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מִגְרָשׁ

𐤌𐤂𐤓𐤔

migrâsh

H4054 noun

SILEX Entry

Root גרש to drive out, expel, send away

Definition

An open tract of land adjacent to or surrounding a city, Levite town, or building, often designated as common land; the term predominantly refers to pasture land or open fields that were not built upon and were used for grazing livestock or as uncultivated space between settlements and the surrounding countryside. Depending on context, may also denote the unenclosed area extending up to but outside built-up zones, and rarely, the margin or immediate vicinity of a feature such as the sea or a city.

Semantic Range

pasture land, common land surrounding a city or building, open tract outside a town, outskirts, area surrounding a place (rarely: margin of the sea), unenclosed boundary areas

Root / Etymology

The word derives from the root גָּרַשׁ (garash), which means 'to drive out, expel, banish.' While the root primarily designates the act of expulsion or casting out, the noun מִגְרָשׁ (migrâsh) has developed semantically to refer specifically to land outside the settled enclosure, conceived as space to which livestock, and by metaphor extension, people or things, 'go out' or are 'driven out.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, מִגְרָשׁ most commonly appears in reference to the Levitical cities designated in the Torah, particularly in Numbers and Joshua, where these lands surround the cities as dedicated zones not for agriculture but for pasture, grazing, and the keeping of livestock. The dimensions and legal status of these migrashim are specifically delineated (Numbers 35:2-5). In later texts, it can indicate open, undeveloped spaces at the boundaries of cities or settlements. In Ezekiel (27:28), the term's feminine plural is used with a somewhat broader meaning, apparently describing the open coastal margins. The term should be sharply distinguished from שָּׂדֶה (sadeh, 'field'), which denotes cultivated land, and from חָצֵר (ḥatzer, 'enclosure, courtyard'), which refers to smaller, often enclosed domestic spaces. Most English translations use 'suburb(s)' or 'pasture land(s),' but 'suburb' anachronistically suggests residential expansion, whereas the biblical מִגְרָשׁ specifically denotes non-cultivated, open land, not settled districts. Across epochs, its meaning is relatively stable and is tied to legal prescriptions for Levite settlements, though poetic uses (e.g., Psalms, Ezekiel) allow for more figurative reference to spatial marginality.

Translation Consistency

primary "pasture" 3 occurrences

migrâsh most often denotes open/common land used for grazing or uncultivated tracts surrounding settlements. "Pasture" is a natural, widely understood single-word noun that covers pastureland/open tract meanings (and pluralizes naturally to "pastures") while remaining more idiomatic than technical options like "open tract" or "common land." Rare senses (e.g., margin/outskirts) can be handled by context-specific wording when needed.

Alternatives (112 occurrences):
"open pasture-lands" (49x) "pasturelands" (45x) "pasture-lands" (7x) "outlying pasture-lands" (4x) "pastureland" (2x) "pasture-lands of" (2x) "pasturelands of" (1x) "open space" (1x) "outlying pastureland" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

also (in plural) feminine (Ezekiel 27:28) מִגְרָשָׁה; from גָּרַשׁ; a suburb (i.e. open country whither flocks are driven from pasture); hence, the area around abuilding, or the margin of the sea; cast out, suburb.

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Root Family

גרש (g-r-sh) — drive out, expel, send away

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1644 גָּרַשׁ I will forcefully expel
H1647 גֵּרְשֹׁם sojourner there
H1648 גֵּרְשׁוֹן Sojourner-There
H1649 גֵּרְשֻׁנִּי the Gershon-descendant

Word Forms

14 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H4054-03 מִגְרָשֶׁ֖/הָ migerasheha HNcmpc/Sp3fs its pasturelands her open pasture-lands her open pasture-lands 49
H4054-04 מִגְרָשֶׁ֖י/הָ migerasheyha HNcmpc/Sp3fs its pasturelands her open-tract lands her pasturelands 41
H4054-14 וּ/מִגְרְשֵׁי/הֶ֖ן umigeresheyhen HC/Ncmpc/Sp3fp and their pasturelands and their pasture-lands and their pasture-lands 5
H4054-01 מִגְרַ֥שׁ migerash HNcmsc pastureland outlying pasture-land of outlying pasture of 4
H4054-06 מִגְרְשֵׁי/הֶֽם migeresheyhem HNcmpc/Sp3mp their pasturelands their outlying pasture-lands their outlying pasture-lands 3
H4054-07 מִגְרְשֵׁי/הֶֽן migeresheyhen HNcmpc/Sp3fp their pasturelands their driven-out pasturelands their pasturelands 3
H4054-13 וּ/מִגְרְשֵׁי/הֶ֗ם umigeresheyhem HC/Ncmpc/Sp3mp and their pasture lands and their outlying pasture-lands and their pasture-lands 2
H4054-05 מִגְרְשֵׁ֖י migereshey HNcmpc pasturelands pasture-lands of pasture-lands of 2
H4054-09 וּ/לְ/מִגְרָ֑שׁ ulemigerash HC/R/Ncmsa and-for-open-land and to the outlying pastureland and for outlying pastureland 1
H4054-02 מִגְרָשָׁ֖/הּ migerashah HNcmsc/Sp3fs its pastureland her outlying pasture-land her pastureland 1

Occurrences in Scripture

115 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H4054-01 Leviticus 25:34 מִגְרַ֥שׁ migerash HNcmsc of-pastureland outlying pasture-land of outlying pasture of
H4054-10 Numbers 35:2 וּ/מִגְרָ֗שׁ umigerash HC/Ncmsa and-pastureland and open pasture-land and pastureland
H4054-13 Numbers 35:3 וּ/מִגְרְשֵׁי/הֶ֗ם umigeresheyhem HC/Ncmpc/Sp3mp and their pasturelands and their outlying pasture-lands and their pasture-lands
H4054-12 Numbers 35:4 וּ/מִגְרְשֵׁי֙ umigereshey HC/Ncmpc pasturelands of and open-tracts of and pasturelands of
H4054-05 Numbers 35:5 מִגְרְשֵׁ֖י migereshey HNcmpc pasturelands pasture-lands of pasture-lands of
H4054-07 Numbers 35:7 מִגְרְשֵׁי/הֶֽן migeresheyhen HNcmpc/Sp3fp their pasture lands their driven-out pasturelands their pasturelands
H4054-13 Joshua 14:4 וּ/מִ֨גְרְשֵׁי/הֶ֔ם umigeresheyhem HC/Ncmpc/Sp3mp and their pasture lands and their outlying pasture-lands and their pasture-lands
H4054-14 Joshua 21:2 וּ/מִגְרְשֵׁי/הֶ֖ן umigeresheyhen HC/Ncmpc/Sp3fp and their pasturelands and their pasture-lands and their pasture-lands
H4054-07 Joshua 21:3 מִגְרְשֵׁי/הֶֽן migeresheyhen HNcmpc/Sp3fp their pasturelands their driven-out pasturelands their pasturelands
H4054-07 Joshua 21:8 מִגְרְשֵׁי/הֶ֑ן migeresheyhen HNcmpc/Sp3fp their pasturelands their driven-out pasturelands their pasturelands
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