Psalm 6 → 107
Reasoning: 10816 Output: 6693 Total: 17509
Argument
Thesis: Psalm 107 can be read as the realized answer to the prayer of Psalm 6. Psalm 6 is an individual lament for healing and deliverance “for the sake of your hesed,” while Psalm 107 is a communal thanksgiving in which the redeemed recount precisely such healings and deliverances and respond with public praise and thank offerings. The connection shows up in form, vocabulary (especially rarer/shared roots), motifs, and in the life-cycle of ancient Israelite worship. 1) Form and stylistic logic: lament → deliverance → public thanks - Psalm 6 (individual lament): plea for mercy, healing, rescue from death; tears at night; ends with assurance that YHWH has heard and enemies will be shamed. - Psalm 107 (communal thanksgiving/todah liturgy): four cycles of distress → cry → deliverance → thanks; explicit call to bring “sacrifices of thanksgiving” and to “tell his deeds” (107:22). - Liturgical life-cycle behind both: after deliverance from a life-threatening crisis (e.g., illness), an Israelite would bring a todah-offering and publicly recount God’s rescue (Lev 7:11–15). Psalm 6 is the pre-deliverance cry; Psalm 107 is the post-deliverance liturgy (note 107:22). 2) Most significant lexical and root correspondences (rarer/shared roots first) - רפא “heal” - Ps 6:3 רְפָאֵנִי יְהוָה (Heal me, LORD). - Ps 107:20 וַיִּרְפָאֵם (He healed them). - Same root, same semantic field; rare in laments compared to more common rescue terms, so this is weighty. Psalm 107’s statement is an explicit realization of Psalm 6’s petition. - יֶשַׁע (הוֹשִׁיעַ) “save, deliver” - Ps 6:5 הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ (Save me for your hesed). - Ps 107:13,19 יוֹשִׁיעֵם (He saved them). - Same root; Psalm 107 narrates the very salvation Psalm 6 asks for. - ידה (Hiphil) “give thanks/praise” - Ps 6:6 בִּשְׁאוֹל מִי יוֹדֶה־לָּךְ (In Sheol who will thank you?). - Ps 107 (refrain): יוֹדוּ לַיהוָה חַסְדּוֹ (Let them thank YHWH for his hesed; vv. 8, 15, 21, 31), plus 107:22 זִבְחֵי תוֹדָה. - The rhetorical question of Psalm 6 is answered by Psalm 107’s repeated call: the living, delivered worshipers do in fact “thank” God. - חֶסֶד “steadfast love” - Ps 6:5 לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ (for your hesed). - Ps 107:1 כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ (for his hesed endures forever), echoed in the refrain and in 107:43 חַסְדֵי יְהוָה. - Same noun; Psalm 6 bases its plea on hesed, Psalm 107 proclaims its permanence and displays it in action. - מָוֶת “death” and the death-sphere - Ps 6:6 אֵין בַּמָּוֶת זִכְרֶךָ; בִּשְׁאוֹל מִי