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
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)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×)
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…