The word "exile" appears numerous times in the Bible and refers to the forced removal of a person or group of people from their homeland or country. In the Old Testament, the term "exile" specifically refers to the Babylonian captivity, when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar conquered the kingdom of Judah and deported many of its people to Babylon.
The term "exile" can also refer more generally to any situation in which a person or group is separated from their homeland or community. For example, the Bible describes the exile of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, the Israelites' exile in Egypt, and the exile of the Jews from their homeland after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
In the New Testament, the term "exile" is used metaphorically to describe the condition of Christians living in a fallen world, where they are strangers and pilgrims, not fully at home in this world but looking forward to the heavenly city that is to come.
