Suburbs

The suburbs (Hebrew: migrash, meaning pasture land or open ground) designate the immediate open land surrounding Levitical cities — a defined belt of land extending 1,000 cubits from the city wall in each direction (Num. 35:3–5), reserved for the grazing of the Levites' flocks and cattle and for their gardens and fields. The forty-eight Levitical cities scattered throughout Israel's tribal territories each had such suburban pasture lands attached to them, ensuring that the tribe of Levi — which received no contiguous territorial inheritance — could maintain its livestock and agricultural life.

In 2 Kings 23:11 a different Hebrew word (parvarim) is rendered "precincts" or "suburbs" in reference to areas adjacent to the temple, likely the outer courts or chambers. The Authorized Version's use of "suburbs" reflects the general sense of space immediately outside a town or city boundary.