יוֹדֶה־לָּךְ (no praise in death/Sheol). - Ps 107:18 עַד שַׁעֲרֵי מָוֶת; 107:10,14 בְּצַלְמָוֶת (shadow of death), 107:20 מִשְּׁחִיתוֹתָם. - Shared “death/underworld” field; 107 repeatedly shows God pulling people back from death’s threshold—the very outcome Psalm 6 seeks. - נֶפֶשׁ “life/soul” - Ps 6:4–5 נַפְשִׁי נִבְהֲלָה… חַלְּצָה נַפְשִׁי (my nefesh is in terror; deliver my nefesh). - Ps 107:5,9,18,26 נַפְשָׁם… (their nefesh… fainting, hungry, at death’s gate). - Same noun and distress-to-deliverance arc. - צר “foe/straits” - Ps 6:8 בְּכָל־צוֹרְרָי; 6:11 כָּל־אֹיְבָי (my adversaries/enemies). - Ps 107:2 מִיַּד־צָר (from the hand of the foe); refrains: בַּצַּר לָהֶם (in their distress, vv. 6,13,19,28). - Same root covers both the agent (foe) and the condition (straits/oppression). In 107 God redeems from “the hand of the foe,” which is the communal form of the reversal Psalm 6 anticipates when it says enemies will be shamed. 3) Structural and thematic correspondences - Distress → cry → divine response - Psalm 6: tears, terror, “How long?”; then confidence “YHWH has heard my plea.” - Psalm 107: four panels repeat “they cried to YHWH … he delivered them,” making explicit the hearing that Psalm 6 affirms (6:10 שָׁמַע יְהוָה תְּחִנָּתִי). - Discipline transformed by compassion - Psalm 6:1 Do not rebuke/chasten me in anger. - Psalm 107:11–12 affliction interpreted as divine discipline for rebellion; yet each panel ends in mercy and rescue. This is exactly the movement Psalm 6 asks for: from anger to hesed. - From isolation to gathered praise - Psalm 6: individual, weeping alone at night; “Depart from me, all workers of iniquity” (6:9). - Psalm 107: gathered community (“from east/west/north/sea,” v.3); public assembly praise (“in the assembly of the people,” v.32); todah sacrifices (v.22). The lonely sufferer of Psalm 6 stands now amid a congregation giving thanks. - Reversal motifs - Psalm 6 ends with enemies suddenly shamed and dismayed (6:11). - Psalm 107 climaxes with large-scale reversals (vv.33–41: deserts turned to pools and vice versa; nobles humbled; the poor raised). The enemy’s downfall in Psalm 6 is a micro–instance of the macro-reversal theology in Psalm 107. 4) The illness panel in Psalm 107 explicitly answers Psalm 6 - Psalm 6’s presenting crisis is bodily and mortal: bones terrified, nefesh in panic, plea for healing and rescue from death. - Psalm 107:17–22 presents the sick who abhor food, approach “the gates of death,” cry to YHWH, are healed when “he sent his word and healed them,” and then offer “sacrifices of thanksgiving” and “tell his deeds with song.” This is an exact narrative fulfillment of Psalm 