Psalm 6 → 55
Reasoning: 11264 Output: 5385 Total: 16649
Argument
Here are converging lines of argument that Psalm 55 could be read as a logical sequel to Psalm 6. I list them from the “hardest” (formal/lexical) to broader thematic and life-setting links, and I weight rarer, more exact matches more heavily. 1) Title and performance setting (a strong editorial hook) - Identical musical heading: למנצח בנגינות … לדוד (“For the director; with stringed instruments … of David”) occurs in both titles (Ps 6:1; 55:1). This exact combination is rare (a small “נְגִינוֹת/strings” mini-collection: 4, 6, 54, 55), and would naturally justify juxtaposing the two in a performance cycle. - Both are individual laments intended for liturgical/musical use, so they “fit” together as adjacent pieces within the same performance rubric. 2) Form-critical shape (same genre, same inner logic) - Both are first-person laments that move through the same stations: direct address to God → complaint → petition → pivot to confidence → reversal against enemies. - Both employ the “But you, O God/LORD…” pivot line as the hinge to the reversal: - Ps 6:4: ואתה יהוה עד־מתי - Ps 55:24: ואתה אלהים תורידם This is a characteristic (and comparatively marked) way to turn from plea to confident judgment. 3) Identical forms/phrases (highest lexical weight) - תחינתי “my supplication”: exact form in both psalms - Ps 6:10: שמע יהוה תחינתי - Ps 55:2: ואל־תתעלם מתחינתי - תפילתי “my prayer”: exact form in both - Ps 6:10: יהוה תפילתי יקח - Ps 55:2: האזינה אלהים תפילתי - שאול “Sheol”: same noun, in both central arguments - Ps 6:6: בשאול מי יודה־לך - Ps 55:16: ירדו שאול חיים - אוֹיֵב “enemy”: same noun in both - Ps 6:11: כל־אויבי - Ps 55:4: מקול אויב - אָוֶן “iniquity/evil”: same noun in both - Ps 6:9: כל־פעלי און - Ps 55:4, 11: ימיתו עלי און; ואון ועמל בקרבה 4) Same root (but not identical form) and tight collocations (medium lexical weight) - ישׁע “save”: same root with 1cs suffix - Ps 6:5: הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי (Hiphil impv.) - Ps 55:17: יוֹשִׁיעֵנִי (Hiphil yiqtol) - שמע + קול “hear” + “voice”: same collocation of prayer being heard - Ps 6:9: שָׁמַע יהוה קוֹל בִּכְיִי - Ps 55:18: וַיִּשְׁמַע קוֹלִי - נֶפֶשׁ as the object of rescue: same focal noun for the self needing deliverance - Ps 6:5: חלצה נפשי (“deliver my soul”) - Ps 55:19: פדה בשלום נפשי (“He has redeemed my soul in peace”) This looks like narrative progression: a plea for deliverance (חלץ) is met by confident assertion of redemption (פדה). 5) Rare or marked lexemes/fields cluster (softer, but cumulative weight) - Death/Sheol field intensifies from Ps 6 to Ps 55: - Ps 6:6 frames the plea with the classic argument: “in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will praise you?” - Ps 55:5, 16 escalates: “terrors of death” fall on me; “let them go down alive to Sheol” (ירדו שאול חיים), a rare, pointed allusion to Korah’s rebellion (Num 16:30–33). The shift from “I fear Sheol” (6) to “let the traitors go to Sheol” (55) reads like the next chapter after God has heard the sufferer. - Panic/fear field in both: - Ps 6:3–4, 11: נבהלו (“terrified”)—repeated. - Ps 55:5–6: יחיל לבי… אימות מוות… יראה ורעד… פלצות covers the same semantic field of dread with a barrage of rare fear-words. The lexemes differ but the cluster is distinctive and continuous. 