1473. golah
Lexical Summary
golah: Exile, Captivity

Original Word: גּוֹלָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: gowlah
Pronunciation: go-LAH
Phonetic Spelling: (go-law')
KJV: (carried away), captive(-ity), removing
NASB: exile, exiles, captives
Word Origin: [active participle feminine of H1540 (גָּלָה - uncover)]

1. exile
2. (concretely, collectively) exiles

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
carried away, captivity, removing

Or (shortened) golah {go-law'}; active participle feminine of galah; exile; concretely and collectively exiles -- (carried away), captive(-ity), removing.

see HEBREW galah

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
fem. part. of galah
Definition
exiles, exile
NASB Translation
captives (1), exile (19), exiled* (1), exiles (16), exiles* (5).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
גּוֺלָה42 noun feminine exiles, exile — (compare Arabic one emigrating, a company of exiles) — Jeremiah 28:6 38t., גֹּלָה Isaiah 49:21; 1 Chronicles 5:22; Esther 2:6; Nahum 3:10; —

1 collective exiles, Esther 2:6; Jeremiah 29:1; Ezekiel 1:1; Ezekiel 3:11,15; Ezekiel 11:24,25; Nahum 3:10; כלהֿגולה Jeremiah 28:6; Jeremiah 29:4,20,31, קהל הגולה Ezra 10:8.

2 abstract, exile, Ezra 6:21; Ezra 9:4; Ezra 10:6; Zechariah 6:10; הלך בגולה go into exile Jeremiah 48:11; Jeremiah 49:3; Ezekiel 12:11; Ezekiel 25:3; Amos 1:15; ׳יצא בג Jeremiah 29:16; Jeremiah 48:7; Zechariah 14:2; הוליך גולה carry into exile 2 Kings 24:15, ׳הביא ג 2 Kings 24:16, ׳הוציא ג Ezekiel 12:4, ׳העלה ג Ezra 1:11; כלי גולה equipment for exile Jeremiah 46:19; Ezekiel 12:3,4,7; עד הגלה until the exile 1 Chronicles 5:22; בני הגולה exiles Ezra 4:1; Ezra 6:19,20; Ezra 8:35; Ezra 10:7,16; שׁבי הגולה capitivity of the exile Ezra 2:1; Nehemiah 7:6.

Topical Lexicon
Overview

The noun גּוֹלָה most commonly designates the body of Israelites who were deported from their homeland and lived in foreign lands under Assyrian, Babylonian, and later Persian rule. It can also denote the condition of captivity itself. Across roughly forty-four Old Testament occurrences, the term always keeps the dual focus of people and place: a displaced covenant community and the foreign soil that marks their discipline and testing.

Usage across Scripture

• Historical Books: 2 Kings 24–25 repeatedly reports that King Nebuchadnezzar “carried all Jerusalem into exile” (2 Kings 24:14) and later “took into exile the rest of the people who were left in the city” (2 Kings 25:11).
• Prophetic Books: Ezekiel writes from among the deportees—“In the thirtieth year… I was among the exiles by the Kebar River” (Ezekiel 1:1). Jeremiah recalls earlier exiles under Jehoiachin (Jeremiah 29:1) and looks ahead to their restoration (Jeremiah 29:14).
• Post-Exilic Writings: Ezra and Nehemiah employ the word as a virtual title—“the returnees of the captivity.” Ezra 2:1 introduces the census with, “These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles.” Nehemiah 7:6 copies the same register, reinforcing the community’s identity.
Esther 2:6 anchors Mordecai’s family account in the same historic deportation, showing how the exile shaped Jewish life across the Persian Empire.

Historical Context

1. Assyrian Deportations (722 BC onward) removed large segments of the northern tribes, creating an early golah that never returned in mass.
2. Babylonian Captivity (597/586 BC) uprooted the southern kingdom of Judah, with waves of deportees in 605, 597, and 586 BC. The elite of society, temple vessels, and ultimately the monarchy itself were carried to Babylon.
3. Persian Era Return (539 BC forward) began under Cyrus’s decree. Yet even after successive returns under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, substantial portions of the golah remained scattered, forming the Diaspora addressed in later Scripture (for example, 1 Peter 1:1).

