Psalm 6 → 123

Reasoning: 8192 Output: 3686 Total: 11878

Argument

Here is a compact case that Psalm 123 could be read as logically following Psalm 6, organized by type of evidence and giving heavier weight to rarer/striking links and to identical or near‑identical forms.

1) “Catchwords” and root-links (Hebrew)
- חנן “be gracious/show favor” (very strong, frequent in both):
  - Ps 6:3 חָנֵּנִי יְהוָה (2ms imperative + 1cs) and 6:10 תְּחִנָּתִי “my supplication” (noun from the same root).
  - Ps 123:2–3 threefold: עַד שֶׁיְחָנֵּנוּ; חָנֵּנוּ יְהוָה חָנֵּנוּ. The identical plea-formula “חָנֵּן + vocative YHWH” is repeated, simply moving from singular (Ps 6) to plural (Ps 123). This is the strongest lexical bridge: same root, same speech act (imperative plea), nearly identical wording.
- עַד “until/how long” used with waiting for divine action:
  - Ps 6:4 וְאַתָּה יְהוָה עַד־מָתָי “But you, YHWH—how long?” (open-ended waiting).
  - Ps 123:2 …כֵּן עֵינֵינוּ אֶל־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ עַד שֶׁיְחָנֵּנוּ (waiting until grace arrives). The “עד + divine response” frame is the same; 123 refines 6’s raw “How long?” into patient “until he is gracious.”
- עין “eye” (prominent in both; in 123 it structures the psalm):
  - Ps 6:8 עָשְׁשָׁה מִכַּעַס עֵינִי “My eye is dim with grief,” tied to enemies.
  - Ps 123:1–2, 2b–c multiple “eyes”: אֵלֶיךָ נָשָׂאתִי אֶת־עֵינַי; כְעֵינֵי עֲבָדִים … כְּעֵינֵי שִׁפְחָה … כֵּן עֵינֵינוּ. The “eye” moves from failing (6) to focused upward (123).
- נפש “soul/life” (shared noun used in core petitions):
  - Ps 6:4–5 וְנַפְשִׁי נִבְהֲלָה… חַלְּצָה נַפְשִׁי “My soul is terrified… deliver my soul.”
  - Ps 123:4 רַבַּת שָׂבְעָה־לָּהּ נַפְשֵׁנוּ “Our soul has had its fill.” Both make נפש the seat of distress; 6 asks for rescue of נפש, 123 reports נפש filled to the brim—with contempt—thus still in need of grace.
- Shame/derision word-field (semantic link):
  - Ps 6:11 יֵבֹשׁוּ… כָּל־אֹיְבָי “May all my enemies be ashamed.”
  - Ps 123:3–4 שָׂבַעְנוּ בּוּז… הַלַּעַג… הַבּוּז לִגְאֵיוֹנִים “We’ve had our fill of contempt… scorn of the arrogant.” Not the same root, but same honor–shame field and emotional register: 6 ends with enemies shamed; 123 begins with the worshipers saturated with the shame they receive. The appeal of 123 can thus be read as the communal continuation of 6’s wish.

2) Form and style
- Both are laments with the classic moves: direct address to YHWH; imperatives/jussives petitioning divine intervention; reasons introduced by כִּי; enemy pressure; and a turn toward confidence or waiting.
- Intensifiers are prominent in both:
  - Ps 6: מְאֹד with נִבְהֲלָה/יִבָּהֲלוּ; a torrent of first-person verbs; vivid hyperbole (tears drenching the bed).
  - Ps 123: רַב / רַבַּת “much/abundantly” repeated; the double imperative חָנֵּנוּ for emphasis; two balanced similes (כְעֵינֵי…כְעֵינֵי) for rhetorical force.
- Direct vocative YHWH drives both prayers (6 has multiple vocatives; 123 twice including the covenantal “יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ”).

3) Imagery that progresses logically
- Vertical movement from depths to heights:
  - Ps 6:6 “In death/Sheol who will praise you?” The speaker is on the brink of Sheol.
  - Ps 123:1 “To you I lift my eyes, you who sit enthroned in the heavens.” The next scene is literally upward-looking. Moving from nearness to Sheol (down) to address to the enthroned One (up) reads like the next step after survival.
- Eye-motif development:
  - Ps 6: the eye is failing from grief and enemies.
  - Ps 123: the eyes are steady, trained on the master’s hand, modeling trust and patient dependence. The “eye” has moved from tears to disciplined attention.

