Nehiloth

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Title of Psalm 5, Gesenius explains, "upon the flutes," from Chalil a "perforated instrument", Chaalal ("to bore"); a direction "to the chief musician" that it was to be sung to wind instruments in the temple service; compare  Psalms 87:7, "players on instruments," i.e. flute or pipe players ( Cholelim , Gesenius), "dancers" (Hengstenberg, from Chuwl ). Hengstenberg on Psalm 5 title objects, El ("upon") is never used to introduce the instruments. The title enigmatically and poetically expresses the subject. Septuagint translated "concerning the heiress"; so Vulgate. She is the church, possessing the Lord as her "inheritance" ( Psalms 16:5), or possessed by Him as "His inheritance" ( Deuteronomy 32:9). The plural "upon the inheritances" marks the plurality of members in the church; or else "upon the lots," namely, the twofold inheritances, blessing from God to the righteous, misery to the wicked.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Nehiloth. The title of  Psalms 5:1, in the Authorized Version, is rendered, "To the chief musician upon Nehiloth ." It is most likely that Nehiloth is the general term for perforated wind-instruments of all kinds, as Neginoth denotes all manner of stringed instruments.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Nehiloth ( Nç'Hi-Loth ),  Psalms 5:1-12, title, meaning "perforated," as flutes, "wind instruments," R. V.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

This word occurs only in the heading of  Psalm 5 . It is supposed to refer to some wind instrument or choir, but its meaning is uncertain.

Webster's Dictionary

(n. pl.) A term supposed to mean, perforated wind instruments of music, as pipes or flutes.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Psalm 5:1

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

NEHILOTH. See Psalms, p. 772 a .

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Psalm 5

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

See Musician

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Nehiloth

(Heb. Nechiloth', נְחַילוֹת , with the art. the plur. of נְחַילָה , which, however, is not found), occurs only in the title of Psalms 5, where the A.V. renders "upon Nehiloth" ( אֶלאּהִנְּחַילוֹת ). The Sept., Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion translate Ὑπέρ Τῆς Κληρονομούσης , and the Vulgate, "pro ea quae haereditatent consequitur," by which Augustine understands the Church. The origin of their error was a mistaken etymology, by which Nehiloth is derived from נָחִל , nachdl, "to inherit." Hengstenberg maintains that the title with this derivation has a mystical or spiritual meaning, "for the inheritance," or "upon the lots," i.e., of the righteous and the wicked. Other etymologies have been proposed which are equally unsound.

In Chaldee נְחַיל , nechil, signifies "a swarm of bees." and hence Jarchi attributes to Nehiloth the notion of multitude, the psalm being sung by the whole people of Israel. R. Hai, quoted by Kimchi, adopting the same origin for the word, explains it as an instrument, the sound of which was like the hum of bees, a wind instrument, according to Sonntag (De tit. Psalm page 430), which had a rough tone. Michaelis (Suppl. ad Lex. Heb. page 1629) suggests, with not unreasonable timidity, that the root is to be found in the Arab. nachala, "to winnow," and hence to separate and select the better part, indicating that the psalm, in the title of which Nehiloth occurs, was " an ode to be chanted by the purified and better portion of the people." It is most likely, as Gesenius and others explain, that it is derived (instead of נְחַלֹּת ) from the root חָלִל , Chalal, "to bore, perforate," whence חָלַיל , chall, a flute or pipe ( 1 Samuel 10:5;  1 Kings 1:40), so that Nehiloth is the general term for perforated wind-instruments of all kinds, as Neginoth denotes all manner of stringed instruments. The title of Psalms 5 is therefore addressed to the conductor of the Temple choir who played upon flutes and the like, and these are directly alluded to in  Psalms 87:7, where ( חֹלַים , cholelim) "the players upon instruments" who are associated with the singers are properly "pipers" or "flute-players." SEE Flute Others, like Aben-Ezra among rabbinical commentators, and Hitzig among living scholars, understand it to be the name of an air to which the psalm was sung, "after, or according to, the inheritance." Furst suggests that Nehiloth was a musical choir, having their chief seat at a town which bore a cognate name, perhaps Hilen ( 1 Chronicles 6:58; comp. his explanation of Neginoth). The use of the preposition אֵל in this connection does not justify the rendering "upon," but requires us to understand that the psalm under consideration was to be chanted in imitation or in the style of (a la) the air or musical instrument in question. SEE PSALMS.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ne - hil´oth , nē´hi - loth (  Psalm 5:1-12 , title). See Music .

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

A word which occurs in the title of Psalms 5 [[[Psalms, Book Of]]]