Theological Significance

Judgment and Mercy: The exile demonstrates covenant discipline for persistent idolatry (2 Kings 17:7–23) yet simultaneously highlights God’s unwavering commitment to His promises. Restoration prophecies (Jeremiah 29:10; Ezekiel 11:17) underscore mercy that triumphs over judgment.

Remnant Doctrine: The golah preserves a purified remnant through which the Messianic line and the Scriptures themselves are safeguarded.

Missionary Dimension: Living “among the nations” placed Israel’s faith in the international arena (compare Daniel 3 and 6), previewing the global scope of the Gospel.

Representative References

2 Kings 24:16 – “All the men of valor… the king of Babylon brought them into exile to Babylon.”
Ezekiel 3:15 – “Then I came to the exiles at Tel-abib who lived beside the Kebar River, and I sat there among them for seven days—overwhelmed.”
Jeremiah 29:1 – “This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exiles…”
Ezra 6:21 – “The Israelites who had returned from exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to seek the LORD.”
Nehemiah 8:17 – “The whole assembly who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in them… and their joy was very great.”
Esther 2:6 – “Mordecai had been carried into exile from Jerusalem with the captives who had been deported with King Jeconiah of Judah.”
Ezekiel 39:28 – “Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, when I regather them to their own land, not leaving any of them behind.”

Worship and Identity in the Golah

Deportation dismantled temple-based worship, pressing the exiles toward prayer, fasting, and Scripture study (Daniel 6:10; Ezra 7:10). Upon return, rebuilding the altar and temple (Ezra 3–6) became the tangible sign of renewed covenant fidelity. The reading of the Law in Nehemiah 8 anchored communal identity, while strict measures against intermarriage (Ezra 9–10) protected holiness.

Practical Ministry Implications

1. Enduring Discipline: Exile illustrates that divine correction, though painful, aims at restoration (Hebrews 12:11 echoes the principle).
2. Faith under Pressure: Daniel, Ezekiel, and Esther model courageous witness in hostile cultures—essential for believers who find themselves cultural outsiders.
3. Hope of Return: Just as the golah could trust God’s timetable (Jeremiah 29:10), Christians await the consummated kingdom with unshakable assurance.

Eschatological Perspective

Prophets merge the historical return with ultimate restoration. Ezekiel 37 joins the return imagery to resurrection life, and Isaiah 49 casts the Servant’s mission in worldwide regathering terms, fulfilled in Jesus Christ gathering both Jew and Gentile (John 10:16).

Christological Foreshadowing

The physical return from exile prefigures the greater redemption accomplished by Christ, who proclaims “freedom for the captives” (Luke 4:18). Just as Persia’s decree opened the way back to Zion, the cross opens the way into the heavenly Jerusalem.

Related Terms and Concepts

Captivity, Diaspora, Remnant, Restoration, Return, Sojourner.

Key Figures of the Golah

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Ezekiel, Esther, Mordecai, Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah—each embodies aspects of faithful living, leadership, and renewal within or after the exile.

Summary

גּוֹלָה gathers within one word the pain of judgment, the hope of restoration, and the enduring faithfulness of God to His covenant people. Its storyline moves from expulsion to return, from despair to joy, pointing ultimately to the greater deliverance accomplished in Jesus Christ and anticipating the full ingathering of God’s people into His everlasting kingdom.

