Psalm Headings Explained: Maskil, Michtam and More

A psalm heading is the short line printed above a psalm, also called a superscription or title. 116 of the 150 psalms have one. A heading may name a person, an occasion, a kind of song, an instrument or a tune. Maschil, also written maskil, appears in 13 headings, from Psalm 32 to Psalm 142. Easton's Bible Dictionary takes it to mean a song that teaches a lesson of wisdom. Many heading words are uncertain, so the meanings below are proposals from the sources named, not settled facts.

The glossary on this page lists each heading word as the King James Version spells it, with the psalms that use it. The World English Bible translates most of these words instead of keeping them, and its renderings are quoted here so you can compare the two.

Maschil appears in 13 psalm headings in the King James Version, including Psalm 32, Psalm 42, Psalm 78 and Psalm 142. Easton's Bible Dictionary gives the meaning as instructing, and describes a Maschil as a song that enforces some lesson of wisdom or piety. Wikipedia's Psalms article gives enlightened or wise saying. The World English Bible translates it as a contemplation, or a contemplative psalm. The Maschil psalms vary widely. Psalm 32 is about the relief of confessed sin. Psalm 78 retells Israel's history at length. Psalm 88 is a lament that ends in darkness. What they share is a word in the heading, not a single subject.

Michtam appears in six headings: Psalm 16 and Psalms 56 to 60. Wikipedia's Miktam article calls it a word of unknown meaning and records several guesses, one of them a link with gold. The World English Bible renders it as a poem. Four of the six, Psalms 56, 57, 59 and 60, also name a moment of danger or conflict in David's life, such as when the Philistines seized him in Gath. Shiggaion heads only Psalm 7. Easton's Bible Dictionary describes it as a lyrical poem composed under strong emotion, and notes the plural form Shigionoth in Habakkuk 3:1. The World English Bible renders it as a meditation.

The heading To the chief Musician appears in 55 psalms in the King James Version, and the World English Bible renders it For the Chief Musician. The headings never name this person. Wikipedia's Psalms article reads these lines as musical directions addressed to the leader or choirmaster. The Bible gives a picture of such leaders in 1 Chronicles 15. There Heman, Asaph and Ethan are singers with bronze cymbals, and 1 Chronicles 15:22 says that Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was over the singing because he was skillful. Easton's Bible Dictionary describes the chief Musician on Neginoth as the leader of the part of the temple choir that played stringed instruments.

Some heading words seem to name instruments or settings. Neginoth appears in 6 headings. Easton's Bible Dictionary takes it as songs with stringed instruments, and the World English Bible renders it on stringed instruments. Gittith heads Psalms 8, 81 and 84. Wikipedia's Gittith article calls its meaning uncertain, most likely an instrument, and one proposal ties it to the city of Gath. The World English Bible renders it an instrument of Gath. Sheminith heads Psalms 6 and 12. Easton's gives eight or octave, and the World English Bible has the eight-stringed lyre. Sheminith and Alamoth, the word in the heading of Psalm 46, both appear again in 1 Chronicles 15:20 and 15:21, in a list of Levite musicians.

Several headings seem to name a tune, and the World English Bible translates them as tune titles. Psalm 22 is set to "The Doe of the Morning", Aijeleth Shahar in the King James Version. Psalm 9 is set to "The Death of the Son", Muthlabben. Psalms 45 and 69 use Shoshannim, rendered "The Lilies" or "Lilies", and Psalm 80 has Shoshannim-eduth, "The Lilies of the Covenant". Psalms 57, 58, 59 and 75 are set to "Do Not Destroy", written Al-taschith. Psalm 56 has "Silent Dove in Distant Lands", Jonath-elem-rechokim, and Psalm 60 has "The Lily of the Covenant", Shushan-eduth. Nehiloth, in Psalm 5, is rendered with the flutes. The headings give only these names, not the music itself.