Yemenite Jews make aliyah in the late 1040s.

What Is Aliyah and Is It a Biblical Concept?

By Karen Engle, ICEJ Managing Editor

Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” —Ezekiel 11:17

What Is the Meaning of Aliyah?

Aliyah means “to ascend” or “to go up” in a spiritual sense and originally described the journey the children of Israel made three times a year to Jerusalem for the biblically mandated feasts (“appointments” or “holy days”) of Passover (Pesach), Pentecost (Shavuot), and Tabernacles (Sukkot). Jerusalem sits on a hill atop Mount Zion, so in ancient times, pilgrims literally went “up to Zion” to celebrate these God-ordained appointments. Psalms 120–134, the “songs of ascent” or “pilgrim songs,” were typically sung by those traveling from near and far to the temple for these festivals. Upon entering Jerusalem, they cried, “Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:2 NIV).

But what does Aliyah mean today?

Today, the word “Aliyah” is used to refer to Jewish people returning home to their promised homeland, Israel, from the nations where they have been scattered since Rome destroyed the temple in AD 70. A person who makes Aliyah is, in Hebrew, an Oleh (plural Olim), meaning “one who goes up.” There have been several waves of Aliyah, primarily because of persecution and even genocide, starting from around the late 1880s.

Is the Concept of Aliyah in the Bible?

Since that time, the children of Israel have been returning to the land promised to them back in Genesis:

Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. (12:7)

I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. (17:8)

The children of Israel were scattered to Babylon in 586 BC and then throughout the world after the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. But God assured them He would bring them back to the land promised to them in Genesis 12 and 17. Aliyah is evidence of God’s faithfulness to His Word—the fulfillment of His promise to bring His people back from “countries where you were scattered” (Ezekiel 11:17) is evident throughout Scripture.

Though there are hundreds of passages promising the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel in the Bible, what follows is a condensed list:

You can help Jews from around the world return to Israel today—give to the ICEJ Aliyah fund.

ICEJ’s Role in Aliyah along the Silk Road

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South African Jews Make Aliyah Despite Iranian Threats

Aliyah Continues Even during Gaza War

Photo: A Jewish Yemenite family walks through the desert en route to Israel, November 1, 1949 (Source: Wikipedia Commons)