children
A child is a young boy or girl in the care of parents, older than a suckling or an infant, but not yet an adolescent....
israel
Jacob is told twice that his name will now be Israel. The first time is when he wrestles with an angel on his journey to...
journeyed
'To journey' signifies the institutes and order of life.
encamped
'Pitch,' as in Genesis 14:10, denotes lusts. 'Burning pitch,' as in Isaiah 34:9, signifies direful fantasies.
plains
'A plain' signifies good and truth in the natural self, because 'the people who dwell in plains,' or 'beneath mountains and hills' are in the...
moab
Ammonite and Moabite ('Deuteronomy 23:3'), signify the profanation of the celestial and spiritual things of faith.
jordan
The river Jordan separates the land of Canaan from the lands to the east. This separation represents the division of the human mind into an internal...
jericho
Jericho' signifies instruction and also the good of life because no one can be instructed in the truths of doctrine but he who is in...
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...
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...
many
Intellectual things – ideas, knowledge, facts, even insight and understanding – are more separate and free-standing than emotional things, and it’s easier to imagine numbering...
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...
elders
Ancients of the people, and the princes thereof ('Isaiah 3:14'), have a similar signification with the twelve disciples.
midian
'Midian' signifies people who are in falsity.
Round about
'Round about' denotes the things most distant from the middle, or from good and truth.
us
Angels do give us guidance, but they are mere helpers; the Lord alone governs us, through angels and spirits. Since angels have their assisting role,...
field
A "field" in the Bible usually represents the Lord's church, and more specifically the desire for good within the church. It's where good things start,...
Time
Time is an aspect of the physical world, but according to Swedenborg is not an aspect of the spiritual world. The same is true of...
sent
In every instance, however, 'being sent' means coming forth, (or going forth), in the internal sense, as in John 17:8. In similar manner, it is...
messengers
'A messenger' signifies communication.
balaam
The Children of Israel entered the country of Moab during their long journey from Egypt toward the land of Canaan. Moab's king, Balak, was afraid...
river
'Rivers' signify truths in abundance serving the rational self, and so, the understanding, for the purpose of doctrine and life. 'Rivers' or 'floods' signify temptations....
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...
call
To call someone or summon someone in the Bible represents a desire for conjunction between higher and lower states of life. For instance, imagine someone...
egypt
Egyptians represent those who are in natural science, thus the natural, but the Hebrews, those who are of the church, thus respectively the spiritual. The...
cover
The "high mountains being covered " (Gen. 7:19) signifies that all the good things of charity were extinguished.
earth
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...
mighty
'Might' denotes the forces or power of truth.
smite
'The smitten' signify people who are oppressed by the falsities of ignorance.
know
Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases – when it...
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...
rewards
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...
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...
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...
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...
words
'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...
night
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...
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...
speak
Like "say," the word "speak" refers to thoughts and feelings moving from our more internal spiritual levels to our more external ones – and ultimately...
princes
Captains and Rulers (Jer. 51:23) signifies principal evils and falsities. Captains and Rulers (Ezek 33:6) signifies principal truths. See Chief Captains.
God
When the Bible speaks of "Jehovah," it is representing love itself, the inmost love that is the essence of the Lord. That divine love is...
covereth
The "high mountains being covered " (Gen. 7:19) signifies that all the good things of charity were extinguished.
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...
rose
It is common in the Bible for people to "rise up," and it would be easy to pass over the phrase as simply describing a...
rose up
It is common in the Bible for people to "rise up," and it would be easy to pass over the phrase as simply describing a...
morning
Morning comes with the rising of the sun, and the sun – which gives life to the earth with its warmth and light – represents...
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...
come
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “come” in the Bible is highly dependent on context – its meaning is determined largely by...
saith
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...
coming
Coming (Gen. 41:14) denotes communication by influx.
honor
'Honor' signifies the good of love. 'To honor,' as mentioned in Isaiah 24:15, signifies worship and adoration. 'To honor thy father and thy mother,' as...
sayest
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...
answered
To "answer" generally indicates a state of spiritual receptivity. Ultimately this means being receptive to the Lord, who is constantly trying to pour true ideas...
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...
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...