6’s petitions, down to the rare root רפא and the todah response implied by Psalm 6’s concern that only the living can thank God. 5) Canonical and experiential logic - Canonically, Psalm 107 opens Book V by celebrating post-judgment restoration: “Let the redeemed of YHWH say so… whom he gathered” (107:2–3). This communal restoration is the large-scale answer to many individual laments in Books I–III like Psalm 6: the God who hears the lone sufferer is the same God who, in the end, gathers, heals, and saves a people. - In lived Israelite piety, Psalm 6 maps onto the crisis phase; Psalm 107 prescribes the fitting post-deliverance response: public thanks, testimony, and sacrifice. Bottom line - On lexical grounds (especially shared and relatively weighty roots רפא, ישע, ידה, חסד, plus the death/Sheol field), on form-critical grounds (lament answered by todah), and on thematic grounds (discipline turned to mercy; enemies foiled; deliverance from death leading to public praise), Psalm 107 reads naturally as the logical sequel to Psalm 6. Psalm 6 asks, “Who will thank you in Sheol?” Psalm 107 replies four times over, “Let them thank YHWH for his hesed,” and even tells them to bring the todah that Psalm 6 implicitly longed to offer while still among the living.
Evaluation
Score: 6.0
Evaluated at: 2025-11-21T03:58:57 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 3264 Output: 7529 Total: 10793
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 3.0 / 10
Strong text-anchored overlaps (רפא: 6:3 ~ 107:20; ישע: 6:5 ~ 107:13,19; ידה: 6:6 ~ 107 refrain) and illness panel fit; but vocabulary is common, no editorial markers, adjacency, or counterpoints. No caps.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 6 and Psalm 107 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 107 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 107:
Psalm 107
1. הֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
כִּי־
ט֑וֹב
כִּ֖י
לְעוֹלָ֣ם
חַסְדּֽוֹ׃
2. יֹ֭אמְרוּ
גְּאוּלֵ֣י
יְהוָ֑ה
אֲשֶׁ֥ר
גְּ֝אָלָ֗ם
מִיַּד־
צָֽר׃
3. וּֽמֵאֲרָצ֗וֹת
קִ֫בְּצָ֥ם
מִמִּזְרָ֥ח
וּמִֽמַּעֲרָ֑ב
מִצָּפ֥וֹן
וּמִיָּֽם׃
4. תָּע֣וּ
בַ֭מִּדְבָּר
בִּישִׁימ֣וֹן
דָּ֑רֶךְ
עִ֥יר
מ֝וֹשָׁ֗ב
לֹ֣א
מָצָֽאוּ׃
5. רְעֵבִ֥ים
גַּם־
צְמֵאִ֑ים
נַ֝פְשָׁ֗ם
בָּהֶ֥ם
תִּתְעַטָּֽף׃
6. וַיִּצְעֲק֣וּ
אֶל־
יְ֭הוָה
בַּצַּ֣ר
לָהֶ֑ם
מִ֝מְּצֽוּקוֹתֵיהֶ֗ם
יַצִּילֵֽם׃
7. וַ֭יַּֽדְרִיכֵם
בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ
יְשָׁרָ֑ה
לָ֝לֶ֗כֶת
אֶל־
עִ֥יר
מוֹשָֽׁב׃
8. יוֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
חַסְדּ֑וֹ
וְ֝נִפְלְאוֹתָ֗יו
לִבְנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
9. כִּי־
הִ֭שְׂבִּיעַ
נֶ֣פֶשׁ
שֹׁקֵקָ֑ה
וְנֶ֥פֶשׁ
רְ֝עֵבָה
מִלֵּא־
