Nahalal or Nahalol

NAHALAL or NAHALOL (Heb. נַהֲלׂל, נַהֲלָל).

(1) Town in the territory of the tribe of Zebulun, along with Shimron and Beth-Lehem (Josh. 19:15, 21:35). The Israelites were apparently unable to dispossess the Canaanites from Nahalol (Judg. 1:30). Later, probably in the days of David, it became a levitical city belonging to the family of Merari (Josh. 21:35). In the Talmud (TJ, Meg. 1:1, 70a), it is identified with Mahalol, which corresponds to the present-day Arab village of Maʿlūl southwest of Nazareth; the remains that can be found there are of the Roman period only and include a mausoleum (Qaṣr al-Deir). The site of Nahalal proper is still in dispute.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Albright, in: AASOR, 2/3 (1923), 26; Aharoni, Land, index; EM, S.V. (incl. bibl.). WEBSITE: www.nahalal.org.il.