toorn
'Wrath,' as in Genesis 49:7, signifies aversion from truth. 'Great wrath,' as in Revelation 12:12, signifies hatred against the new church.
dogter
Marriages among people – both in the Bible and in life – represent spiritual marriage. Women represent the desire to be good and to do...
Israel
'Israel,' in Jeremiah 23:8, signifies the spiritual natural church. The children of Israel dispersed all the literal sense of the Word by falsities. 'The children...
hemel
"Heaven" and "heavens" are used many times in the Bible, with a couple of variations of meaning. Sometimes it is relatively literal, including times when...
aarde
Land' in the Word, denotes the church, for the things which signify the church also signify the things relating to the church, for these constitute...
voetbank
A footstool, as in Psalm 132:7, signifies the Lord's church in the earths. A footstool, as in Psalm 110:1, signifies the lowest region under the...
voete
The foot, as in Deuteronomy 33:3, signifies an inferior principle. To set the right foot on the sea and the left on the earth, as...
dag
The expression 'even to this day' or 'today' sometimes appears in the Word, as in Genesis 19:37-38, 22:14, 26:33, 32:32, 35:20, and 47:26. In a...
Juda
City of Judah,' as in Isaiah 40:9, signifies the doctrine of love towards the Lord and love towards our neighbor in its whole extent.
grond
Is there any difference in meaning between “earth” and “ground”? At first it doesn’t seem so; both refer to the soil making up the land...
vorste
Captains and Rulers (Jer. 51:23) signifies principal evils and falsities. Captains and Rulers (Ezek 33:6) signifies principal truths. See Chief Captains.
horing
'A horn,' when spoken of the Lord, signifies omnipotence. 'The little horn that rose up,' as mentioned in Daniel 7:3-8, signifies the full perversion of...
voor
In most cases, the meaning of "before" is pretty straightforward, both as a way of assessing relative time, and in its use meaning "in someone's...
vyand
An enemy in the Bible refers to people who are in the love of evil and the false thinking that springs from evil. On a...
verteer
When we eat, our bodies break down the food and get from it both energy and materials for building and repairing the body. The process...
boog
A bow signifies falsity of doctrine destroying truth, and spear, the falsity of evil destroying good. (Jer. 6:23.)
oog
It’s common to say “I see” when we understand something. And indeed, “seeing” in the Bible represents grasping and understanding spiritual things. So it makes...
tent
'The tabernacle' has almost the same meaning as 'temple,' that is, in the highest sense, the Lord’s divine humanity, and in a relative sense, heaven...
vuur
Just as natural fire can be both comforting in keeping you warm or scary in burning down your house, so fire in the spiritual sense...
paleise
'A palace,' as in Psalm 144:12, represents the understanding in which truths have a beautiful form. They have a beautiful form when they are from...
tuin
Plants, in general, represent knowledge, ideas and intellectual concepts – things of the mind. Plant the best and most beautiful of those in one place,...
Here
The Lord, in the simplest terms, is love itself expressed as wisdom itself. In philosophic terms, love is the Lord's substance and wisdom is His...
sabbat
In Exodus 31:13, 'verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep,' signifies continuous holy thought about the union of the Lord’s divine with His human.
vergeet
To forget, in the internal sense, signifies nothing else but removal and apparent privation.
koning
The human mind is composed of two parts, a will and an understanding, a seat of loves and affections, and a seat of wisdom and...
altaar
The first altar mentioned in the Word was built by Noah after he came out of the ark. On that altar, he sacrificed clean animals...
hand
Scientists believe that one of the most crucial developments in the evolution of humans was bipedalism – walking on two legs. That left our hands...
huis
A "house" is essentially a container - for a person, for a family, for several families or even for a large group with shared interests...
muur
'A wall' signifies truth in outer extremes. 'A wall,' as in Revelation 21, signifies the divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and so, the truth...
voorskans
A rampart,' as in Lamentations 2:8, signifies doctrinal matters.
treur
In a general sense, mourning in the Bible represents a state of grief over the lack of desires for good and true ideas about life....
verbreek
To “break” something creates an image that is much different from “attacking,” “destroying,” or “shattering.” It is less emotional, less violent in its intent; it...
heidene
'The time of the heathen,' as mentioned in Ezekiel 30:3, signifies the heathen, or wickedness.
profete
The idea of a "prophet" is very closely tied to the idea of the Bible itself, since the Bible was largely written by prophets. At...
sit
If you think about sitting, it seems fair to say that where you're sitting is more important than that you're sitting. Sitting in a movie...
stof
Dust, in Ezekiel 26:12, signifies the lowest things which are of the sensual principle of man. In Isaiah 40:12, the dust signifies exterior or natural...
hoof
Elders are mentioned in the Bible mainly in two ways: First the elders of Israel: and second the 24 elders seated about the throne of...
rouklere
'Being clothed in sackcloth' signifies lamentation because of the devastation of truth in the church. 'Sackcloth,' as in Revelation 6:12, relates to destroyed good.
jonkvroue
A ‘virgin’ in the Word means those who are in the Lord’s kingdom. –Secrets of Heaven 3081...
