after
Behind, or after, (Gen. 16:13), signifies within or above, or an interior or superior principle.
the Word
In general, we tend to be very aware of how knowing what's true leads to doing what is good. That starts as children, with parents...
word
'Word,' as in Psalms 119:6-17, stands for doctrine in general. 'The Word,' as in Psalms 147:18, signifies divine good united with divine truth. 'Word,' as...
jehovah
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...
Abram
Abram represents different spiritual things, as his story develops. When he is first mentioned, Abram, with his brothers Nahor and Haran, are listed as the...
vision
Vision is the innermost revelation, which is of perception. Visions are according to the state of humankind. The visions of people whose interiors are closed,...
Fear not
Fear not, as in Revelation 1:17; Daniel 10:5, 12; Matthew 17:5, 7; 28:10, etc., signifies resuscitation to life, and at the same time adoration from...
fear
Fear has various significations according to the thing which causes it. Fear signifies love. Fear, as in Gen 28:17, signifies a holy change.
shield
'A shield' signifies defense which is trusted against evils and falsities. In respect to the Lord, it signifies defense, and in respect to people, confidence...
reward
A "reward" in the Bible represents something that brings people together, or brings spiritual states together, and binds them. It's easy to see this in...
said
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...
lord
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...
give
Like other common verbs, the meaning of "give" in the Bible is affected by context: who is giving what to whom? In general, though, giving...
seeing
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...
go
In the physical world, the places we inhabit and the distances between them are physical realities, and we have to get our physical bodies through...
house
A "house" is essentially a container - for a person, for a family, for several families or even for a large group with shared interests...
eliezer
Eliezer (Exod. 18:4) signifies the quality of the good of truths among those who are within the church.
Eliezer of Damascus
Eliezer of Damascus signifies the external church.
damascus
Damascus and Aroer (Isaiah 17:1, 2) signify the knowledges of truth and good. See Eliezer of Damascus.
given
Like other common verbs, the meaning of "give" in the Bible is affected by context: who is giving what to whom? In general, though, giving...
seed
'A seed' signifies love, and everyone who has love, as in Genesis 12:7. 8:15, 16. 'A seed' signifies faith grounded in charity. 'A seed' signifies...
heir
'An heir,' as mentioned in Jeremiah 49:1, signifies the good that comes from truth. 'To become an heir, or to inherit,' signifies eternal life in...
own
In many cases, the spiritual meaning of "own," both as a verb and as an adjective, is relatively literal. When people are described as the...
heaven
"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...
number
To number,' as in Isaiah 22:10, signifies falsifying. To number bones,' as in Psalm 22:14-18, signifies desiring to dissipate truths by reasonings and false principles....
righteousness
The word "righteous" has taken on a bit of negative shading in modern language. That may be because we hear it most often as part...
Ur of the Chaldees
'Ur of the Chaldeans,' as in Genesis 11:28, signifies external worship in falsities.
chaldees
Chaldea was a land lying along the Euphrates river near its mouth, south of Babylon, part of what is now southern Iraq. It was a...
land
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...
know
In a general sense, men represent things of the intellect – facts, ideas, knowledge, everything from the deepest truths to the most pernicious falsities about...
heifer
'The heifer whereby labor has not been done,' as mentioned in Deuteronomy 21:3, signifies the innocence of the external self, which is in ignorance. 'The...
three
The Writings talk about many aspects of life using the philosophical terms "end," "cause" and "effect." The "end" is someone’s goal or purpose, the ultimate...
Three years old
'Three years old,' as in Genesis 15:9, implies all the times and states of the church, which appears from the significance of 'three' in the...
she-goat
A she-goat, as in Genesis 30:32, signifies the good of truth, or the charity of faith.
goat
From correspondences, a goat signifies the natural man. The goat which was sacrificed, as in Leviticus 16:5-10, signifies the natural man regarding a part purified,...
ram
'A ram' signifies the Lord’s divine spiritual nature pertaining to a person. 'A ram' signifies the good of innocence and charity in the internal self....
dove
'A turtle dove' and 'young pigeon,' as in Genesis 15:9, represents exterior and interior spiritual things.
young pigeon
'A turtle dove' and 'young pigeon,' as in Genesis 15:9, represents exterior and interior spiritual things.
young
The Hebrew term used here is גּוֹזָל, pronounced gowzal -- a nestling, sometimes translated as "young", or a "young pigeon". It signifies innocence....
