מִגְרָשׁ H4054
Pasture-land, open common surrounding a city; specifically the grazing grounds allotted to Levitical cities
Migrash denotes the open land surrounding a settlement, set aside as common ground — primarily for pasturing livestock. The word appears overwhelmingly in the Levitical city allotment lists of Joshua 21 and 1 Chronicles 6, where each city comes 'with its pasture-lands.' Numbers 35:2-5 provides the legal framework, prescribing measured boundaries for these commons. In Ezekiel's visionary city plan (Ezek 45:2, 48:15-17), the term shifts toward 'open space' in a more architectural sense. German Weideland and French paturage capture the pastoral core, while Spanish ejido — itself a legal term for communal land — provides a remarkably precise cultural parallel.
Senses
1. pasture-land of a city — The dominant technical-legal sense: designated pasture-land or common attached to Levitical cities for grazing livestock. This accounts for 110 of 115 occurrences, clustered heavily in Joshua 21, 1 Chronicles 6, and Numbers 35. The term appears almost formulaically: 'the city and its pasture-lands' (Josh 21:11, 13). German Weide-Land and French paturage reflect the pastoral function, while Spanish campos captures the open-field quality. The root g-r-sh ('drive') suggests land where cattle are driven out to graze. 110×
AR["مَرَاعِيهَا"]·ben["এর-চারণভূমি"]·DE["Weide-Laender-von-ihnen", "Weide-Land-von-es"]·EN["pasture-land-of-it", "pasture-lands-of-them"]·FR["pâturage-lands-de-eux", "pâturage-pays-de-il"]·heb["מגרשה", "מגרשיהן"]·HI["उनकी-चरागाहें", "उसकी-चरागाह"]·ID["padang-padang-rumputnya", "padang-rumputnya"]·IT["pasture-terra-di-esso", "pasture-terre-di-loro"]·jav["ara-ara-ipun", "ara-aranipun"]·KO["그-목초지들을", "그-목초지를"]·PT["seus-campos"]·RU["пастбища-их", "пастбище-её"]·ES["sus-campos"]·SW["malisho-yake"]·TR["otlaklarını"]·urd["چراگاہ-اس-کی", "چراگاہیں-ان-کی"]
Josh 21:3, Josh 21:8, Josh 21:11, Josh 21:13, Josh 21:13, Josh 21:14, Josh 21:14, Josh 21:15, Josh 21:15, Josh 21:16, Josh 21:16, Josh 21:16 (+38 more)
2. open land, open space — A broader sense of open land or vacant space near a settlement, emphasizing the absence of buildings rather than pastoral use. Ezekiel's visionary descriptions employ this sense: the open space around the sanctuary (Ezek 45:2), the open area for the city (Ezek 48:15, 17), and the 'suburbs' that shake at the fall of Tyre (Ezek 27:28). Spanish ejido — originally designating communal open land at a town's edge — captures this urban-adjacent nuance well. 4×
AR["الْمَرَاعِي", "مَرْعًى", "وَ-لِ-مَرْعًى"]·ben["এবং-খোলা-জায়গার-জন্য", "খোলা-জায়গা", "মাঠগুলি"]·DE["Weideland", "und-zu-Weideland"]·EN["and-for-open-land", "open-land", "the-pasture-lands"]·FR["et-pâturage", "pâturage"]·heb["ו-ל-מגרש", "מגרש", "מגרשות"]·HI["और-को-चरागाह", "खुला-स्थान", "चरागाह", "चरागाहें"]·ID["dan-untuk-tanah-lapang", "padang-padang-gembalaan.", "tanah-lapang"]·IT["e-pascolo", "pascolo"]·jav["lan-kangge-tanah-sela", "papan-papan-panggonan.", "tanah-sela"]·KO["그리고-빈-땅으로", "들판이", "빈-땅", "빈-땅이"]·PT["campo-aberto", "e-para-campo-aberto", "substâncias"]·RU["выгон", "и-для-выгона", "окрестности"]·ES["ejido", "los-campos", "y-para-ejido"]·SW["maeneo-ya-nje", "malisho", "na-kwa-malisho", "sehemu-wazi"]·TR["kıyılar", "otlak", "ve-otlak-için"]·urd["اور-کھلی-جگہ-کے-لیے", "میدان", "کھلی-جگہ"]
3. expulsion, driving out — A possible verbal reading connected to the root garash ('to drive out, expel'), surfacing in Ezekiel 36:5, where the form migrash may represent a Qal infinitive meaning 'expulsion' or 'dispossession' rather than the usual noun. The English gloss 'expel her' diverges sharply from the pastoral glosses elsewhere. This is likely a homographic overlap, and some commentators emend the text accordingly. 1×
AR["طَرْدِهَا"]·ben["তার-চারণভূমি"]·DE["Weideland"]·EN["expel-her"]·FR["pâturage"]·heb["מגרשה"]·ID["pengusiran-nya"]·IT["pascolo"]·jav["pangonanipun"]·KO["그녀를-쫓아냅을"]·PT["expulsão-dela"]·RU["изгнать-её"]·ES["su-dehesa"]·SW["malisho-yake"]·TR["sürmek"]·urd["اُس-کے-چراگاہوں"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
מִגְרָשׁ n.m. Nu 35:2 common, common-land, open land (perhaps orig. pasture-land, as place of [cattle] driving)—abs. מ׳ Ez 45:2 + 2 times + Ez 48:15 (Co מגרשָׁהּ); cstr. מִגְרַשׁ Lv 25:34; 2 Ch 31:19; (on מִגְרָשָׁהּ Ez 36:5 cf. גרשׁ); elsewhere pl., abs. מִגְרשׁוֹת Ez 27:28 (Baer); Co מרעשׁת assumed from רָעַשׁ, cf. 𝔊; cstr. מִגְרְשֵׁי Nu 35:4 + 2 times; sf. מִגְרָשֶׁיהָ Jos 21:13(×2) + 42…