Mahalath Leannoth Maschil

Mahalath Leannoth Maschil is the complex superscription of Psalm 88, one of the darkest psalms in the Psalter, attributed to Heman the Ezrahite. The three terms remain textually and musically uncertain. Mahalath likely refers to a tune, instrument (a lute or lyre-like instrument), or liturgical mode. Leannoth (from the root anah, to answer, afflict, or humble) may indicate a responsive mode of singing or may describe the psalm's character as a song of affliction and sighing. Maschil (maskil) is a common psalm heading indicating a contemplative, didactic, or skillfully composed poem.

Psalm 88 itself is exceptional for its sustained lament without resolution: the psalmist cries to God from the depths of near-death experience, feels abandoned and surrounded by death, and the psalm ends without the typical return to confidence or praise. The superscription's emphasis on affliction (leannoth) suits this content perfectly. The psalm has been read throughout Christian interpretation as a typological expression of Christ's abandonment on the cross and as a model for honest, unresolved lament before God.