pigeon
The Hebrew term used here is גּוֹזָל, pronounced gowzal -- a nestling, sometimes translated as "young", or a "young pigeon". It signifies innocence....
midst
'Middle' denotes what is primary, principal, or inmost.
birds
"Birds" mean rational concepts in the external man and intellectual concepts in the internal man.
down
"Down" is used many different ways in natural language, and its spiritual meaning in the Bible is highly dependent on context. Phrases like "bowing down,"...
carcasses
'A multitude of slain' relates to people who perish from falsities, and 'a great number of carcasses,' of people who perish from evils, as in...
sun
The 'sun' signifies celestial and spiritual love. The 'sun' in the Word, when referring to the Lord, signifies His divine love and wisdom. Because the...
going
In the physical world, the places we inhabit and the distances between them are physical realities, and we have to get our physical bodies through...
fell
Like other common verbs, the meaning of "fall" is highly dependent on context in regular language, and is highly dependent on context in a spiritual...
great
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;...
sojourners
The word "stranger" is used many times in the Bible, and it is sometimes paired with the word "sojourner". They are different concepts in the...
serve
Generally speaking, those who are at lower levels of an organization serve those at higher levels. Bosses boss and their employees serve; coaches devise strategy...
four
The number "four" in the Bible represents things being linked together or joined. This is partly because four is two times two, and two represents...
Four hundred
Four hundred signifies vastation, temptations, and the duration thereof.
hundred
It's a landmark for a young child to count to 100; it sort of covers all the "ordinary" numbers. One hundred is obviously significant for...
nation
The Bible generally uses two different terms for large groups: “people” and “nations.” When it uses “nation,” it is talking about a group with the...
fathers
Father in the Word means what is most interior, and in those things that are following the Lord's order, it means what is good. In...
peace
In ordinary life, we tend to think of "peace" as essentially "a lack of conflict." As a nation, if we're not at war, it's a...
buried
'Being buried' or 'put into monuments' signifies resurrection and continuation of life.
good
It seems rather circular to say that “good” in the Bible represents good, but in a general sense it’s true! The case is this: The...
fourth
The number "four" in the Bible represents things being linked together or joined. This is partly because four is two times two, and two represents...
generation
To “generate” something is to create it, and that idea underpins the meaning of a “generation” of people – it is a group that was...
iniquity
Folly, iniquity, hypocrisy, and error, as in Isaiah 32:6: Folly has respect to the false, iniquity signifies evil, hypocrisy, the evils spoken against goods, and...
Full
'To satiate' relates to the extent of a person's will, for good or evil.
came
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “come” in the Bible is highly dependent on context – its meaning is determined largely by...
came to pass
The phrase “it came to pass,” often also translated as “it happened,” generally indicates the end of one spiritual state and the beginning of a...
pass
'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...
smoking
'Smoke' signifies divine truth in extremes, because 'fire' which gives off smoke, signifies love. 'Smoke' also signifies the same thing as 'cloud' in many places....
flaming
Fire, in the spiritual sense, can mean both love and hatred depending on the context, just as natural fire can be both comforting in keeping...
passed
'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...
day
"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...
river of Egypt
The Nile' or 'river of Egypt' represents the sensory things subject to the intellectual mind, and the scientific ideas which are derived from them. This...
river
The river Euphrates signifies, in Psalms 80:9, 10, signifies the sensual and scientific principle.
egypt
'Mizraim' signifies the same thing as Egypt.
euphrates
The river Euphrates signifies, in Psalms 80:9, 10, signifies the sensual and scientific principle.
Kenite
The Kenite, Kenizzite, and Kadmonite,' as in Genesis 15:19, signify falsities which are to be expelled from the kingdom of the Lord.
Kenizzite
The Kenite, Kenizzite, and Kadmonite,' as in Genesis 15:19, signify falsities which are to be expelled from the kingdom of the Lord.
and the Kadmonite
The Kenite, Kenizzite, and Kadmonite,' as in Genesis 15:19, signify falsities which are to be expelled from the kingdom of the Lord.
Kadmonite
A Kadmonite' signifies falsities to be expelled from the Lord's kingdom.
hittite
'A Hittite' in a good sense, signifies the spiritual church, or the truth of the church. The Hittites were among the upright Gentiles who were...
rephaim
Giants, as in Genesis 6:4, signify those who, through a persuasion of their own height and pre-eminence view whatever is holy and true as nothing.
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