God
The Lord is love itself, expressed in the form of wisdom itself. Love, then, is His essence, His inmost. Wisdom - the loving understanding of...
blessed
The Lord is perfect love expressed as perfect wisdom. He created us so that He could love us, could give us love and wisdom of...
noah
'Noah,' as in Genesis 5:29, signifies the ancient church, or the parent of the three churches after the flood.
sons
'Sons of the stranger' signify counterfeit truths, or falsities. 'Our sons' signify the doctrines of truth, and 'our daughters,' the doctrines of good, as 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...
fruitful
To be fruitful is predicated of goodnesses, and to be multiplied, of truths.
multiply
'Spreading themselves on the earth,' as in Genesis 8:17, signifies the internal self operating on the external.
earth
'Lands' of different nations are used in the Word to signify the different kinds of love prevalent in the inhabitants.
bird
Fowl signify spiritual truth; a bird, natural truth; and a winged thing, sensual truth. Fowl signify intellectual things. Fowl signify thoughts, and all that creeps...
Heavens
Heavens are celestial and spiritual things. Consequently, they are inmost things, both of the Lord's kingdom in heaven the and in the earth. This also...
ground
In Zechariah 8:12, 'the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground her increase,' signifies that the spiritual affection of truth produces the good of...
sea
'The sea and the waves roaring' means heresy and controversies in the church and individual.
hand
In Genesis 27:22, 'voice' relates to truth, and 'hand,' to good.
food
To give food, as in Genesis 41:48, signifies to store up.
herb
Every herb in the Word signifies some species of scientifics. 'Herb bearing seed,' as mentioned in Genesis 1:29, signifies every truth which regards use. 'Green...
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...
flesh
Flesh has several meanings just in its most obvious form. It can mean all living creatures as when the Lord talks about the flood "destroying...
blood
Bloods signify evil, in Ezek. 16:9.
eat
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...
Lives
'Lives' is used in the plural, because of the will and understanding, and because these two lives make one.
Require
'To require of another' denotes the state when one thing is joined to another so that it cannot be separated.
man
The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings – Conjugial Love or Love in Marriage –...
brother
Brethren (Gen. 27:29) signify the affections of good.
life
'Lives' is used in the plural, because of the will and understanding, and because these two lives make one.
Image
'An image' signifies falsities from self-derived intelligence.
spake
Like "say," the word "speak" refers to thoughts and feelings moving from our more internal spiritual levels to our more external ones – and ultimately...
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...
after
Behind, or after, (Gen. 16:13), signifies within or above, or an interior or superior principle.
living
'Lives' is used in the plural, because of the will and understanding, and because these two lives make one.
birds
Fowl signify spiritual truth; a bird, natural truth; and a winged thing, sensual truth. Fowl signify intellectual things. Fowl signify thoughts, and all that creeps...
beast
"Beasts" represent the affection for doing good things, a true desire to do them from the heart. In the negative sense, "beasts" stand for the...
Go out
To go out to meet, as in Genesis 14:17, signifies to submit themselves. To go out, as in Genesis 28:10, signifies to live more remotely....
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...
Cut off
To be cut off, as in Genesis 41:36, signifies to perish.
waters
'Waters,' 'rivers,' and 'depths,' as in Psalm 78:15-16, signify truths from the Lord.
token
'A token,' as in Genesis 9:12, 13, 17, signifies causing it to be.
Token of the covenant
'The token of the covenant,' as in Genesis 9:12, signifies a mark of the Lord’s presence in charity, suggesting remembrance for people.
perpetual
'Perpetual' in the literal sense, means to the end of one’s life, after death, and eternity.
generations
To “generate” something is to create it, and that idea underpins the meaning of a “generation” of people – it is a group that was...
Bow
A bow signifies falsity of doctrine destroying truth, and spear, the falsity of evil destroying good. (Jer. 6:23.)
cloud
In Isaiah 19:1, "Jehovah rides upon a light cloud, and comes into Egypt", signifies the visitation of the natural man from spiritual-natural Divine Truth, for...
seen
To look,' as in Genesis 18:22, signifies thinking, because seeing denotes understanding. Look not back behind thee,' as in Genesis 19:17, means that Lot, who...
remember
'To remember,' as in Genesis 41:9, signifies conjunction. 'Remembering' denotes conjunction because the remembrance of anyone in the other life joins them together, because as...