6) Time-of-day motifs develop coherently - Ps 6:7: “All night” (כל־לילה) with tears—private nocturnal agony. - Ps 55:11: “Day and night” violence in the city; 55:18: “Evening, morning, and noon I complain…”—the suffering expands into an all-day rhythm and the prayer is disciplined to thrice daily. That reads like an intensification and systematization of the prayer-life implied in Ps 6. 7) Enemy field and the “depart/flee” motif evolves - Ps 6:9: “Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity” (סורו ממני כל־פעלי און). - Ps 55:7–9: Instead of commanding them away, the psalmist now longs to leave: “Who will give me wings like a dove? I would fly away… I would lodge in the wilderness.” That is a natural narrative turn: when evil dominates the city (55:10–12), the realist response is not merely to banish the wicked (as in 6), but to flee. 8) Temple/worship trajectory (fits ancient Israelite life) - Ps 6:6 argues for being spared so he can continue to praise (במות זכרך… בשאול מי יודה־לך). That is the standard lament logic: preserve me so I can render thanks in the sanctuary. - Ps 55:15 places the psalmist in the cultic setting: “In the house of God we used to walk in throng” (בבית אלהים נהלך ברגש). Read as a sequel, he has returned to communal worship after deliverance—only to experience betrayal by an intimate companion there (55:14–15). This matches known life-sequences: sickness → prayer for healing → return to temple → social conflict/betrayal that requires a new lament. 9) Divine anger vs human anger (coherent reallocation of “wrath”) - Ps 6:2: “Do not rebuke me in your anger… in your wrath” (באַפך… בחמתך). - Ps 55:4: Now it is the enemies’ anger (ובאַף ישטמונני) that is the threat. The locus of “wrath” moves from God in 6 (plea for lenience) to violent humans in 55 (plea for justice), exactly what you would expect after God has “heard” (6:9–10). 10) Assurance and trust closures match - Ps 6 closes with assurance: threefold “שמע יהוה…” and the confident reversal that enemies will be shamed “in a moment” (רגע) (6:9–11). - Ps 55 closes likewise with assurance and a direct exhortation to entrust oneself to YHWH: השלך על־יהוה יהבך… ואני אבטח־בך (55:23–24). Both end by moving the speaker (and hearer) from panic to confidence. Putting it together as a plausible sequence - Private crisis (Ps 6): grave illness, fear of death/Sheol, night-long tears; urgent pleas that God hear prayer/entreaty; assurance that God has heard. - Public crisis (Ps 55): back in the city and even at the temple, violence and betrayal by a close associate erupt; prayer becomes a regular discipline (evening–morning–noon); the earlier death/Sheol anxiety flips into an imprecation that the treacherous descend to Sheol alive; the psalm ends with trust and a wisdom-like exhortation to “cast your burden on YHWH.” Given the rare, identical title phrase (למנצח בנגינות), the exact shared prayer vocabulary (תפילתי/תחינתי with שמע), the shared Sheol/death frame (with intensification and a Korah allusion), the matching form-critical hinges (ואתה …), and a life-setting trajectory (healed sufferer returns to worship but faces betrayal), Psalm 55 reads very naturally as the next “movement” after Psalm 6.
