man
The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings – Conjugial Love or Love in Marriage –...
Eve
The name 'Eve' comes from the Hebrew word חַוָּה or 'Chava,' a form of the word for life, which is why she is called 'the...
wife
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...
became
To beget or to be begotten is very similar in meaning to birth: It represents one spiritual state leading to the next spiritual state. "Beget,"...
birth
To beget or to be begotten is very similar in meaning to birth: It represents one spiritual state leading to the next spiritual state. "Beget,"...
cain
'Cain' signifies the doctrine of faith separated from love. See Arcana Coelestia 338 and the sections that follow it.
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...
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...
Abel
Abel signifies charity or love, in Genesis 4:2. (Divine Providence 242, Arcana Coelestia 325, and Arcana Coelestia 341). Abel signifies celestial love, which is loving...
brother
There are two ways "brother" is used in the Bible, ways that are still reflected in modern language. One denotes an actual blood relationship; the...
sheep
It’s pretty easy for most people to read the Bible and get a sense for what “sheep” means without any help. They are simple, peaceful,...
offering
It was customary in the representative Ancient Church, and later in the Jewish Church, when people went to the judges, and at a later time,...
fruits
We tend to think of "fruit" in two ways in natural language. One is as food that grows on trees and vines, sweet and delicious,...
flock
It’s pretty easy for most people to read the Bible and get a sense for what “sheep” means without any help. They are simple, peaceful,...
fat
'Fat things full of marrow,' signify goods.
face
“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...
well
A pit,' or 'well which has no water,' as in Jeremiah 2:13, signifies doctrines which have no truths.
sin
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...
door
In a general sense, doors in the Bible represent the initial desires for good and concepts of truth that introduce people to new levels 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,...
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...
field
When we have a desire to be good people and to do good things, the natural first questions are "What does that mean?" "What should...
Put
'To put' has reference to order, arrangement, application, and influx.
keeper
"Keeping" in the Bible generally has to do with controlling the actual actions of life, though in some cases it can mean holding something away...
voice
In Genesis 27:22, 'voice' relates to truth, and 'hand,' to good.
blood
The internal meaning of “blood” is a little tricky, because Swedenborg gives two meanings that seem quite different. In most cases, Swedenborg links blood with...
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...
open
To open,' as in Revelation 9, signifies communication and conjunction.
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...
earth
"Earth" in the Bible can mean a person or a group of like-minded people as in a church. But it refers specifically to the external...
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...
fruit
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...
wanderer
'A wanderer' denotes not knowing truth and good.
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...
greater
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;...
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...
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...
might
'Might' denotes the forces or power of truth.
the land of Nod
'The land of Moriah' denotes a place and state of temptation.
land
'Lands' of different nations are used in the Word to signify the different kinds of love prevalent in the inhabitants.
Nod
'The land of Nod,' as in Genesis 4:16, signifies a state destitute of goodness and truth.
eden
According to the Writings, “Eden” by itself means love, in most cases the love that comes from the Lord and our love for the Lord,...
with child
To be with child, (Gen. 38:24), signifies to produce something.
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....
enoch
Enoch (Gen. 5:18) signifies the seventh church from Adam, and which consisted of those who had framed doctrines out of the things which had been...
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...
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...
son
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....
Irad
'Irad,' the son of Enoch, in Genesis 4:18, signifies heretical doctrine derived from Cain.
became the father of
To beget or to be begotten is very similar in meaning to birth: It represents one spiritual state leading to the next spiritual state. "Beget,"...
Mehujael
'Mehujael' signifies heresies.
lamech
Lamech,' as in Genesis 4:18, signifies the vastation of the church when there was no longer any faith. Lamech,' as in Genesis 5:25, signifies the...
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...
Adah
Adah, Lamech's wife, (Genesis 4:9), represents the mother of the celestial things of faith.
Zillah
Zillah (Gen. 4) signifies the mother of the natural things of that new church which succeeded the church represented by Lamech.
Jabal
'Jabal, the father of people who dwell in tents, and of cattle,' as in Genesis 4:20, signifies doctrine concerning the holy things of love, and...
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...
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...
cattle
Animals in the Bible generally refer to spiritual activity, the things we actually do on a spiritual level. "Cattle," as typically used in the Bible,...
Jubal
'Jubal,' as in Genesis 4:21, signifies the doctrine of spiritual things in the new church which succeeded Lamech. Being 'the father of the harp and...
Tubal-Cain
'Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron,' as in Genesis 4:22, signifies the doctrine of natural good and truth. Tubal-Cain is called...
brass
'Iron,' in Deuteronomy 8:9, signifies natural or rational truth. Iron' signifies natural truth, and consequently, the natural sense of the Word. At the same time,...
iron
'Iron,' in Deuteronomy 8:9, signifies natural or rational truth. Iron' signifies natural truth, and consequently, the natural sense of the Word. At the same time,...
the sister of Tubal-Cain
Naamah, the sister of Tubal-Cain,' as in Genesis 4:22, signifies a new church of the doctrine of natural good, and truth from that church.
sister
The Lord calls people who are in truth from the good of charity from Him 'sisters,' as in Matthew 12:50. 'Sister' denotes intellectual truth, when...
Naamah
Naamah, the sister of Tubal-Cain,' as in Genesis 4:22, signifies a new church of the doctrine of natural good, and truth from that church.
wound
'Wound,' as in Exodus 21:25, signifies a hurt done to the affection of love. 'To wound' signifies injuring the mind and spiritual life by falsities.
seven
The number 'seven' was considered holy, as is well known, because of the six days of creation, and the seventh, which is the celestial self,...
cain's
'Cain' signifies the doctrine of faith separated from love. See Arcana Coelestia 338 and the sections that follow it.
Adam
Adam is one of the most crucial and most controversial figures in the Bible, dividing even the faithful into camps: those who believe he literally...
Seth
'Seth,' as in Genesis 4:25 , signifies a new faith which brings charity.
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...
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...
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...