Forms and Transliterations
בַּגּוֹלָ֑ה בַּגּוֹלָ֔ה בַּגּוֹלָ֣ה בַּגּוֹלָ֥ה בַּגּוֹלָֽה׃ בגולה בגולה׃ גֹּלָ֣ה ׀ גּוֹלֶ֔ה גּוֹלָ֖ה גּוֹלָ֥ה גּוֹלָֽה׃ גוֹלָ֔ה גוֹלָ֛ה גוֹלָה֙ גולה גולה׃ גלה הַ֨גּוֹלָ֔ה הַגֹּלָֽה׃ הַגֹּלָה֙ הַגּוֹלָ֑ה הַגּוֹלָ֔ה הַגּוֹלָ֖ה הַגּוֹלָ֗ה הַגּוֹלָ֜ה הַגּוֹלָֽה׃ הַגּוֹלָה֒ הַגּוֹלָה֙ הגולה הגולה׃ הגלה הגלה׃ וּבַגּוֹלָ֖ה ובגולה לַגֹּלָה֙ לגלה מֵֽהַגּוֹלָ֔ה מהגולה bag·gō·w·lāh baggoLah baggōwlāh gō·lāh gō·w·lāh ḡō·w·lāh gō·w·leh goLah gōlāh goLeh gōwlāh ḡōwlāh gōwleh hag·gō·lāh hag·gō·w·lāh haggoLah haggōlāh haggōwlāh lag·gō·lāh laggoLah laggōlāh mê·hag·gō·w·lāh mehaggoLah mêhaggōwlāh ū·ḇag·gō·w·lāh ūḇaggōwlāh uvaggoLah
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Englishman's Concordance
2 Kings 24:14
HEB: ק) אֲלָפִים֙ גּוֹלֶ֔ה וְכָל־ הֶחָרָ֖שׁ
INT: ten thousand captive and all the craftsmen

2 Kings 24:15
HEB: הָאָ֔רֶץ הוֹלִ֛יךְ גּוֹלָ֥ה מִירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם בָּבֶֽלָה׃
NAS: he led away into exile from Jerusalem
KJV: [those] carried he into captivity from Jerusalem
INT: of the land led exile Jerusalem to Babylon

2 Kings 24:16
HEB: מֶֽלֶךְ־ בָּבֶ֛ל גּוֹלָ֖ה בָּבֶֽלָה׃
NAS: brought into exile to Babylon.
KJV: of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
INT: the king of Babylon exile to Babylon

1 Chronicles 5:22
HEB: תַחְתֵּיהֶ֖ם עַד־ הַגֹּלָֽה׃ פ
NAS: in their place until the exile.
KJV: And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity.
INT: their place until the exile

Ezra 1:11
HEB: עִ֚ם הֵעָל֣וֹת הַגּוֹלָ֔ה מִבָּבֶ֖ל לִירוּשָׁלִָֽם׃
NAS: them all up with the exiles who went
KJV: bring up with [them of] the captivity that were brought up
INT: who went the exiles Babylon to Jerusalem

Ezra 2:1
HEB: הָֽעֹלִים֙ מִשְּׁבִ֣י הַגּוֹלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֶגְלָ֛ה
NAS: up out of the captivity of the exiles whom
KJV: out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar
INT: came of the captivity of the exiles whom had carried

Ezra 4:1
HEB: כִּֽי־ בְנֵ֤י הַגּוֹלָה֙ בּוֹנִ֣ים הֵיכָ֔ל
NAS: that the people of the exile were building
KJV: that the children of the captivity builded
INT: that the people of the exile were building A temple

Ezra 6:19
HEB: וַיַּעֲשׂ֥וּ בְנֵי־ הַגּוֹלָ֖ה אֶת־ הַפָּ֑סַח
KJV: And the children of the captivity kept
INT: observed and the children of the captivity the Passover four

Ezra 6:20
HEB: לְכָל־ בְּנֵ֣י הַגּוֹלָ֔ה וְלַאֲחֵיהֶ֥ם הַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים
KJV: for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren
INT: for all the children of the captivity their brothers the priests

Ezra 6:21
HEB: יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל הַשָּׁבִים֙ מֵֽהַגּוֹלָ֔ה וְכֹ֗ל הַנִּבְדָּ֛ל
NAS: who returned from exile and all
KJV: which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated
INT: of Israel returned exile and all had separated

Ezra 8:35
HEB: מֵֽהַשְּׁבִ֨י בְנֵֽי־ הַגּוֹלָ֜ה הִקְרִ֥יבוּ עֹל֣וֹת ׀
KJV: [Also] the children of those that had been carried away, which were come out
INT: of the captivity the children away offered A burnt