4) From individual to communal (a common editorial logic in the Psalter)
- Ps 6 speaks in the singular (חָנֵּנִי… נַפְשִׁי… עֵינִי), closing with confidence that YHWH has heard.
- Ps 123 recasts the same plea in the plural (חָנֵּנוּ… עֵינֵינוּ… נַפְשֵׁנוּ), as if the healed individual now joins the congregation in a shared situation of disgrace. This singular→plural shift is a recognized sequencing device in the Psalter.

5) Cultic/life-sequence plausibility in ancient Israel
- Ps 6 is a classic “sickness–near death” lament (requests for healing רְפָאֵנִי; fear of Sheol; tears at night; enemies exploiting weakness).
- A typical next step after recovery was to go up to the sanctuary with the community. Ps 123 is a שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת (Song of Ascents), a pilgrim-psalm used while ascending to Zion. So the move from Ps 6 (private crisis) to Ps 123 (corporate ascent) mirrors the real-life sequence: rescued sufferer rejoins the worshiping throng and, with them, seeks further grace for ongoing social pressure (contempt from the “complacent/proud”).
- Covenant posture is consistent across both: Ps 6 appeals “לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ” (for your covenantal loyalty), and Ps 123 frames the worshipers as servants/slave-girl under a master/mistress (עֲבָדִים… שִׁפְחָה… יַד אֲדֹנֵיהֶם / גְּבִרְתָּהּ), i.e., YHWH’s vassals awaiting suzerain favor. The theology of dependence is continuous.

6) Editorial “seam” effects (how a redactor could make them read consecutively)
- Catchwords likely used intentionally to knit sequences: חנן; עַד; עין; נפש; the honor–shame field.
- The end-state of Ps 6 (“YHWH has heard”) naturally yields the posture of Ps 123 (waiting as servants with eyes fixed “until he is gracious”), turning private assurance into communal patience.

Relative weights (per your criteria)
- Strongest: exact/near-exact forms with חנן (חָנֵּנִי יהוה → חָנֵּנוּ יהוה; plus תְּחִנָּתִי), repeated eye lexeme (עין) as core motif, shared נפש in climactic lines, the “עד + divine action” waiting frame.
- Moderate: shift singular→plural lament; honor–shame field (יבושו ⇄ בוז/לעג); parallel lament structure and intensifiers.
- Conceptual/narrative: Sheol→Heavens vertical move; sickness-bed → pilgrimage ascent; covenant dependence in both.

Put together, these lexical catchwords, matched forms, and the plausible cultic/life-sequence create a coherent case that Psalm 123 can be read as the next “movement” after Psalm 6: the solitary sufferer who pleaded “חָנֵּנִי יְהוָה” becomes the pilgrim among servants pleading “חָנֵּנוּ יְהוָה,” eyes no longer blurred by tears but lifted and fixed on the enthroned One—until he grants grace.

Evaluation

Score: 6.0

Evaluated at: 2025-11-22T03:45:42 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 4032 Output: 4538 Total: 8570

Vocabulary specificity: 3.0 / 10

Specific links: חָנֵּנִי/חָנֵּנוּ יהוה; עַד־מָתַי/עַד שֶׁיְחָנֵּנוּ; eye/נפש motifs. Yet these are common across laments; no editorial marker; non-adjacent, distinct collections. Plausible progression but not compelling against H₀.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 6 and Psalm 123 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 123 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 123:
Psalm 123
1. שִׁ֗יר
        הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת
        אֵ֭לֶיךָ
        נָשָׂ֣אתִי
        אֶת־
        עֵינַ֑י
        הַ֝יֹּשְׁבִ֗י
        בַּשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
2. הִנֵּ֨ה
        כְעֵינֵ֪י
        עֲבָדִ֡ים
        אֶל־
        יַ֤ד
        אֲ‍ֽדוֹנֵיהֶ֗ם
        כְּעֵינֵ֣י
        שִׁפְחָה֮
        אֶל־
        יַ֢ד
        גְּבִ֫רְתָּ֥הּ
        כֵּ֣ן
        עֵ֭ינֵינוּ
        אֶל־
        יְהוָ֣ה
        אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ
        עַ֝֗ד
        שֶׁיְּחָנֵּֽנוּ׃
3. חָנֵּ֣נוּ
        יְהוָ֣ה
        חָנֵּ֑נוּ
        כִּֽי־
        רַ֝֗ב
        שָׂבַ֥עְנוּ
        בֽוּז׃
4. רַבַּת֮
        שָֽׂבְעָה־
        לָּ֢הּ
        נַ֫פְשֵׁ֥נוּ
        הַלַּ֥עַג
        הַשַּׁאֲנַנִּ֑ים
        הַ֝בּ֗וּז
        לִגְאֵ֥יוֹנִֽים׃