Psalm 6 → 140

Reasoning: 9664 Output: 4388 Total: 14052

Argument

Here is a compact case that Psalm 140 can be read as a logical “follow‑on” to Psalm 6, grouped by kind of evidence and weighted by your criteria.

A. Strong lexical hooks (rarer roots and close formal matches)
- חלץ “deliver, draw out” (Hiphil imperative, 2ms):
  - Ps 6:5 חלְּצָה נפשי “deliver my life”
  - Ps 140:2 חלְּצֵנִי יהוה “deliver me, YHWH”
  This verb is not the most common salvation verb (more usual are הציל/נצל/ישע), so the shared, same‑form plea is a strong link.

- ידה Hifil “give thanks/praise” used programmatically:
  - Ps 6:6 בשׁאול מי יוֹדֶה־לָּך “in Sheol who will ‘give thanks’ to you?”
  - Ps 140:14 אַךְ צדיקים יוֹד֣וּ לשׁמך “surely the righteous will ‘give thanks’ to your name”
  Psalm 140 answer‑keys Psalm 6’s rhetorical question: the living righteous will, in fact, “give thanks.” This is a rare and weighty intertext because it reprises both the root and the act, and resolves the earlier dilemma.

- “Hear … voice of my supplication” formula with the same nouns:
  - Ps 6:9–10 שָׁמַע יהוה קוֹל בכי; שָׁמַע יהוה תְּחִנָּתִי; יהוה תְּפִלָּתִי יִקָּח
  - Ps 140:7 הַאֲזִינָה יהוה קוֹל תַּחֲנוּנָי
  The collocation קול + תְּחִנָּה/תַּחֲנוּן with a “hear” verb addressed to YHWH is identical in sense and nearly identical in diction.

- ישׁע “save”:
  - Ps 6:5 הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי
  - Ps 140:8 עֹז יְשׁוּעָתִי
  Not as rare, but it continues the same salvation vocabulary.

B. Form-critical and structural continuity (genre logic)
- Both are individual laments with the same macro-moves:
  - Complaint + plea (Ps 6:2–5; Ps 140:2–6)
  - “Hear my prayer” appeal (Ps 6:9–10; Ps 140:7)
  - Confidence/assurance (Ps 6:9–10; Ps 140:13)
  - Enemy outcome section (Ps 6:11; Ps 140:9–12)
  - Vow/statement of praise (Ps 6:6 anticipates it; Ps 140:14 delivers it)
  In other words, Ps 140 reads like the “next stanza” of the same lament type, moving from raw plea (Ps 6) to detailed imprecation and realized confidence (Ps 140).

C. Thematic sequencing (narrative logic)
- From sickbed to battlefield:
  - Ps 6 centers on physical and existential collapse (אֻמְלַל, נבהלו עצמותי; nightly tears on the bed, vv. 3, 7).
  - Ps 140 is public conflict: violent men, slander, traps, and explicitly, “day of battle” (ביום נשק, v. 8).
  The “recovery” implied at the end of Ps 6 (YHWH hears) plausibly leads into reentry into public life where violent adversaries must be faced (Ps 140).

- Transfer of terror/judgment from the psalmist to the enemies:
  - Ps 6: the speaker is panicked (ונפשי נבהלה מאד, v. 4), but ends: “All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly terrified” (יבֹשוּ וְיִבָּהֲלוּ מאד, v. 11).
  - Ps 140 spells out that outcome: “coals fall on them … into pits; they will not rise” (ימוטו … בל יקומו, vv. 11–12) and “a man of tongue will not be established in the land” (איש לשון בל יכון בארץ, v. 12).
  Thus Ps 140 narratively executes Ps 6’s closing wish.

- The praise problem resolved:
  - Ps 6 argues for rescue because the dead cannot praise (v. 6).
  - Ps 140 closes by affirming that the living righteous will, in fact, do so and enjoy divine presence (צדיקים יודו לשמך; ישבו ישרים את פניך, v. 14).
  This is an explicit thematic answer to Ps 6’s core motivation for salvation.

D. Stylistic and dictional consonance
- Shared superscriptional frame: לַמְנַצֵּחַ … מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד in both (Ps 6 adds the performance note על־השמינית). That makes it plausible to juxtapose them in a curated sequence.

- Enemy labeling in the same semantic field:
  - Ps 6: פֹעֲלֵי אָוֶן; אֹיְבַי (vv. 9, 11)
  - Ps 140: אֲדָם רַע, אִישׁ חֲמָסִים, רָשָׁע, גֵאִים, אִישׁ לָשׁוֹן (vv. 2, 5, 6, 12)
  Different nouns, same stock of “wicked-oppressor” terms typical of individual laments. Ps 140 simply specifies the types (violent men, slanderers), which reads like the next-turn elaboration of the enemies in Ps 6.

E. Life-setting and cultic logic
- A plausible ancient Israelite sequence:
  1) Crisis of illness interpreted under divine displeasure (Ps 6:2–4) with death-threatening implications (v. 6).
  2) Healing/assurance (Ps 6:9–10), enabling return to public and legal/military arenas.
  3) Renewed opposition by violent/slanderous factions (Ps 140:2–6, 12), with battlefield protection sought (סכֹּתָה לְראשִׁי ביום נשׁק, v. 8).
  4) Judicial vindication and temple presence restored (Ps 140:13–14).
  This maps onto common ANE/Israelite life cycles (illness → deliverance → political/military threats → vindication and worship).