Ezra 9:4
HEB: עַ֖ל מַ֣עַל הַגּוֹלָ֑ה וַאֲנִי֙ יֹשֵׁ֣ב
NAS: of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered
KJV: because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat
INT: account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles I sat

Ezra 10:6
HEB: עַל־ מַ֥עַל הַגּוֹלָֽה׃ ס
NAS: over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
KJV: because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.
INT: over the unfaithfulness of the exiles

Ezra 10:7
HEB: לְכֹל֙ בְּנֵ֣י הַגּוֹלָ֔ה לְהִקָּבֵ֖ץ יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃
KJV: unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together
INT: to all the children of the captivity assemble Jerusalem

Ezra 10:8
HEB: יִבָּדֵ֖ל מִקְּהַ֥ל הַגּוֹלָֽה׃ ס
NAS: from the assembly of the exiles.
KJV: from the congregation of those that had been carried away.
INT: excluded the assembly of the exiles

Ezra 10:16
HEB: כֵן֮ בְּנֵ֣י הַגּוֹלָה֒ וַיִּבָּדְלוּ֩ עֶזְרָ֨א
KJV: And the children of the captivity did so.
INT: so and the children of the captivity selected and Ezra

Nehemiah 7:6
HEB: הָעֹלִים֙ מִשְּׁבִ֣י הַגּוֹלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר הֶגְלָ֔ה
NAS: up from the captivity of the exiles whom
KJV: out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar
INT: came the captivity of the exiles whom had carried

Esther 2:6
HEB: מִיר֣וּשָׁלַ֔יִם עִם־ הַגֹּלָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הָגְלְתָ֔ה
NAS: from Jerusalem with the captives who
KJV: from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away
INT: Jerusalem with the captives who exile

Isaiah 49:21
HEB: שְׁכוּלָ֖ה וְגַלְמוּדָ֑ה גֹּלָ֣ה ׀ וְסוּרָ֗ה וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙
INT: have been barren captive to and fro these

Jeremiah 28:6
HEB: יְהוָה֙ וְכָל־ הַגּוֹלָ֔ה מִבָּבֶ֖ל אֶל־
NAS: and all the exiles, from Babylon
KJV: house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon
INT: God and all the exiles Babylon about

Jeremiah 29:1
HEB: יֶ֜תֶר זִקְנֵ֣י הַגּוֹלָ֗ה וְאֶל־ הַכֹּהֲנִ֤ים
NAS: had taken into exile from Jerusalem
KJV: of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests,
INT: the rest of the elders exile about the priests

Jeremiah 29:4
HEB: יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לְכָל־ הַ֨גּוֹלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־ הִגְלֵ֥יתִי
NAS: to all the exiles whom
KJV: of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away
INT: of Israel to all the exiles whom have sent

Jeremiah 29:16
HEB: יָצְא֥וּ אִתְּכֶ֖ם בַּגּוֹלָֽה׃
NAS: who did not go with you into exile--
KJV: that are not gone forth with you into captivity;
INT: go into exile

Jeremiah 29:20
HEB: יְהוָ֑ה כָּל־ הַ֨גּוֹלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־ שִׁלַּ֥חְתִּי
NAS: all you exiles, whom
KJV: of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent
INT: of the LORD all exiles whom have sent

Jeremiah 29:31
HEB: עַל־ כָּל־ הַגּוֹלָה֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר כֹּ֚ה
NAS: Send to all the exiles, saying, 'Thus
KJV: Send to all them of the captivity, saying,
INT: unto all the exiles saying Thus

44 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 1473
44 Occurrences


bag·gō·w·lāh — 7 Occ.
gō·w·lāh — 8 Occ.
gō·w·leh — 1 Occ.
hag·gō·lāh — 25 Occ.
lag·gō·lāh — 1 Occ.
mê·hag·gō·w·lāh — 1 Occ.
ū·ḇag·gō·w·lāh — 1 Occ.

1472b
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