טֽוֹב׃
10. יֹ֭שְׁבֵי
חֹ֣שֶׁךְ
וְצַלְמָ֑וֶת
אֲסִירֵ֖י
עֳנִ֣י
וּבַרְזֶֽל׃
11. כִּֽי־
הִמְר֥וּ
אִמְרֵי־
אֵ֑ל
וַעֲצַ֖ת
עֶלְי֣וֹן
נָאָֽצוּ׃
12. וַיַּכְנַ֣ע
בֶּעָמָ֣ל
לִבָּ֑ם
כָּ֝שְׁל֗וּ
וְאֵ֣ין
עֹזֵֽר׃
13. וַיִּזְעֲק֣וּ
אֶל־
יְ֭הוָה
בַּצַּ֣ר
לָהֶ֑ם
מִ֝מְּצֻֽקוֹתֵיהֶ֗ם
יוֹשִׁיעֵֽם׃
14. יֽ֭וֹצִיאֵם
מֵחֹ֣שֶׁךְ
וְצַלְמָ֑וֶת
וּמוֹסְר֖וֹתֵיהֶ֣ם
יְנַתֵּֽק׃
15. יוֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
חַסְדּ֑וֹ
וְ֝נִפְלְאוֹתָ֗יו
לִבְנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
16. כִּֽי־
שִׁ֭בַּר
דַּלְת֣וֹת
נְחֹ֑שֶׁת
וּבְרִיחֵ֖י
בַרְזֶ֣ל
גִּדֵּֽעַ׃
17. אֱ֭וִלִים
מִדֶּ֣רֶךְ
פִּשְׁעָ֑ם
וּֽ֝מֵעֲוֺ֥נֹתֵיהֶ֗םt
יִתְעַנּֽוּ׃
18. כָּל־
אֹ֭כֶל
תְּתַעֵ֣ב
נַפְשָׁ֑ם
וַ֝יַּגִּ֗יעוּ
עַד־
שַׁ֥עֲרֵי
מָֽוֶת׃
19. וַיִּזְעֲק֣וּ
אֶל־
יְ֭הוָה
בַּצַּ֣ר
לָהֶ֑ם
מִ֝מְּצֻֽקוֹתֵיהֶ֗ם
יוֹשִׁיעֵֽם׃
20. יִשְׁלַ֣ח
דְּ֭בָרוֹ
וְיִרְפָּאֵ֑ם
וִֽ֝ימַלֵּ֗ט
מִשְּׁחִיתוֹתָֽם׃
8
21. יוֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
חַסְדּ֑וֹ
וְ֝נִפְלְאוֹתָ֗יו
לִבְנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
8
22. וְ֭יִזְבְּחוּ
זִבְחֵ֣י
תוֹדָ֑ה
וִֽיסַפְּר֖וּ
מַעֲשָׂ֣יו
בְּרִנָּֽה׃
8
23. יוֹרְדֵ֣י
הַ֭יָּם
בָּאֳנִיּ֑וֹת
עֹשֵׂ֥י
מְ֝לָאכָ֗ה
בְּמַ֣יִם
רַבִּֽים׃
8
24. הֵ֣מָּה
רָ֭אוּ
מַעֲשֵׂ֣י
יְהוָ֑ה
וְ֝נִפְלְאוֹתָ֗יו
בִּמְצוּלָֽה׃
8
25. וַיֹּ֗אמֶר
וַֽ֭יַּעֲמֵד
ר֣וּחַ
סְעָרָ֑ה
וַתְּרוֹמֵ֥ם
גַּלָּֽיו׃
8
26. יַעֲל֣וּ
שָׁ֭מַיִם
יֵרְד֣וּ
תְהוֹמ֑וֹת
נַ֝פְשָׁ֗ם
בְּרָעָ֥ה
תִתְמוֹגָֽג׃
27. יָח֣וֹגּוּ
וְ֭יָנוּעוּ
כַּשִּׁכּ֑וֹר
וְכָל־
חָ֝כְמָתָ֗ם
תִּתְבַּלָּֽע׃
28. וַיִּצְעֲק֣וּ
אֶל־
יְ֭הוָה
בַּצַּ֣ר
לָהֶ֑ם
וּֽ֝מִמְּצֽוּקֹתֵיהֶ֗ם
יוֹצִיאֵֽם׃
29. יָקֵ֣ם
סְ֭עָרָה
לִדְמָמָ֑ה
וַ֝יֶּחֱשׁ֗וּ
גַּלֵּיהֶֽם׃
30. וַיִּשְׂמְח֥וּ
כִֽי־
יִשְׁתֹּ֑קוּ
וַ֝יַּנְחֵ֗ם
אֶל־
מְח֥וֹז
חֶפְצָֽם׃
31. יוֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
חַסְדּ֑וֹ
וְ֝נִפְלְאוֹתָ֗יו
לִבְנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
32. וִֽ֭ירֹמְמוּהוּ
בִּקְהַל־
עָ֑ם
וּבְמוֹשַׁ֖ב
זְקֵנִ֣ים
יְהַלְלֽוּהוּ׃
33. יָשֵׂ֣ם
נְהָר֣וֹת
לְמִדְבָּ֑ר
וּמֹצָ֥אֵי
מַ֝֗יִם
לְצִמָּאֽוֹן׃
34. אֶ֣רֶץ
פְּ֭רִי
לִמְלֵחָ֑ה
מֵ֝רָעַ֗ת
יֹ֣שְׁבֵי
בָֽהּ׃
35. יָשֵׂ֣ם
מִ֭דְבָּר
לַֽאֲגַם־
מַ֑יִם
וְאֶ֥רֶץ
צִ֝יָּ֗ה
לְמֹצָ֥אֵי
מָֽיִם׃
36. וַיּ֣וֹשֶׁב
שָׁ֣ם
רְעֵבִ֑ים
וַ֝יְכוֹנְנ֗וּ
עִ֣יר
מוֹשָֽׁב׃
37. וַיִּזְרְע֣וּ
שָׂ֭דוֹת
וַיִּטְּע֣וּ
כְרָמִ֑ים
וַ֝יַּעֲשׂ֗וּ
פְּרִ֣י
תְבֽוּאָה׃
38. וַיְבָרֲכֵ֣ם
וַיִּרְבּ֣וּ
מְאֹ֑ד
וּ֝בְהֶמְתָּ֗ם
לֹ֣א
יַמְעִֽיט׃
39. וַיִּמְעֲט֥וּ
וַיָּשֹׁ֑חוּ
מֵעֹ֖צֶר
רָעָ֣ה
וְיָגֽוֹן׃
8
40. שֹׁפֵ֣ךְ
בּ֭וּז
עַל־
נְדִיבִ֑ים
וַ֝יַּתְעֵ֗ם
בְּתֹ֣הוּ
לֹא־
דָֽרֶךְ׃
41. וַיְשַׂגֵּ֣ב
אֶבְי֣וֹן
מֵע֑וֹנִי
וַיָּ֥שֶׂם
כַּ֝צֹּ֗אן
מִשְׁפָּחֽוֹת׃
42. יִרְא֣וּ
יְשָׁרִ֣ים
וְיִשְׂמָ֑חוּ
וְכָל־
עַ֝וְלָ֗ה
קָ֣פְצָה
פִּֽיהָ׃
43. מִי־
חָכָ֥ם
וְיִשְׁמָר־
אֵ֑לֶּה
וְ֝יִתְבּֽוֹנְנ֗וּ
חַֽסְדֵ֥י
יְהוָֽה׃