the Lord
The Bible refers to the Lord in many different ways, which from the text seem indistinguishable and interchangeable. Understood in the internal sense, though, there...
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...
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...
giving
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...
dead
'The slain' when referring to the Lord, as in Revelation 5, means the separation of everything from the divine. In denial of His divinity, He...
open
To open,' as in Revelation 9, signifies communication and conjunction.
Put
'To put' has reference to order, arrangement, application, and influx.
judges
It’s easy to see the connection between judging and truth. In a court of law, the judge’s whole purpose is to find the truth. In...
towns
In the ancient world cities were very nearly nations unto themselves – they existed within walls, with their own laws and customs, generally centered on...
Round about
'Round about' denotes the things most distant from the middle, or from good and truth.
measured
'To measure' signifies knowing and exploring the quality of something.
town
In the ancient world cities were very nearly nations unto themselves – they existed within walls, with their own laws and customs, generally centered on...
herd
'A herd,' as mentioned in Genesis 32:7, denotes exterior or natural good, and also not good things.
young
'The son of a cow' signifies the celestial natural level and natural exterior good.
cow
'The son of a cow' signifies the celestial natural level and natural exterior good.
priests
Priests' represent the Lord regarding His divine good. When they do not acknowledge the Lord, they lose their signification of the Lord.
Sons of Levi
'The sons of Levi,' as in Deuteronomy 21:5, signify the affection of good and truth, which is charity.
levi
'Levi' signifies truth in practice, which is the good of life. 'Levi,' in the highest sense, signifies love and mercy, in a spiritual sense, he...
near
'Nigh' denotes truth in affinity with good.
blessings
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...
name of the lord
Names in the Bible are not simply names; they represent the qualities of the people who bear them. So the various names of the Lord...
name
It's easy to see that names are important in the Bible. Jehovah changed Abram and Sarai to Abraham and Sarah, changed Jacob to Israel and...
washing
It does not take a great leap of imagination to see that “washing” in the Bible represents purification. Washing dirt from the skin is symbolic...
hands
'Washing of the hands' was an ancient declaration of innocence, and signifies purification from evils and falsities, as in Psalms 73:13 and Matthew 27:24.
say
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
war
War in the Word represents the combat of temptation when what is good is assaulted by what is evil or false. The evil that attacks...
gives
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...
prisoners
'To be in prison,' as in Revelation 2:10, signifies being infested by evils from hell, because this is like being bound in prison, because they...
see
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...
Woman
'Women,' as in Genesis 45:19, signify the affections of truth. But in Genesis 31:50, 'women' signify affections of not genuine truth, so not of the...
wife
It is because of a celestial and angelic proprium, or selfhood, that the church is called 'a woman,' 'a wife,' 'a bride,' 'a virgin,' and...
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...
hair
'Hairs of the head, the beard, and the feet,' as mentioned in Isaiah 7:20, signify the following things: 'Hairs of the head' signify the outermost...
prisoner
'To be in prison,' as in Revelation 2:10, signifies being infested by evils from hell, because this is like being bound in prison, because they...
Father and mother
In the spiritual sense by father and mother is meant God and the church.
father
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...
mother
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...
Full
'To satiate' relates to the extent of a person's will, for good or evil.
after
According to Swedenborg, time and space don’t exist in spiritual reality; they are purely natural things that exist only on the physical plane. This means...
man
The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings – Conjugial Love or Love in Marriage –...
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...
wives
The Hebrew of the Old Testament has six different common words which are generally translated as "wife," which largely overlap but have different nuances. Swedenborg...
one
A company might have executives setting policy and strategy, engineers designing products, line workers building them, managers handling personnel and others handling various functions. They...
loved
To some degree, there really is no spiritual meaning to the word “love” in the Bible. Why? Because if you truly love another, that is...
hated
If you truly hate someone, that means you would kill them and destroy their reputation if you could do so without repercussion – not a...
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....
child
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....
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...
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...
first
In the Word, "beginning" doesn't just mean the beginning of something in time. In the inner sense, it means the initial phase of a spiritual...
twice
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...
voice
'Voice' signifies what is announced from the Word. 'Voice' often refers and is applied to things that cannot have a voice, as in Exodus 4,...
punishment
Punishment' is the consummation of evil, because after punishment, reformation succeeds. This is why it says in Deuteronomy 25:3, 'that no more than forty stripes...
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...
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,...
evil
'Wickedness' signifies evil, and 'iniquity' signifies falsities.
hearing
'To hearken to father and mother,' as mentioned in Genesis 28:7, signifies obedience from affection. 'To hearken,' as mentioned in Genesis 30:22, signifies providence. See...
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.
hanging
'To hang,' as mentioned in Genesis 41:13, signifies rejecting. 'Hanging' represents the damnation of profanation.
tree
In general, plants in the Bible represent facts, thoughts and ideas – intellectual things. This makes sense: Plants are rooted in place, but can grow...
body
The body (Matt. 6:22), signifies the man (homo). "His body shall not remain all night upon the tree" (Deut. 21:23), signifies lest it should be...
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...
cursed
The Lord is love itself, and his love for us never wavers and never changes. What does waver and change is the degree to which...
unclean
'Pollution' denotes the truth of faith defiled.
heritage
In Biblical times, possessions passed from fathers to sons, a patriarchal system that would not be accepted in today's society – but one that is...
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