This noun means a village or unwalled settlement, appearing in 1 Samuel 6:18 in the construct phrase 'villages of the peasantry.' The context is the account of the ark's return from Philistine territory, noting that both fortified cities and country villages were affected by the plague and witnessed the ark's journey. Villages were unwalled settlements, more vulnerable than fortified cities, typically housing agricultural workers. The term distinguishes rural settlements from urban centers, reflecting the socio-economic geography of ancient Israel where most people lived in small agricultural communities clustered around regional strongholds.