Hebrew word · H4830

מַרְעִית

mar'itam

pasturing

A pasture or grazing place, and also the act of pasturing (feeding, tending). It comes from the root ra'ah, 'to graze, shepherd', the same root as ro'eh, 'shepherd'.

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) pasturing, pasturage, shepherding

1a) pasturing, shepherding

1b) pasturage

1c) flock (meton)

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 Ezekiel 34:31

Range of meaning

A pasture or grazing place, and also the act of pasturing (feeding, tending). It comes from the root ra'ah, 'to graze, shepherd', the same root as ro'eh, 'shepherd'.

Against the English

'Pasture' is accurate, though in English it suggests only a field. In Hebrew the shepherd's activity is heard in the word too: the flock God himself shepherds.

Used elsewhere in the period

It occurs in about ten places, nearly all in the formula 'flock of (my/his) pasture' (Jer 23:1; Ps 74:1; 79:13; 95:7; 100:3). It is the noun form of the shepherding verb that runs through Ezek 34 (vv. 2, 3, 8, 10, 13–16, 23).

From the study of Hosea 13:6

Range of meaning

A noun from the verb rāʿâ, 'to graze, to shepherd'. It means (1) pasture or grazing ground, (2) the act of grazing, and (3) by extension the flock that belongs to a pasture. It appears in the set phrase 'the sheep of (my/his/your) pasture' (Jer 23:1; Ezek 34:31; Ps 74:1; 79:13; 95:7; 100:3).

Against the English

KJV, WEB, YLT and NASB keep the literal 'pasture' or 'feedings'. ESV turns it into a verb ('when they had grazed'). NIV and NLT drop the pasture image and make God the feeder ('when I fed them') or speak simply of eating. The shepherd picture fades in those versions.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Psalms and prophets the 'pasture' phrases always describe Israel as God's own flock under his care. Kings and gods across the ancient Near East were called 'shepherds' of their people; Hammurabi calls himself the shepherd who brought his people to pasture. The Greek translators of Hosea used nomai, 'pastures'.

From the study of Jeremiah 23:1

Range of meaning

"Pasture, pasturage". Also the act of grazing or the flock being grazed. It comes from the same root as rōʿîm, "shepherds".

Against the English

"Sheep of My pasture" is accurate. English cannot keep the echo between "shepherds" and "pasture", nor the stress that the flock is God's property and not the kings'.

Used elsewhere in the period

It is a fixed phrase in worship: "the sheep of your pasture" (Ps 74:1; 79:13), "we are… the sheep of his pasture" (Ps 95:7; 100:3), "you are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture" (Ezek 34:31).

Where it appears

Psalms · 4

  1. Psalm 74:1 מַרְעִיתֶֽךָ׃ pasture your

    A Maskil of Asaph. Why have You rejected us forever, O God? Why does Your anger smolder against the sheep of Your pasture?

    Here: 'Your pasturing', the grazing that you yourself provide. The 'your' points back to God as the shepherd who owns and feeds the flock, which makes his anger against it all the more incongruous.

  2. Psalm 79:13 מַרְעִיתֶךָ֮ pasture your

    Then we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will thank You forever; from generation to generation we will declare Your praise.

    Here: The word comes from the verb 'to shepherd'. It means the grazing ground, and also the act of shepherding. So 'the flock of your pasturing' means the flock you yourself feed, lead and guard. Ancient kings were called shepherds, so this is royal language too.

  3. Psalm 95:7 מַ֭רְעִיתוֹ pasture his

    For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care. Today, if you hear His voice,

    Here: From the verb 'to shepherd'. It means the grazing land and also the shepherding that goes on there. The people are those he grazes and tends.

  4. Psalm 100:3 מַרְעִיתֽוֹ׃ pasture his

    Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

    Here: "His pasturing": the grazing that he provides and directs, the way a shepherd leads and feeds. The flock is defined by whose pasture it grazes in: his.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 49:9 מַרְעִיתָֽם׃ pasture their

    to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ They will feed along the pathways, and find pasture on every barren hill.

    Here: “Their pasture.” This is the word used in “the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3). It quietly suggests that these people are God’s own flock, which verse 10 confirms by naming him as the one who leads them.

Jeremiah · 3

  1. Jeremiah 10:21 מַרְעִיתָ֖ם flock their

    For the shepherds have become senseless; they do not seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.

    Here: Literally 'their pasturage', meaning the flock that grazes under their care (compare 'the sheep of his pasture', Ps 100:3). The people of Judah are meant.

  2. Jeremiah 23:1 מַרְעִיתִ֖י pasture my

    “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.

    Here: From the same root as "shepherds" (rʿh), so the line plays on the word: the "pasturers" are ruining the flock of "My pasturing". The suffix "my" makes God the owner. The rulers are only hired hands.

  3. Jeremiah 25:36 מַרְעִיתָֽם׃ pasture their

    Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 34:31 מַרְעִיתִ֖י pasture my

    ‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

    Here: The grazing ground, and also the care a shepherd gives there. 'Flock of my pasture' means the flock God himself feeds, in line with his promise 'I myself will pasture my sheep' (34:15).

Hosea · 1

  1. Hosea 13:6 כְּמַרְעִיתָם֙ according to pasture their

    When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.

    Here: Marʿît is grazing land, and in poetry the flock that grazes there ('the sheep of his pasture'). The prefix kə- can mean 'when' or 'in proportion to': as they grazed, or the more they grazed. It picks up the shepherd picture from verse 5, where God led Israel through the dry wilderness to grass.

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