Lexical Summary
migrash or migrashah: Pastureland, open land, common land, outskirts
Original Word: מִגְרָשׁ
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: migrash
Pronunciation: mig-rawsh' or mig-raw-shaw'
Phonetic Spelling: (mig-rawsh')
KJV: cast out, suburb
NASB: pasture lands, open spaces, pasture, open space
Word Origin: [from H1644 (גָּרַשׁ - drive)]
1. a suburb (i.e. open country whither flocks are driven from pasture)
2. (hence) the area around a building, or the margin of the sea
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
cast out, suburb
Also (in plural) feminine (Ezek. 27:28) migrashah {mig-raw-shaw'}; from garash; a suburb (i.e. Open country whither flocks are driven from pasture); hence, the area around a building, or the margin of the sea -- cast out, suburb.
see HEBREW garash
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
garashDefinitiona common, common land, open land
NASB Translationopen space (1), open spaces (2), pasture (2), pasture lands (109).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
Numbers 35:2 (perhaps originally
pasture-land, as place of [cattle]
driving) — absolute
Ezekiel 45:2 2t. +
Ezekiel 48:15 (Co ); construct
Leviticus 25:34; 2Chronicles 31:19; (on
Ezekiel 36:5 compare ); elsewhere plural, absolute
Ezekiel 27:28 (Baer); Co assumed from , compare ; construct
Numbers 35:4 2t.; suffix
Joshua 21:13 (twice in verse) + 42 t.;
Joshua 21:11 46t. in
Joshua 21 (generally or + but also
Joshua 21:21);
Numbers 35:3 4t.;
Numbers 35:7 8t. —
common-land, usually plural, and usually as attached to a city or town, especially as surrounding Levitical cities
Numbers 35:2,3,4,5,7;
Joshua 14:4;
Joshua 21:2 55t.
Joshua 21 (all P; in Manuscripts & old Vrss. are two verses
Joshua 21, between
Joshua 21:35;
Joshua 21:36, with 4t.; omitted by Masora, Editions, Baer, but compare Theile, & Di on the passage);
1 Chronicles 6:40 40t.
1 Chronicles 6;
1 Chronicles 13:2; 2Chronicles 11:14; so also
Leviticus 25:34 (H), 2Chronicles 31:19; lands surrounding the holy city
Ezekiel 48:15,17;
open land or
space about the temple
Ezekiel 45:2; only
1 Chronicles 5:16 of (pasture-) lands in a district, compare . —
Ezekiel 27:28 , if true text, = open country about Tyre (opposed to sea, compare context), but see Da & compare above
see below II. .
(√ of following; compare Arabic 👁 Image
be bulky, massive, 👁 Image
body, Syriac 👁 Image
id.)
Topical Lexicon
Pasturelands in Israel’s Sacred Geography The term מִגְרָשׁ designates the belt of open, uncultivated ground that encircled a city—especially the Levitical towns. It functioned as pasture for flocks, a commons for the community, and a protective buffer between habitation and farmland.
Foundational Command (Numbers 35)
At Sinai the LORD charged Moses: “Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to inhabit, along with pasturelands around the towns” (Numbers 35:2). Verses 4–5 specify a first ring of one thousand cubits and an outer ring of two thousand cubits. The design ensured:
• Immediate space for livestock that sustained the priestly tribe (Numbers 35:3).
• Visible evidence that the Levites lived among every tribe while remaining set apart for service (Numbers 35:34).
Inalienable Sanctity (Leviticus 25:34)
“But the pasturelands around their cities must not be sold, for this is their permanent possession” (Leviticus 25:34). While houses inside walled Levitical towns could be redeemed or released in Jubilee, the surrounding migrash could never change hands. This guarded both the economic livelihood of the Levites and the perpetual provision of ministry across generations.
Comprehensive Distribution (Joshua 21)
When the land was allotted, forty-eight Levitical cities received migrash. Refrains such as “Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands” (Joshua 21:32) appear more than two dozen times, underscoring equal treatment in every tribal territory. The list is repeated in 1 Chronicles 6, preserving the same emphasis centuries later.
Ongoing Royal and Post-Exilic Concern
Hezekiah revived proper priestly support: “The sons of Aaron the priests…were allotted portions city by city, to every male of the priests and to every Levite listed in the genealogies” (2 Chronicles 31:19). After the exile, Nehemiah noted singers living in “the villages around Jerusalem and the fields” (Nehemiah 12:28-29), confirming that the concept of migrash remained integral to restored worship.
