Hebrew word · H5096

נַהֲלֹל

nahalol

Nahalol

A place name. It is related to the verb nāhal, 'to lead to water, guide to pasture' (Psalm 23:2, 'he leads me beside quiet waters'). The plural noun nahălōlîm in Isaiah 7:19 means 'watering places' or 'pastures'.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Nahalal or Nahallal or Nahalol = "pasture"

one of the cities of Zebulun given to the Merarite Levites

maybe modern 'Malul', a village in the plain of Esdraelon

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Joshua 21:35

Range of meaning

A place name. It is related to the verb nāhal, 'to lead to water, guide to pasture' (Psalm 23:2, 'he leads me beside quiet waters'). The plural noun nahălōlîm in Isaiah 7:19 means 'watering places' or 'pastures'.

Against the English

English versions spell it Nahalal or Nahallal. Judges 1:30 has the form Nahalol.

Used elsewhere in the period

Joshua 19:15 lists it among Zebulun's towns. Judges 1:30 says Zebulun did not drive out its Canaanite inhabitants but made them do forced labour. Where it was is debated: suggestions include Tell en-Nahl near Haifa Bay and sites in the western Jezreel Valley. The modern village of Nahalal took its name from the biblical town.

Where it appears

Joshua · 2

  1. Joshua 19:15 וְנַֽהֲלָל֙ and Nahalal

    It also included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem. There were twelve cities, along with their villages.

    Here: A town in the western Jezreel Valley area. It was later given to the Levites of the Merari clan (Joshua 21:35). In Judges 1:30, spelled Nahalol, it is a place where Zebulun did not drive out the Canaanites.

  2. Joshua 21:35 נַהֲלָ֖ל Nahalal

    Dimnah, and Nahalal—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

    Here: A Zebulun town (Joshua 19:15). Judges 1:30 says its Canaanite inhabitants were not driven out, and there it is spelled Nahalol. The name probably means 'watering place' or 'pasture'.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 1:30 נַהֲלֹ֑ל Nahalol

    Zebulun failed to drive out the inhabitants of Kitron and Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced laborers.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.