Evaluation
Score: 6.5
Evaluated at: 2025-11-19T04:35:29 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 4736 Output: 6227 Total: 10963
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 4.5 / 10
Flags: structural_claim_error
Strong: shared למנצח בנגינות headings, exact תחינתי/תפילתי with שמע, shared Sheol motif (55:16 rare “ירדו שאול חיים”). Weak: overlaps are largely common lament diction; 6:4 ואתה isn’t the reversal hinge; נגינות mini-collection dilutes pairing.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 6 and Psalm 55 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 55 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 55:
Psalm 55
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
בִּנְגִינֹ֗ת
מַשְׂכִּ֥יל
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. הַאֲזִ֣ינָה
אֱ֭לֹהִים
תְּפִלָּתִ֑י
וְאַל־
תִּ֝תְעַלַּ֗ם
מִתְּחִנָּתִֽי׃
3. הַקְשִׁ֣יבָה
לִּ֣י
וַעֲנֵ֑נִי
אָרִ֖יד
בְּשִׂיחִ֣י
וְאָהִֽימָה׃
4. מִקּ֤וֹל
אוֹיֵ֗ב
מִפְּנֵ֣י
עָקַ֣ת
רָשָׁ֑ע
כִּי־
יָמִ֥יטוּ
עָלַ֥י
אָ֝֗וֶן
וּבְאַ֥ף
יִשְׂטְמֽוּנִי׃
5. לִ֭בִּי
יָחִ֣יל
בְּקִרְבִּ֑י
וְאֵימ֥וֹת
מָ֝֗וֶת
נָפְל֥וּ
עָלָֽי׃
6. יִרְאָ֣ה
וָ֭רַעַד
יָ֣בֹא
בִ֑י
וַ֝תְּכַסֵּ֗נִי
פַּלָּצֽוּת׃
7. וָאֹמַ֗ר
מִֽי־
יִתֶּן־
לִּ֣י
אֵ֭בֶר
כַּיּוֹנָ֗ה
אָע֥וּפָה
וְאֶשְׁכֹּֽנָה׃
8. הִ֭נֵּה
אַרְחִ֣יק
נְדֹ֑ד
אָלִ֖ין
בַּמִּדְבָּ֣ר
סֶֽלָה׃
9. אָחִ֣ישָׁה
מִפְלָ֣ט
לִ֑י
מֵר֖וּחַ
סֹעָ֣ה
מִסָּֽעַר׃
10. בַּלַּ֣ע
אֲ֭דֹנָי
פַּלַּ֣ג
לְשׁוֹנָ֑ם
כִּֽי־
רָאִ֨יתִי
חָמָ֖ס
וְרִ֣יב
בָּעִֽיר׃
11. יוֹמָ֤ם
וָלַ֗יְלָה
יְסוֹבְבֻ֥הָ
עַל־
חוֹמֹתֶ֑יהָ
וְאָ֖וֶן
וְעָמָ֣ל
בְּקִרְבָּֽהּ׃
12. הַוּ֥וֹת
בְּקִרְבָּ֑הּ
וְֽלֹא־
יָמִ֥ישׁ
מֵ֝רְחֹבָ֗הּ
תֹּ֣ךְ
וּמִרְמָֽה׃
13. כִּ֤י
לֹֽא־
אוֹיֵ֥ב
יְחָֽרְפֵ֗נִי
וְאֶ֫שָּׂ֥א
לֹֽא־
מְ֭שַׂנְאִי
עָלַ֣י
הִגְדִּ֑יל
וְאֶסָּתֵ֥ר
מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃
14. וְאַתָּ֣ה
אֱנ֣וֹשׁ
כְּעֶרְכִּ֑י
אַ֝לּוּפִ֗י
וּמְיֻדָּֽעִי׃
15. אֲשֶׁ֣ר
יַ֭חְדָּו
נַמְתִּ֣יק
ס֑וֹד
בְּבֵ֥ית
אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים
נְהַלֵּ֥ךְ
בְּרָֽגֶשׁ׃
16. ישימות
יַשִּׁ֤י
מָ֨וֶת ׀
עָלֵ֗ימוֹ
יֵרְד֣וּ
שְׁא֣וֹל
חַיִּ֑ים
כִּֽי־
רָע֖וֹת
בִּמְגוּרָ֣ם
בְּקִרְבָּֽם׃
17. אֲ֭נִי
אֶל־
אֱלֹהִ֣ים
אֶקְרָ֑א
וַ֝יהוָ֗ה
יוֹשִׁיעֵֽנִי׃
18. עֶ֤רֶב
וָבֹ֣קֶר
וְ֭צָהֳרַיִם
אָשִׂ֣יחָה
וְאֶהֱמֶ֑ה
וַיִּשְׁמַ֥ע
קוֹלִֽי׃
19. פָּ֘דָ֤ה
בְשָׁל֣וֹם
נַ֭פְשִׁי
מִקֲּרָב־
לִ֑י
כִּֽי־
בְ֝רַבִּ֗ים
הָי֥וּ
עִמָּדִֽי׃
20. יִשְׁמַ֤ע ׀
אֵ֨ל ׀
וְֽיַעֲנֵם֮
וְיֹ֤שֵׁ֥ב
קֶ֗דֶם
סֶ֥לָה
אֲשֶׁ֤ר
אֵ֣ין
חֲלִיפ֣וֹת
לָ֑מוֹ
וְלֹ֖א
יָרְא֣וּ
אֱלֹהִֽים׃
21. שָׁלַ֣ח
יָ֭דָיו
בִּשְׁלֹמָ֗יו
חִלֵּ֥ל
בְּרִיתֽוֹ׃
22. חָלְק֤וּ ׀
מַחְמָאֹ֣ת
פִּיו֮
וּֽקֲרָב־
לִ֫בּ֥וֹ
רַכּ֖וּ
דְבָרָ֥יו
מִשֶּׁ֗מֶן
וְהֵ֣מָּה
פְתִחֽוֹת׃
23. הַשְׁלֵ֤ךְ
עַל־
יְהוָ֨ה ׀
יְהָבְךָ֮
וְה֢וּא
יְכַ֫לְכְּלֶ֥ךָ
לֹא־
יִתֵּ֖ן
לְעוֹלָ֥ם
מ֗וֹט
לַצַּדִּֽיק׃
24. וְאַתָּ֤ה
אֱלֹהִ֨ים ׀
תּוֹרִדֵ֬ם ׀
לִבְאֵ֬ר
שַׁ֗חַת
אַנְשֵׁ֤י
דָמִ֣ים
וּ֖dמִרְמָה
לֹא־
יֶחֱצ֣וּ
יְמֵיהֶ֑ם
וַ֝אֲנִ֗י
אֶבְטַח־
בָּֽךְ׃