Look
To look,' as in Genesis 18:22, signifies thinking, because seeing denotes understanding. Look not back behind thee,' as in Genesis 19:17, means that Lot, who...
everlasting
'Perpetual' in the literal sense, means to the end of one’s life, after death, and eternity.
Shem
'Shem' can be understood to be internal worship, 'Japheth' is the corresponding external worship, 'Ham' is internal worship corrupted, and 'Canaan' is external worship separate...
Ham
'Shem' can be understood to be internal worship, 'Japheth' is the corresponding external worship, 'Ham' is internal worship corrupted, and 'Canaan' is external worship separate...
Japheth
'Shem' can be understood to be internal worship, 'Japheth' is the corresponding external worship, 'Ham' is internal worship corrupted, and 'Canaan' is external worship separate...
Father
Father, son, mother, and daughter, as in Luke 12:51, 53: By father against son, and by son against the father, is understood evil against truth,...
canaan
Canaan signifies a worship in things external without internals, which arose out of the internal church corrupted, called Ham. Thus it is that Ham is...
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...
Husbandman
'A husbandman,' as mentioned in Amos 5:16, signifies the man of the church, because 'field' signifies the church regarding the implantation of truth. 'A husbandman,'...
planted
'To plant' denotes regeneration.
Vineyard
'Vineyard and branch,' as in Psalm 80:15, signifies the spiritual church represented by the sons of Israel.
drank
To be drunken without wine (Isa. 29:9), are they who are unconcerned about the Word, and the truths of faith, and thus have no inclination...
Wine
In Revelation 18:13, 'wine, oil, flour, and wheat' signify celestial principles of worship.
uncovered
'Unclothed' signifies being deprived of the truths of faith.
tent
'Tent' is used in the Word to signify the celestial and holy aspects of love, because in ancient time they performed holy worship in their...
saw
To look,' as in Genesis 18:22, signifies thinking, because seeing denotes understanding. Look not back behind thee,' as in Genesis 19:17, means that Lot, who...
nakedness
'Unclothed' signifies being deprived of the truths of faith.
two
The number "two" has two different meanings in the Bible. In most cases "two" indicates a joining together or unification. This is easy to see...
Brethren
Brethren (Gen. 27:29) signify the affections of good.
both
The number "two" has two different meanings in the Bible. In most cases "two" indicates a joining together or unification. This is easy to see...
covered
The "high mountains being covered " (Gen. 7:19) signifies that all the good things of charity were extinguished.
faces
“The eyes are the windows of the soul.” That’s a sentiment with roots somewhere in murky antiquity, but one that has become hopelessly cliché because...
knew
In a general sense, men represent things of the intellect – facts, ideas, knowledge, everything from the deepest truths to the most pernicious falsities about...
youngest
In general, birth order in the Bible reflects the progression of spiritual states, but the specifics of those states depends greatly on context: who the...
son
'A son,' as in Genesis 5:28, signifies the rise of a new church. 'Son,' as in Genesis 24:3, signifies the Lord’s rationality regarding good. 'A...
Servant of servants
'A servant of servants,' as in Genesis 9:25, signifies worship in externals without charity, or the most vile things in the church.
servant
“Servant” literally means “a person who serves another,"" and its meaning is similar in reference to the spiritual meaninngs of the Bible. Our lives in...
servants
“Servant” literally means “a person who serves another,"" and its meaning is similar in reference to the spiritual meaninngs of the Bible. Our lives in...
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...
tents
'Tent' is used in the Word to signify the celestial and holy aspects of love, because in ancient time they performed holy worship in their...
Three hundred
'Three hundred' signifies fullness, because the number comes from three and a hundred multiplied. Both 'three' and 'a hundred' signifies fullness. The significance of products...
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...
Hundred and fifty
'A hundred and fifty,' as mentioned in Genesis 7:24, signifies a last and first term. Here, it refers to the last term of the most...
fifty
God rested on the seventh day of creation. That represents a state of holiness and tranquility that was preserved in the form of the sabbath....
days
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...
nine
'Nine' signifies conjunction.
died
'The soul going forth' and 'dying,' as in Genesis 35:18, signifies the extreme of temptation, which is when the old self dies and the new...