Full
'To satiate' relates to the extent of a person's will, for good or evil.
silver
'Money' relates to truth.
gold
Gold means good, and just as gold was the most precious metal known to ancient mankind so it represents the good of the highest and...
tarry
'To tarry,' as in Genesis 27:44, signifies almost the same thing as 'to dwell,' except that 'to tarry' relates to the life of truth with...
rise up
It is common in the Bible for people to "rise up," and it would be easy to pass over the phrase as simply describing a...
rise
It is common in the Bible for people to "rise up," and it would be easy to pass over the phrase as simply describing a...
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...
saddled
'To saddle,' as in Genesis 22:3, signifies preparation.
god's
The Lord is called "Jehovah" in the Bible when the text is referring to his essence, which is love itself. He is called "God" when...
anger
'Wrath,' as in Genesis 49:7, signifies aversion from truth. 'Great wrath,' as in Revelation 12:12, signifies hatred against the new church.
angel
'A messenger' signifies communication.
way
'To set a way,' as in Genesis 30:36, signifies being separated.
riding
'To ride' signifies being elevated regarding the intellectual part of the mind. To ride upon a cherub,' as in Psalm 18:9, 10, denotes the Lord’s...
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...
sword
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...
turned
Swedenborg says that the Lord is the sun of heaven, and like the natural sun of our world shines on everyone, good or evil. What...
turn
Swedenborg says that the Lord is the sun of heaven, and like the natural sun of our world shines on everyone, good or evil. What...
smote
'To smite' signifies condemnation. 'To smite,' as in Genesis 14:15, signifies vindication. 'To smite,' as in Genesis 32:8, signifies destruction. 'To smite the earth with...
stood
'To stand,' and 'come forth' as in Daniel 7:10, refers to truth. In Genesis 24:13, it signifies a state of conjunction of divine truth with...
path
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....
vineyards
A vineyard signifies the church where the Word is, by which the Lord is known. (Apocalypse Revealed 650)
wall
'A hedge,' as mentioned in Matthew 21:33, signifies preservation from falsities of evil which are from hell.
side
'Side' signifies good or spiritual love.
foot
Our feet are the lowest parts of our bodies, and they're very useful! In the Bible, feet represent the lowest and most utilitarian part of...
place
'A dry place,' as in Luke 11:24, signifies states of evil and falsity which are in the life of someone who does the work of...
Right hand
'The right hand' signifies the whole of a person regarding intellectual power, and so, regarding faith. 'To place the right hand on the head,' signifies...
under
In the Bible, things that are lower down, or under, physically, generally represent things that are lower or more external spiritually. In some cases, the...
opened
To open,' as in Revelation 9, signifies communication and conjunction.
mouth
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...
smitten
To strike or smite, when used in the Bible, means to attack, harm or destroy, and is usually in reference to an attack on someone’s...
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...
killed
'To slay a man to his wounding,' means extinguishing faith, and 'to slay a young man to his hurt,' signifies extinguishing charity, as in Genesis...
long
'Long' and thence to prolong, refer to good.
day
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...
eyes
'Pairs of hands, eyes, etc.' relate to the will and understanding, or to good and truth. The right side to the will or good, and...
bowed
To bow in prayer is common in most religious practices, so it's not surprising that “to bow” in the Bible represents humility and worship in...
before
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...
slain
'To slay a man to his wounding,' means extinguishing faith, and 'to slay a young man to his hurt,' signifies extinguishing charity, as in Genesis...
saved
To be saved or rescued means getting true ideas that we can hold to even in the face of a storm of false thinking. Sometimes...
knew
Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases – when it...
back
There are many instances in the Bible which describe people turning back, looking back or going back. In most cases it is a negative, sometimes...
heard
Thanks to modern science, we now understand that hearing actually happens in the brain, not the ears. The ears collect vibrations in the air and...
meet
In natural language, to "meet" someone can be positive or negative: it can be a welcoming and greeting, or it can be "meeting" them in...
city
In the ancient world cities were very nearly nations unto themselves – they existed within walls, with their own laws and customs, generally centered on...
border
A 'hem,' 'skirt,' or 'border' signifies the extremes, or the natural principle.
send
In every instance, however, 'being sent' means coming forth, (or going forth), in the internal sense, as in John 17:8. In similar manner, it is...
sheep
A flock, as in Genesis 26, denotes interior or rational good. A flock signifies those who are in spiritual good. A flock signifies natural interior...
high
'Height' signifies what is inward, and also heaven.
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