The concept of emigration, or the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another, is a recurring theme in the Bible. Throughout Scripture, various individuals and groups are depicted as emigrating for reasons ranging from divine command to famine, persecution, or the pursuit of God's promises.

Abraham's Call to Emigrate
One of the earliest and most significant instances of emigration in the Bible is the call of Abram (later Abraham) to leave his homeland. In Genesis 12:1-4 , God commands Abram: "Go forth from your country, your kindred, and your father's house, to the land I will show you." Abram's obedience to God's call marks the beginning of a journey that would establish the nation of Israel. This emigration is not merely a physical relocation but a spiritual journey of faith and trust in God's promises.

Jacob and His Family
Another notable emigration occurs when Jacob and his family move to Egypt due to a severe famine in Canaan. In Genesis 46:3-4 , God reassures Jacob: "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will surely bring you back again." This migration sets the stage for the Israelites' eventual enslavement and subsequent exodus, a pivotal event in biblical history.

The Exodus
The Exodus itself is a monumental emigration, as the Israelites leave Egypt under Moses' leadership. This event is not only a physical departure from bondage but also a spiritual journey toward the Promised Land. In Exodus 12:41 , it is recorded: "At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’s divisions left Egypt." The Exodus is celebrated annually in the Jewish Passover, symbolizing liberation and divine deliverance.

Ruth's Journey
The account of Ruth provides another perspective on emigration. Ruth, a Moabite widow, chooses to leave her homeland and accompany her mother-in-law Naomi back to Bethlehem. Her famous declaration in Ruth 1:16 exemplifies loyalty and faith: "Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God." Ruth's emigration leads to her becoming an ancestor of King David and, ultimately, Jesus Christ.

The Early Church
In the New Testament, emigration is seen in the spread of the early Church. Persecution in Jerusalem leads to the dispersion of believers, who carry the Gospel message to new regions. Acts 8:1 notes: "On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria." This scattering fulfills Jesus' command to be His witnesses "to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

Spiritual Emigration
Beyond physical relocation, the Bible often uses emigration as a metaphor for spiritual transformation. Believers are called to leave behind their old lives and embrace a new identity in Christ. In Philippians 3:20 , Paul writes, "But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." This spiritual emigration emphasizes the transient nature of earthly life and the eternal promise of a heavenly home.

Throughout Scripture, emigration serves as a powerful motif illustrating obedience, faith, and the unfolding of God's redemptive plan. Whether through the patriarchs, the nation of Israel, or the early Church, the act of leaving one place for another often signifies a deeper journey toward fulfilling God's purposes.(imp. & p. p.) of Emigrate.

Deterioration in New York.
... that purpose. He died in 1770. Weygand's successor was Houseal (Hausihl),
who had emigrated from Strassburg in 1752. In 1771 he ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bente/american lutheranism/deterioration in new york.htm

Introduction
... powers and privileges, had asserted the divinity of its origin; yet neither the
monarchy nor the aristocracy, nor yet the episcopacy emigrated; neither a ...
/.../bangs/a history of the methodist episcopal church volume i/introduction.htm

From the Beginning of 1785 to the End of 1786
... At the close of the Revolutionary War, some members of the society had emigrated
to that province of the British empire; and being in a destitute state as to ...
/.../chapter 1 from the beginning.htm

Synods --Their History and Constitution.
... When the pastor of one church visited another, his status was immediately acknowledged;
and even when an ordinary disciple emigrated to a distant province, the ...
/.../killen/the ancient church/chapter xi synodstheir history and.htm

John Christopher Hartwick.
... dedication, 1774 in Boston, and ten years later again in New York, whither he returned
to ingratiate himself with the Lutherans who had not emigrated to Nova ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bente/american lutheranism/john christopher hartwick.htm

God Spelling Himself Out in Jesus.
... He left home. He left his native land, Eden, where he lived with God. He emigrated
from God. And through going away he lost his mother-tongue. ...
/.../gordon/quiet talks about jesus/god spelling himself out in.htm

An Old Disciple
... A Cypriote by birth, he had emigrated to, and resided in a village on the road to
Jerusalem; and must have had means and heart to exercise a liberal ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture the acts/an old disciple.htm

Making the Man.
... the poet, was then at the height of his fame, Alexander Wilson, a native of Paisley,
had not yet won his place as a poet, though he too, emigrated to America ...
//christianbookshelf.org/maclean/william black/ii making the man.htm

Johann Heermann
... that in some places the residents came out to meet them with protestations of their
readiness to embrace Romanism; in others the population emigrated en masse ...
/.../winkworth/christian singers of germany/johann heermann.htm

Charles Chauncey.
... He emigrated to New England in 1638, and, after serving for a number of years in
the ministry at Scituate, was appointed, in 1654, president of Harvard College ...
//christianbookshelf.org/hayward/the book of religions/charles chauncey.htm

Emigrated (1 Occurrence)
... & pp) of Emigrate. Multi-Version Concordance Emigrated (1 Occurrence). 2 Samuel
15:19 And the king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why dost thou also go with us? ...
/e/emigrated.htm - 6k

Terah (12 Occurrences)
... The wanderer; loiterer, for some unknown reason emigrated with his family from
his native mountains in the north to the plains of Mesopotamia. ...
/t/terah.htm - 13k

Emim (3 Occurrences)

/e/emim.htm - 8k

Laban (52 Occurrences)
... in Haran, "the city of Nahor," that is, the locality where Nahor and his family
remained at the time when the rest of Terah's descendants emigrated to Canaan ...
/l/laban.htm - 28k

Gittites (2 Occurrences)
... They are mentioned along with the inhabitants of the other chief Philistine cities
in Joshua 13:3. It would seem that numbers of them emigrated to Judah, for ...
/g/gittites.htm - 8k

Elimelech (6 Occurrences)
... king. Because of a severe famine in Judea, he emigrated to the land of
Moab with his wife and his sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Not ...
/e/elimelech.htm - 10k

Emery (1 Occurrence)

/e/emery.htm - 6k

Dwellest (27 Occurrences)
... return to thy place, and abide with the king; for thou art a foreigner, and besides,
thou hast emigrated to the place where thou dwellest. (DBY). ...
/d/dwellest.htm - 14k

Babel (3 Occurrences)
... object in building this tower was probably that it might be seen as a rallying-point
in the extensive plain of Shinar, to which they had emigrated from the ...
/b/babel.htm - 63k

Brick (10 Occurrences)
... When the children of Israel emigrated to their new country they found the same methods
of brickmaking employed by the inhabitants, methods which are still in ...
/b/brick.htm - 15k

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