Psalm Lxxviii : Vestiges of a Tribal Polemic

TLDR: There are thirteen psalms in the Book of Psalms which include the term maskil in their title as mentioned in this paper, which indicates a poem displaying insight or wisdom about life in general or certain events in particular.

Abstract: There are thirteen psalms in the Book of Psalms which include the term maskil in their title 1). The term is an obscure one and lacks a satisfactory explanation as to its precise denotation. The subject matter of the various maskiltype psalms is not of a uniform nature and therefore cannot assist in defining the term more accurately 2). The word malkil reflects the notion of wisdom or the skilful handling of some matter 3). When used as a title for a psalm it indicates a poem displaying insight or wisdom about life in general or certain events in particular 4). Within the community such a poem tends to become a didactic statement designed for the instruction of its hearers 5). Displaying acute insight into life it aims at developing an equal insight in the minds of the members of the community 6). This didactic type of psalm was most probably the product of the hokmd stratum of Israelite society 7). Psalm lxxviii is a didactic recital of the legends of the Heilsgeschichte 8). It is also an enigmatic treatment of those traditions 9). Though in comparison with other similar maskil psalms it appears