Jerusalem
Jerusalem, on Mount Zion, signifies the doctrine of love to the Lord, and how it governs your life. Jerusalem first comes to our attention in...
oë
It’s common to say “I see” when we understand something. And indeed, “seeing” in the Bible represents grasping and understanding spiritual things. So it makes...
trane
'A tear' signifies grief because of a lack of understanding of truth.
lewer
'The liver,' as in Exodus 29:13, signifies interior purification, and 'the caul above the liver,' the inferior good of the external or natural self.
suigling
To 'suckle' denotes taking in good, because 'a nurse,' or 'one who suckles' signifies implanting good. To 'suckle,' as in Genesis 21:7, signifies implanting the...
moeders
In general, mothers in the Bible represent the Lord's church on earth, or the church among those who know and follow the Lord. In some...
sê
As with many common verbs, the meaning of “to say” in the Bible is highly dependent on context. Who is speaking? Who is hearing? What...
koring
Corn,' as in Genesis 42:2, here stands for a word in the original language which means 'breaking,' and also for a similar word meaning to...
wyn
Wine played a key role in the ancient world, where safe, reliable water sources were scarce. It could be stored for long periods of time;...
Stad
In the ancient world cities were very nearly nations unto themselves – they existed within walls, with their own laws and customs, generally centered on...
troos
When the Bible talks about someone being comforted or consoled, it generally means that they are being offered ideas that will help bring them to...
groot
The word "great" is used in the Bible to represent a state with a strong degree of love and affection, of the desire for good;...
see
Water generally represents what Swedenborg calls “natural truth,” or true concepts about day-to-day matters and physical things. Since all water ultimately flows into the seas,...
gesien
The symbolic meaning of "seeing" is "understanding," which is obvious enough that it has become part of common language (think about it; you might see...
ongeregtigheid
In the Word three terms are used to mean bad things that are done. These three are transgression, iniquity, and sin, and they are here...
pad
These days we tend to think of "roads" as smooth swaths of pavement, and judge them by how fast we can drive cars on them....
verbygaan
'To pass,' as in Genesis 31:52, signifies flowing in. 'To pass the night,' as in Genesis 24:54, signifies having peace. 'To pass through,' as in...
gesê
As with many common verbs, the meaning of “to say” in the Bible is highly dependent on context. Who is speaking? Who is hearing? What...
skoonheid
Beauty of his ornament (Ezek. 7:20) signifies the church and its doctrine.
vyande
An enemy in the Bible refers to people who are in the love of evil and the false thinking that springs from evil. On a...
mond
In most cases, "mouth" in the Bible represents thought and logic, especially the kind of active, concrete thought that is connected with speech. The reason...
oop
To open,' as in Revelation 9, signifies communication and conjunction.
tande
'Teeth' signify the outer edges of the life of the natural self, or the sensory level. This has two kinds, the will, and the understanding....
dae
"Day" describes a state in which we are turned toward the Lord, and are receiving light (which is truth) and heat (which is a desire...
beveel
To command is to give an order that something must be done, and is directed to an individual, or a group. It is an imperative,...
bly
To make glad signifies influx and reception from joy of heart.
teëstanders
Foes, or adversaries, denote the falsities of evil. Foes, or adversaries, when predicate of the Lord, signifies to avert falsities derived from evil.
hart
The heart means love. A good heart means love to the Lord and to the neighbor while a hard or stony heart means the love...
stroom
A 'stream' signifies aspects of intelligence.
nag
The sun in the Bible represents the Lord, with its heat representing His love and its light representing His wisdom. “Daytime,” then, represents a state...
water
'Waters' signify truths in the natural self, and in the opposite sense, falsities. 'Waters' signify particularly the spiritual parts of a person, or the intellectual...
strate
The phrase 'in the streets and synagogues' in Matthew 6:2, 5, and Luke 8:26-27, refers to a representative rite amongst the Jews to teach in...
vroue
The word "woman" is used a number of different ways in the Bible – as a simple description, as someone connected to a man ("his...
eet
When we eat, our bodies break down the food and get from it both energy and materials for building and repairing the body. The process...
profeet
The idea of a "prophet" is very closely tied to the idea of the Bible itself, since the Bible was largely written by prophets. At...
swaard
A 'sword,' in the Word, signifies the truth of faith combating and the vastation of truth. In an opposite sense, it signifies falsity combating and...
Here se
The Lord, in the simplest terms, is love itself expressed as wisdom itself. In philosophic terms, love is the Lord's substance and wisdom is His...
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