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Exile

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Exile is forced removal from homeland, especially the displacement of Israel and Judah.

Detailed Definition
Biblical exile is both historical catastrophe and spiritual metaphor: Jerusalem falls, people are carried away, and familiar worship must survive far from its center. The experience produces laments, strange songs, and fierce promises of return. In poetry, exile can describe migration, estrangement, cultural loss, or separation from the self, while preserving the dangerous hope that home may be rebuilt in memory or fact.
Example
Example in poetry:
“In exile, every familiar street becomes a remembered prayer” uses the biblical condition as a metaphor for displacement; A poet may invoke exile to describe immigrants separated from homeland, language, or family; “The exile carries a country folded inside his coat” turns political loss into a concrete image; Biblical exile can also represent alienation from God, community, or the self.
Additional Notes
Exile is both a historical event and a powerful Biblical image. The Babylonian exile removed many people of Judah from Jerusalem and their homeland, while Assyrian conquest had earlier displaced inhabitants of the northern kingdom. In poetry, exile may represent grief, homesickness, judgment, cultural dislocation, or hope for return. Related themes include captivity, diaspora, restoration, Zion, and the longing expressed in Psalm 137.
Other Meanings of “Exile”
Also Known As
Babylonian Captivity Babylonian Exile Diaspora
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