Hebrew word · H4829

מִרְעֶה

mir'eh

pasture

Pasture or grazing land, the place where animals feed. From rāʿâ, "to graze, to shepherd" (the same root as "shepherd", rōʿeh). It can also be used figuratively of the people of God fed by their shepherd (Ezek 34:14).

Appears 13 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

pasture, pasturage

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Chronicles 4:39

Range of meaning

Pasture or grazing land, the place where animals feed. From rāʿâ, "to graze, to shepherd" (the same root as "shepherd", rōʿeh). It can also be used figuratively of the people of God fed by their shepherd (Ezek 34:14).

Against the English

"Pasture" is accurate. Just note that in this region it usually meant open grazing land, sometimes seasonal, not a fenced meadow.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 47:4 (Jacob's sons come to Egypt because "there is no pasture for your servants' flocks"); Ezek 34:14, 18; Lam 1:6. The same word comes back in v. 40: "they found pasture, fat and good".

From the study of Genesis 47:4

Range of meaning

A pasture or grazing ground, or the act of grazing. It comes from the root ra'ah, 'to graze, to tend', the same root that gives ro'eh, 'shepherd'.

Against the English

'Pasture' is accurate in every version.

Used elsewhere in the period

The word is used of good land for flocks (1 Chr 4:39-41, of the Simeonites seeking pasture). The prophets use it as a picture of God's people being fed (Ezek 34:14; Isa 49:9).

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 47:4 מִרְעֶ֗ה [is] pasture

    Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live in the land for a time, because there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. So now, please allow your servants to settle in the land of Goshen.”

    Here: Grazing land, from the root r-'-h, 'to graze, to shepherd'. It is the same root as ro'eh, 'shepherd', which they called themselves in 47:3. Shepherds without pasture cannot survive.

1 Chronicles · 3

  1. 1 Chronicles 4:39 מִרְעֶ֖ה pasture

    and they journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, in search of pasture for their flocks.

    Here: Land where animals feed, from the verb "to shepherd, graze". For herding clans in the semi-arid south, good grazing meant survival and wealth, so finding it was a big deal.

  2. 1 Chronicles 4:40 מִרְעֶה֙ pasture

    There they found rich, good pasture, and the land was spacious, peaceful, and quiet; for some Hamites had lived there formerly.

  3. 1 Chronicles 4:41 מִרְעֶ֥ה pasture

    These who were noted by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. They attacked the Hamites in their dwellings as well as the Meunites who were there, devoting them to destruction even to this day. Then they settled in their place, because there was pasture for their flocks.

Job · 1

  1. Job 39:8 מִרְעֵ֑הוּ pasture its

    He roams the mountains for pasture, searching for any green thing.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 32:14 מִרְעֵ֥ה a pasture of

    For the palace will be forsaken, the busy city abandoned. The hill and the watchtower will become caves forever—the delight of wild donkeys and a pasture for flocks—

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 1:6 מִרְעֶ֔ה pasture

    All the splendor has departed from the Daughter of Zion. Her princes are like deer that find no pasture; they lack the strength to flee in the face of the hunter.

Ezekiel · 4

  1. Ezekiel 34:14 בְּמִרְעֶה־ וּמִרְעֶ֥ה in pasture, and pasture

    I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

  2. Ezekiel 34:18 הַמִּרְעֶ֤ה מִרְעֵיכֶ֔ם [is] the pasture, pasture your

    Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?

    Here: The grazing land itself. The same word appears in v.14, where God promises to lead his flock to 'good pasture' on Israel's mountains. The strong animals already have what God means to give.

Joel · 1

  1. Joel 1:18 מִרְעֶ֖ה pasture

    How the cattle groan! The herds wander in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.

Nahum · 1

  1. Nahum 2:11 וּמִרְעֶ֥ה and [is] pasture

    Where is the lions’ lair or the feeding ground of the young lions, where the lion and lioness prowled with their cubs, with nothing to frighten them away?

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.