Psalm 6 → 130

Reasoning: 6976 Output: 4334 Total: 11310

Argument

Here is a compact case that Psalm 130 “logically follows” Psalm 6, organized by the kinds of links you asked for. I weight rarer, tighter links more heavily, and I note when a connection is weaker (same idea, different root).

1) Strong lexical ties (same root and same/similar form)
- חנן “to be gracious; plea for grace”
  - Ps 6:3 חָנֵּנִי “be gracious to me”
  - Ps 6:10 תְּחִנָּתִי “my plea for grace”
  - Ps 130:2 לְקוֹל תַּחֲנוּנָי “the voice of my pleas for grace”
  Why it matters: The root, and even the nominal form תְּחִנָּה/תַּחֲנוּן, is not the everyday “prayer” word (as תְּפִלָּה is), so the recurrence is notable.

- שׁמע + קוֹל “hear” + “voice”
  - Ps 6:9–10 כִּי־שָׁמַע יְהוָה קוֹל בִּכְיִי; שָׁמַע יְהוָה תְּחִנָּתִי
  - Ps 130:2 אֲדֹנָי שִׁמְעָה בְקוֹלִי … לְקוֹל תַּחֲנוּנָי
  Why it matters: identical collocation; both present the same triad: “hear” + “voice” + “plea for grace.”

- נֶפֶשׁ “soul”
  - Ps 6:5 חַלְּצָה נַפְשִׁי; 6:4 וְנַפְשִׁי נִבְהֲלָה
  - Ps 130:5–6 נַפְשִׁי (twice)
  Why it matters: both psalms are “soul-talk” prayers; the soul is the locus of affliction and of waiting.

- לְמַעַן “for the sake/purpose”
  - Ps 6:5 הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ
  - Ps 130:4 כִּי־עִמְּךָ הַסְּלִיחָה לְמַעַן תִּוָּרֵא
  Why it matters: the psalmist argues purpose/ground in both: save “for the sake of your hesed” (6), forgive “in order that you may be feared” (130). Both frame God’s act as serving God’s own public honor.

- חֶסֶד “steadfast love”
  - Ps 6:5 לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ
  - Ps 130:7 כִּי־עִם־יְהוָה הַחֶסֶד
  Why it matters: identical theological ground.

- Rhetorical “מִי …?”
  - Ps 6:6 בִּשְׁאוֹל מִי יוֹדֶה־לָּךְ
  - Ps 130:3 אֲדֹנָי מִי יַעֲמֹד
  Why it matters: same interrogative device, posed to YHWH, pushing toward mercy.

2) Moderate lexical/semantic ties (same idea, different root)
- Sin/iniquity
  - Ps 6:9 פֹעֲלֵי אָוֶן “workers of iniquity”
  - Ps 130:3, 8 עֲוֹנוֹת “iniquities”
  Why it matters: different roots (אָוֶן vs עָוֹן), same semantic field; both foreground moral guilt as the problem beneath the trouble.

- Deliverance language
  - Ps 6:5 חַלְּצָה נַפְשִׁי; הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי
  - Ps 130:7–8 פְּדוּת; יִפְדֶּה
  Why it matters: different verbs (חלץ/ישע vs פדה), but same deliverance concept; 130 “universalizes” it into covenantal redemption.

- Fear/dread
  - Ps 6:3–4 נִבְהֲלוּ … נִבְהֲלָה מְאֹד “terrified/dismayed”
  - Ps 130:4 לְמַעַן תִּוָּרֵא “so that you may be feared”
  Why it matters: movement from paralyzing fear under wrath (6) to reverent fear produced by forgiveness (130).

3) Shared imagery and mythic space
- Underworld/depths
  - Ps 6:6 “בַּמָּוֶת … בִּשְׁאוֹל” (Death/Sheol)
  - Ps 130:1 “מִמַּעֲמַקִּים” (the depths)
  Why it matters: both locate the speaker at the edge or inside the domain of death/chaos. 130’s “depths” is traditional sea/underworld language that complements 6’s explicit “Sheol.”

- Night → morning arc
  - Ps 6:7 “בְכָל־לַיְלָה מִטָּתִי … בְּדִמְעָתִי”
  - Ps 130:6 “מִשֹּׁמְרִים לַבֹּקֶר … לַבֹּקֶר”
  Why it matters: Psalm 6 lives in the night of tears; Psalm 130 answers with the watch for morning. This is a classic lament-to-trust diurnal movement.

4) Form and structure
- Individual lament that turns to certainty, then expands outward
  - Ps 6: individual complaint → assurance “שָׁמַע יְהוָה …” → address to antagonists.
  - Ps 130: individual cry → internalized certainty/hope (vv. 5–6) → communal exhortation “יַחֵל יִשְׂרָאֵל …” (vv. 7–8).
  Why it matters: both share the lament-to-assurance pattern, and both end by looking beyond the self (in 6 to enemies; in 130 to all Israel). 130’s ending generalizes the logic of 6 from “me” to “Israel.”

- Imperative/jussive-heavy address to YHWH
  - Ps 6: אַל־תּוֹכִיחֵנִי; אַל־תְיַסְּרֵנִי; חָנֵּנִי; רְפָאֵנִי; שׁוּבָה; חַלְּצָה; הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי
  - Ps 130: שִׁמְעָה … תִּהְיֶינָה אָזְנֶיךָ קַשֻּׁבוֹת
  Why it matters: same style of urgent petitioning “You, YHWH, do X.”

