “Penitential Psalms” (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143), and the inner logic the tradition perceived is exactly the movement from chastened lament (6) to full confession and cleansing (51).

Bottom line
- On stylistic, formal, lexical, and thematic grounds, Psalm 51 reads naturally as the sequel to Psalm 6: what began as a plea under divine discipline and threat of death ripens into explicit confession, ritual and moral purification, restored joy, and a renewed vocation to praise and teach — even extending to concern for Zion. The high‑value Hebrew ties (חנני; שוב with paragogic he; ישׁע; שמע; עֲצָמוֹת) especially support that “follow‑on” reading.

Evaluation

Score: 2.0

Evaluated at: 2025-11-19T04:30:14 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 3392 Output: 6396 Total: 9788

Vocabulary specificity: 3.5 / 10

Flags: misquote

Minor factual error: “triple שמע יהוה” occurs twice (Ps 6:9–10), not thrice → MAX 2. Otherwise many specific links, but most lexemes are common and no decisive editorial marker.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 6 and Psalm 51 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 51 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 51:
Psalm 51
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ
        מִזְמ֥וֹר
        לְדָוִֽד׃
2. בְּֽבוֹא־
        אֵ֭לָיו
        נָתָ֣ן
        הַנָּבִ֑יא
        כַּֽאֲשֶׁר־
        בָּ֝֗א
        אֶל־
        בַּת־
        שָֽׁבַע׃
3. חָנֵּ֣נִי
        אֱלֹהִ֣ים
        כְּחַסְדֶּ֑ךָ
        כְּרֹ֥ב
        רַ֝חֲמֶ֗יךָ
        מְחֵ֣ה
        פְשָׁעָֽי׃
4. הרבה
        הֶ֭רֶב
        כַּבְּסֵ֣נִי
        מֵעֲוֺנִ֑י
        וּֽמֵחַטָּאתִ֥י
        טַהֲרֵֽנִי׃
5. כִּֽי־
        פְ֭שָׁעַי
        אֲנִ֣י
        אֵדָ֑ע
        וְחַטָּאתִ֖י
        נֶגְדִּ֣י
        תָמִֽיד׃
6. לְךָ֤
        לְבַדְּךָ֨ ׀
        חָטָאתִי֮
        וְהָרַ֥ע
        בְּעֵינֶ֗יךָ
        עָ֫שִׂ֥יתִי
        לְ֭מַעַן
        תִּצְדַּ֥ק
        בְּדָבְרֶ֗ךָ
        תִּזְכֶּ֥ה
        בְשָׁפְטֶֽךָ׃
7. הֵן־
        בְּעָו֥וֹן
        חוֹלָ֑לְתִּי
        וּ֝בְחֵ֗טְא
        יֶֽחֱמַ֥תְנִי
        אִמִּֽי׃
8. הֵן־
        אֱ֭מֶת
        חָפַ֣צְתָּ
        בַטֻּח֑וֹת
        וּ֝בְסָתֻ֗ם
        חָכְמָ֥ה
        תוֹדִיעֵֽנִי׃
9. תְּחַטְּאֵ֣נִי
        בְאֵז֣וֹב
        וְאֶטְהָ֑ר
        תְּ֝כַבְּסֵ֗נִי
        וּמִשֶּׁ֥לֶג
        אַלְבִּֽין׃
10. תַּ֭שְׁמִיעֵנִי
        שָׂשׂ֣וֹן
        וְשִׂמְחָ֑ה
        תָּ֝גֵ֗לְנָה
        עֲצָמ֥וֹת
        דִּכִּֽיתָ׃
11. הַסְתֵּ֣ר
        פָּ֭נֶיךָ
        מֵחֲטָאָ֑י
        וְֽכָל־
        עֲוֺ֖נֹתַ֣י
        מְחֵֽה׃
12. לֵ֣ב
        טָ֭הוֹר
        בְּרָא־
        לִ֣י
        אֱלֹהִ֑ים
        וְר֥וּחַ
        נָ֝כ֗וֹן
        חַדֵּ֥שׁ
        בְּקִרְבִּֽי׃
13. אַל־
        תַּשְׁלִיכֵ֥נִי
        מִלְּפָנֶ֑יךָ
        וְר֥וּחַ
        קָ֝דְשְׁךָ֗
        אַל־
        תִּקַּ֥ח
        מִמֶּֽנִּי׃
14. הָשִׁ֣יבָה
        לִּ֭י
        שְׂשׂ֣וֹן
        יִשְׁעֶ֑ךָ
        וְר֖וּחַ
        נְדִיבָ֣ה
        תִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃
15. אֲלַמְּדָ֣ה
        פֹשְׁעִ֣ים
        דְּרָכֶ֑יךָ
        וְ֝חַטָּאִ֗ים
        אֵלֶ֥יךָ
        יָשֽׁוּבוּ׃
16. הַצִּ֘ילֵ֤נִי
        מִדָּמִ֨ים ׀
        אֱ‍ֽלֹהִ֗ים
        אֱלֹהֵ֥י
        תְשׁוּעָתִ֑י
        תְּרַנֵּ֥ן
        לְ֝שׁוֹנִ֗י
        צִדְקָתֶֽךָ׃
17. אֲ֭דֹנָי
        שְׂפָתַ֣י
        תִּפְתָּ֑ח
        וּ֝פִ֗י
        יַגִּ֥יד
        תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃
18. כִּ֤י ׀
        לֹא־
        תַחְפֹּ֣ץ
        זֶ֣בַח
        וְאֶתֵּ֑נָה
        ע֝וֹלָ֗ה
        לֹ֣א
        תִרְצֶֽה׃
19. זִֽבְחֵ֣י
        אֱלֹהִים֮
        ר֢וּחַ
        נִשְׁבָּ֫רָ֥ה
        לֵב־
        נִשְׁבָּ֥ר
        וְנִדְכֶּ֑ה
        אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים
        לֹ֣א
        תִבְזֶֽה׃
20. הֵיטִ֣יבָה
        בִ֭רְצוֹנְךָ
        אֶת־
        צִיּ֑וֹן
        תִּ֝בְנֶ֗ה
        חוֹמ֥וֹת
        יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃
21. אָ֤ז
        תַּחְפֹּ֣ץ
        זִבְחֵי־
        צֶ֭דֶק
        עוֹלָ֣ה
        וְכָלִ֑יל
        אָ֤ז
        יַעֲל֖וּ
        עַל־
        מִזְבַּחֲךָ֣
        פָרִֽים׃