Exile
From BibleEncyclopedia.Net
ek´sīl, eg´zīl (גּלה, gālāh, צעה, cā‛āh):
Occurs twice only in the King James Version (2 Samuel 15:19 (gālāh, “to remove”); Isaiah 51:14 (cā‛āh, “to be bowed down”). In the Revised Version (British and American) “exile” is substituted for “captivity” (Ezra 8:35 (shebhī), and Ezekiel 12:4 (gōlāh'); “go into exile,” for “remove and go” (Ezekiel 12:11); “exiles of Ethiopia” for “Ethiopians captives” (Isaiah 20:4); “He shall let my exiles go free” for “He shall let go my captives” (Isaiah 45:13); “an exile” for “a captive” (Isaiah 49:21). “The exile” is in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) “the captivity” (which see).
(1) Of the kingdom of Israel. In the time of Pekah, Tiglath-pileser II. carried away captive into Assyria (2 Kings 15:29; compare Isaiah 10:5, Isaiah 10:6) a part of the inhabitants of Galilee and of Gilead (741 BC).
After the destruction of Samaria (720 BC) by Shalmaneser and Sargon (q.v.), there was a general deportation of the Israelites into Mesopotamia and Media (2 Kings 17:6; 2 Kings 18:9; 1 Chronicles 5:26). (See Kingdom Of Israel.)
(2) Of the kingdom of the two tribes, the kingdom of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 25:1), invaded Judah, and carried away some royal youths, including Daniel and his companions (606 BC), together with the sacred vessels of the temple (2 Chronicles 36:7; Daniel 1:2). In 598 BC (Jeremiah 52:28; 2 Kings 24:12), in the beginning of Jehoiachin's reign (2 Kings 24:8), Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive 3,023 eminent Jews, including the king (2 Chronicles 36:10), with his family and officers (2 Kings 24:12), and a large number of warriors (2 Kings 24:16), with very many persons of note (2 Kings 24:14), and artisans (2 Kings 24:16), leaving behind only those who were poor and helpless. This was the first general deportation to Babylon.
In 588 BC, after the revolt of Zedekiah (q.v.), there was a second general deportation of Jews by Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 52:29; 2 Kings 25:8), including 832 more of the principal men of the kingdom. He carried away also the rest of the sacred vessels (2 Chronicles 36:18). From this period, when the temple was destroyed (2 Kings 25:9), to the complete restoration, 517 BC (Ezra 6:15), is the period of the “seventy years.”
In 582 BC occurred the last and final deportation. The entire number Nebuchadnezzar carried captive was 4,600 heads of families with their wives and children and dependents (Jeremiah 52:30; Jeremiah 43:5-7; 2 Chronicles 36:20, etc.). Thus the exiles formed a very considerable community in Babylon.
When Cyrus granted permission to the Jews to return to their own land (Ezra 1:5; Ezra 7:13), only a comparatively small number at first availed themselves of the privilege. It cannot be questioned that many belonging to the kingdom of Israel ultimately joined the Jews under Ezra, Zerubbabel, and Nehemiah, and returned along with them to Jerusalem (Jeremiah 50:4, Jeremiah 50:5, Jeremiah 50:17-20, Jeremiah 50:33-35).
Large numbers had, however, settled in the land of Babylon, and formed numerous colonies in different parts of the kingdom. Their descendants very probably have spread far into Eastern lands and become absorbed in the general population.
See Kingdom Of Judah; Captivity.