5) Theological logic: 130 as an answer to 6
- Psalm 6 argues: “Save me for your hesed, because in death there is no remembrance/thanksgiving” (6:5–6). Psalm 130 supplies the theological complement: “With you is forgiveness, so that you may be feared” (130:4). In other words, preservation/forgiveness produces the reverent worship God seeks—the very rationale 6 invoked against death’s silence.
- Psalm 6’s “How long?” (עַד־מָתָי, 6:4) is resolved by Psalm 130’s waiting motif: “I wait … more than watchmen for the morning” (130:5–6). The open-ended impatience of 6 is transposed into resolute, liturgical waiting in 130.
- Psalm 6 ends with confidence that God has heard (שָׁמַע …), Psalm 130 begins by asking God to hear (שִׁמְעָה …) and then moves to confident hope (קִוִּיתִי … הוֹחָלְתִּי). The two psalms thus form a petition–assurance seam stitched by the same hearing vocabulary.

6) Canonical/formal associations
- Both are among the seven “penitential psalms” in later tradition (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143), and both concentrate on sin under divine displeasure, grounded in hesed and forgiveness.
- Genre complementarity: Psalm 6 is an individual sickbed/sin-lament; Psalm 130, a “Song of Ascents,” fits a post-crisis, temple-facing posture. One plausible life-sequence is: the sufferer of 6 recovers/receives assurance, then “ascends” (pilgrimage) and exhorts all Israel in 130 to hope in the same forgiving God.

7) Sound and paronomasia (softer, but suggestive)
- 130 opens with מִמַּעֲמַקִּים (“from the depths”) and then plays with עִמְּךָ/עִמּוֹ (“with you/with him,” vv. 4, 7). The movement “from the depths” to being “with” YHWH offers a sonic and conceptual ascent. That ascent answers the abyss of 6 (שְׁאוֹל; night of tears).
  
8) Summary of the cumulative logic
- Situation: Psalm 6 places the supplicant under divine anger, near Sheol, crying through the night, pleading for grace on the basis of God’s hesed.
- Transition: God hears (שָׁמַע) the plea (תְּחִנָּה).
- Sequel: Psalm 130 re-enters that same vocabulary (שׁמע/קוֹל/תַּחֲנוּן; נֶפֶשׁ; לְמַעַן; חֶסֶד), now framed as an ascent from the depths to the dawn, and expands the individual’s assurance into Israel’s corporate hope—grounded not only in hesed but in explicit סליחה/פְּדוּת (forgiveness/redemption).

On balance, the high-value links (חנן with תְּחִנָּה/תַּחֲנוּן; שׁמע + קוֹל; חֶסֶד; לְמַעַן; the “מִי …?” rhetoric; the night→morning arc; Sheol/depths imagery; and the shared lament→assurance→outward-turn form) make a strong case that Psalm 130 can be read as a theological, stylistic, and experiential sequel to Psalm 6.

Evaluation

Score: 6.5

Evaluated at: 2025-11-22T03:54:31 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 2880 Output: 5171 Total: 8051

Vocabulary specificity: 4.0 / 10

Multiple precise, verse-anchored links (חנן/תחנה; שמע+קול; למען; חסד; מי; night→morning; depths/Sheol) and sequencing rationale. But most are common across Psalms; no editorial marker; collocation appears elsewhere (e.g., Ps 28; 116).

Prompt

Consider Psalm 6 and Psalm 130 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 130 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 130:
Psalm 130
1. שִׁ֥יר
        הַֽמַּעֲל֑וֹת
        מִמַּעֲמַקִּ֖ים
        קְרָאתִ֣יךָ
        יְהוָֽה׃
2. אֲדֹנָי֮
        שִׁמְעָ֢ה
        בְק֫וֹלִ֥י
        תִּהְיֶ֣ינָה
        אָ֭זְנֶיךָ
        קַשֻּׁב֑וֹת
        לְ֝ק֗וֹל
        תַּחֲנוּנָֽי׃
3. אִם־
        עֲוֺנ֥וֹת
        תִּשְׁמָר־
        יָ֑הּ
        אֲ֝דֹנָ֗י
        מִ֣י
        יַעֲמֹֽד׃
4. כִּֽי־
        עִמְּךָ֥
        הַסְּלִיחָ֑ה
        לְ֝מַ֗עַן
        תִּוָּרֵֽא׃
5. קִוִּ֣יתִי
        יְ֭הוָה
        קִוְּתָ֣ה
        נַפְשִׁ֑י
        וְֽלִדְבָר֥וֹ
        הוֹחָֽלְתִּי׃
6. נַפְשִׁ֥י
        לַֽאדֹנָ֑י
        מִשֹּׁמְרִ֥ים
        לַ֝בֹּ֗קֶר
        שֹׁמְרִ֥ים
        לַבֹּֽקֶר׃
7. יַחֵ֥ל
        יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל
        אֶל־
        יְה֫וָה
        כִּֽי־
        עִם־
        יְהוָ֥ה
        הַחֶ֑סֶד
        וְהַרְבֵּ֖ה
        עִמּ֣וֹ
        פְדֽוּת׃
8. וְ֭הוּא
        יִפְדֶּ֣ה
        אֶת־
        יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל
        מִ֝כֹּ֗ל
        עֲוֺנֹתָֽיו׃