F. Additional, lower-weight parallels
- Imperative chain to YHWH in second person with 1cs focus dominates both (חנני/רפאני/שובה/חלצה/הושיעני in Ps 6; חלצני/שמרני/תנצרני/האֲזִינָה/אל־תתן in Ps 140).
- The “hearing” confidence formula:
  - Ps 6: “YHWH has heard … will accept my prayer” (vv. 9–10).
  - Ps 140: “I know YHWH will do justice for the afflicted” (v. 13): the same rhetorical move from plea to assurance.

Why this order “feels” editorially right
- Ps 6 raises two big issues: the nearness of death and the fate of enemies. Ps 140 responds to both: it affirms that the living righteous will indeed praise (solving the Sheol/praise tension) and spells out enemy downfall in detail (fire, pits, inability to stand). It also advances the story line from private suffering to public conflict and then to worship before God’s face.
- The two most telling lexical ties—חלץ in Hiphil imperative and ידה in Hiphil functioning as the hinge of the argument for/act of praise—support an intentional linkage stronger than generic similarity alone.

In sum: Psalm 140 can be read as the narrative, lexical, and theological continuation of Psalm 6: the same petitioner who begged for deliverance from death (so he could praise) now seeks protection from violent men, witnesses the enemies’ reversal, and arrives at the promised praise in God’s presence.

Evaluation

Score: 6.5

Evaluated at: 2025-11-22T04:08:30 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 4032 Output: 5218 Total: 9250

Vocabulary specificity: 4.5 / 10

Strongest: shared חלץ Hiphil imperatives and ידה answer (Ps 6:6 ⇄ 140:14) plus ‘hear…תחנה’ formula. However, much is common lament diction, and canonical distance (Books I vs V) weakens editorial-sequence claim.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 6 and Psalm 140 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 140 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 140:
Psalm 140
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ
        מִזְמ֥וֹר
        לְדָוִֽד׃
2. חַלְּצֵ֣נִי
        יְ֭הוָה
        מֵאָדָ֣ם
        רָ֑ע
        מֵאִ֖ישׁ
        חֲמָסִ֣ים
        תִּנְצְרֵֽנִי׃
3. אֲשֶׁ֤ר
        חָשְׁב֣וּ
        רָע֣וֹת
        בְּלֵ֑ב
        כָּל־
        י֝֗וֹם
        יָג֥וּרוּ
        מִלְחָמֽוֹת׃
4. שָֽׁנֲנ֣וּ
        לְשׁוֹנָם֮
        כְּֽמוֹ
        נָ֫חָ֥שׁ
        חֲמַ֥ת
        עַכְשׁ֑וּב
        תַּ֖חַת
        שְׂפָתֵ֣ימוֹ
        סֶֽלָה׃
5. שָׁמְרֵ֤נִי
        יְהוָ֨ה ׀
        מִ֘ידֵ֤י
        רָשָׁ֗ע
        מֵאִ֣ישׁ
        חֲמָסִ֣ים
        תִּנְצְרֵ֑נִי
        אֲשֶׁ֥ר
        חָ֝שְׁב֗וּ
        לִדְח֥וֹת
        פְּעָמָֽי׃
6. טָֽמְנֽוּ־
        גֵאִ֨ים ׀
        פַּ֡ח
        לִ֗י
        וַחֲבָלִ֗ים
        פָּ֣רְשׂוּ
        רֶ֭שֶׁת
        לְיַד־
        מַעְגָּ֑ל
        מֹקְשִׁ֖ים
        שָֽׁתוּ־
        לִ֣י
        סֶֽלָה׃
7. אָמַ֣רְתִּי
        לַ֭יהוָה
        אֵ֣לִי
        אָ֑תָּה
        הַאֲזִ֥ינָה
        יְ֝הוָ֗ה
        ק֣וֹל
        תַּחֲנוּנָֽי׃
8. יְהֹוִ֣ה
        אֲ֭דֹנָי
        עֹ֣ז
        יְשׁוּעָתִ֑י
        סַכֹּ֥תָה
        לְ֝רֹאשִׁ֗י
        בְּי֣וֹם
        נָֽשֶׁק׃
9. אַל־
        תִּתֵּ֣ן
        יְ֭הוָה
        מַאֲוַיֵּ֣י
        רָשָׁ֑ע
        זְמָמ֥וֹ
        אַל־
        תָּ֝פֵ֗ק
        יָר֥וּמוּ
        סֶֽלָה׃
10. רֹ֥אשׁ
        מְסִבָּ֑י
        עֲמַ֖ל
        שְׂפָתֵ֣ימוֹ
        יכסומו
        יְכַסֵּֽמוֹ׃
11. ימיטו
        יִמּ֥וֹטוּ
        עֲלֵיהֶ֗ם
        גֶּֽחָ֫לִ֥ים
        בָּאֵ֥שׁ
        יַפִּלֵ֑ם
        בְּ֝מַהֲמֹר֗וֹת
        בָּל־
        יָקֽוּמוּ׃
12. אִ֥ישׁ
        לָשׁוֹן֮
        בַּל־
        יִכּ֢וֹן
        בָּ֫אָ֥רֶץ
        אִישׁ־
        חָמָ֥ס
        רָ֑ע
        יְ֝צוּדֶ֗נּוּ
        לְמַדְחֵפֹֽת׃
13. ידעת
        יָדַ֗עְתִּי
        כִּֽי־
        יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה
        יְ֭הוָה
        דִּ֣ין
        עָנִ֑י
        מִ֝שְׁפַּ֗ט
        אֶבְיֹנִֽים׃
14. אַ֣ךְ
        צַ֭דִּיקִים
        יוֹד֣וּ
        לִשְׁמֶ֑ךָ
        יֵשְׁב֥וּ
        יְ֝שָׁרִ֗ים
        אֶת־
        פָּנֶֽיךָ׃