Maschil

Occurrences

Maschil appears in the superscriptions (the headings placed before the text) of several Psalms. The following thirteen psalms bear the term in their headings:

• Maschil of David: Psalms 32, 52, 53, 54, 55, and 142
• Maschil of the sons of Korah: Psalms 42, 44, and 45
• Maschil of Asaph: Psalms 74 and 78
• Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite: Psalm 88 (also presented as a psalm of the sons of Korah)
• Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite: Psalm 89

Outside the superscriptions, the same word occurs once, in Psalm 47:7. The New Korean Revised Version renders this verse "Sing praises with a psalm of wisdom."

Meaning and Background of the Word

Maschil derives from a Hebrew root meaning "to understand, to be wise, to make wise." In Psalm 32:8, "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go," the verb rendered "instruct" comes from the same root. The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) is reported to have rendered this heading with a word meaning "understanding." The New Korean Revised Version does not translate the term by its meaning but simply transliterates it as "Maschil."

In some headings, Maschil appears alongside expressions such as "To the chief Musician" and the names of tunes. For this reason, Maschil is likewise thought to be a term related to the manner in which psalms were sung in temple worship or to the genre of the poem.

Interpretations and Debates

There are broadly three views on its precise meaning:

• Didactic psalm: A poem that enlightens and instructs its hearers. Psalms with clearly instructive content, such as Psalms 32 and 78, are cited in support of this view.
• Contemplative psalm: A poem that prompts deep reflection.
• Skillfully composed psalm: A term referring to an artful song or a musical form.

The Maschil psalms include laments (Psalms 88 and 142), a psalm reflecting on history (Psalm 78), and a psalm celebrating a royal wedding (Psalm 45). Consequently, no single interpretation readily accounts for all of them, and many scholars consider the meaning impossible to determine with certainty.

Views on the psalm superscriptions themselves also differ among traditions. Some regard the superscriptions as reliable information transmitted together with the text, while others see them as additions made during later editing. Because the Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as verse 1, the verse numbering of some psalms differs by one from that of Korean Bibles. For example, Psalm 47:7 in Korean Bibles is verse 8 in the Hebrew Bible.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

The New Testament does not use the word Maschil, but it quotes several of the Maschil psalms. Romans 4:7–8 quotes Psalm 32:1–2, and Romans 8:36 quotes Psalm 44:22. Matthew 13:35 quotes Psalm 78:2, and Hebrews 1:8–9 quotes Psalm 45:6–7. The New Testament also speaks of praise and teaching together (Colossians 3:16), and those who read Maschil as a didactic psalm sometimes link this verse to Maschil in their explanations.

In the Korean Church

The heading Maschil itself is rarely the subject of a sermon, but the psalms that bear it are widely read. The image of the deer in Psalm 42:1 is also well known from the lyrics of gospel songs.