Prophetic Vision (Ezekiel 45–48)
Ezekiel’s temple blueprint includes “an open area of fifty cubits all around” (Ezekiel 45:2) and a broad swath of pastureland flanking the future city (Ezekiel 48:15-17). The prophet projects the migrash principle into the messianic age: sacred service safeguarded by space that is neither commercial nor merely agricultural.
Statistical Distribution
Approximately 115 Old Testament occurrences cluster as follows:
• Torah: Numbers 35; Leviticus 25.
• Conquest: Joshua 13–21 (over forty uses).
• Monarchy: 1 Samuel 6:12; 1 Chronicles 6; 13; 2 Chronicles 31.
• Post-exile & Prophets: Nehemiah 12; Jeremiah 33:12-13; Ezekiel 27; 45; 48.
Theological Themes
1. Stewardship—Pasturelands teach that ministry must be tangibly supported yet free from commercial exploitation.
2. Holiness—A literal buffer around priestly towns pictures the moral separation expected of those who draw near to God.
3. Presence—Because the Levites represented worship, migrash encircling their dwellings became a national reminder that every tribe lived in relationship to the sanctuary.
Practical Ministry Principles
• Provision for clergy is not an afterthought but embedded in covenant law.
• Boundaries protect sacred purpose; blurring them jeopardizes vocation and witness.
• Shared responsibility—Each tribe ceded land so that all could receive spiritual instruction.
Typological and Eschatological Insight
The open space foretells a greater reality: “The LORD is my portion” (Lamentations 3:24). As the Levite needed no farm because God supplied, believers find sufficiency in Christ, awaiting the city “whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10).
Summary
מִגְרָשׁ frames a biblical theology of space dedicated to sustain and safeguard worship. From Sinai’s mandate to Ezekiel’s horizon, the pasturelands witness to God’s provision for His servants, the necessity of tangible holiness, and the promise of a future order where every dwelling is surrounded by the peace of His presence.
Forms and Transliterations
וּלְמִגְרָ֑שׁ וּמִ֨גְרְשֵׁיהֶ֔ם וּמִגְרְשֵׁי֙ וּמִגְרְשֵׁיהֶ֑ן וּמִגְרְשֵׁיהֶ֖ן וּמִגְרְשֵׁיהֶ֗ם וּמִגְרְשֵׁיהֶֽן׃ וּמִגְרָ֗שׁ וּמִגְרָשֶׁ֖יהָ ולמגרש ומגרש ומגרשי ומגרשיה ומגרשיהם ומגרשיהן ומגרשיהן׃ מִגְרְשֵׁ֖י מִגְרְשֵׁ֥י מִגְרְשֵׁיהֶ֑ם מִגְרְשֵׁיהֶ֑ן מִגְרְשֵׁיהֶֽם׃ מִגְרְשֵׁיהֶֽן׃ מִגְרְשֵׁיהֶם֙ מִגְרַ֤שׁ מִגְרַ֥שׁ מִגְרָ֥שׁ מִגְרָשֶֽׁהָ׃ מִגְרָשֶֽׁיהָ׃ מִגְרָשֶׁ֑הָ מִגְרָשֶׁ֑יהָ מִגְרָשֶׁ֔הָ מִגְרָשֶׁ֔יהָ מִגְרָשֶׁ֖הָ מִגְרָשֶׁ֖יהָ מִגְרָשֶׁ֗הָ מִגְרָשֶׁ֙הָ֙ מִגְרָשֶׁ֙יהָ֙ מִגְרָשָׁ֖הּ מִגְרָשׁ֮ מִגְרֹשֽׁוֹת׃ מגרש מגרשה מגרשה׃ מגרשות׃ מגרשי מגרשיה מגרשיה׃ מגרשיהם מגרשיהם׃ מגרשיהן מגרשיהן׃ miḡ·rā·šāh miḡ·rā·še·hā miḡ·raš miḡ·rāš miḡ·rə·šê miḡ·rə·šê·hem miḡ·rə·šê·hen miḡ·rō·šō·wṯ miḡraš miḡrāš miḡrāšāh miḡrāšehā migRash migraShah migraSheha migraSheiha miḡrəšê miḡrəšêhem miḡrəšêhen migreShei migresheiHem migresheiHen migroShot miḡrōšōwṯ ū·lə·miḡ·rāš ū·miḡ·rā·še·hā ū·miḡ·rāš ū·miḡ·rə·šê ū·miḡ·rə·šê·hem ū·miḡ·rə·šê·hen ūləmiḡrāš ulemigRash ūmiḡrāš ūmiḡrāšehā umigRash umigraSheiha ūmiḡrəšê ūmiḡrəšêhem ūmiḡrəšêhen umigreShei umigresheiHem umigresheiHen
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