天使
'A messenger' signifies communication.
黃昏
Since the light and warmth of the sun represent the Lord’s wisdom and love, it makes sense that evening, a time when the light and...
所多瑪
"Sodom" in the Bible represents the love of self and the love of ruling or dominating others springing from the love of self. This is...
坐
If you think about sitting, it seems fair to say that where you're sitting is more important than that you're sitting. Sitting in a movie...
門
"Gates" in ancient times had a significance that does not hold in the modern world. Cities then were enclosed by walls for protection; gates in...
看
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...
來
Coming (Gen. 41:14) denotes communication by influx.
主
In most cases, a "master" in the Bible refers to truth: knowledge, an understanding of the situation at hand, an understanding of the Lord's wishes,...
僕人的
“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...
洗
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...
腳
The foot, as in Deuteronomy 33:3, signifies an inferior principle. To set the right foot on the sea and the left on the earth, as...
路
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....
烤
In a broad sense, there are two things we get from our food. One is energy, in the form of carbohydrates and fats. The other...
無酵
For something to be “unleavened” means that it's been made without yeast. Since yeast is what makes bread rise and take on its airy texture,...
吃了
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...
年輕
"Youths" or "Young men" generally represent intelligence or the understanding of truth. This is fitting, since adolescent boys tend to be more advanced intellectually than...
呼喚
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...
今晚
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...
帶
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “bring” is highly dependent on context, but in general it represents an introduction to a new...
我們
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,...
關
There are only a couple of references in the Writings to "close" used as a verb, and both stem from Amos 9:11, which talks about...
弟兄們
Brethren (Gen. 27:29) signify the affections of good.
女兒
"Behold I have two daughters,” etc. (Gen. 19:8), signifies the affections of good and truth, and the blessedness perceivable from the enjoyment thereof, by those...
男人
The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings – Conjugial Love or Love in Marriage –...
下
Generally speaking things that are seen as lower physically in the Bible represent things that are lower or more external spiritually. In some cases this...
一
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...
破
To “break” something creates an image that is much different from “attacking,” “destroying,” or “shattering.” It is less emotional, less violent in its intent; it...
手
Scientists believe that one of the most crucial developments in the evolution of humans was bipedalism – walking on two legs. That left our hands...
屋
A "house" is essentially a container - for a person, for a family, for several families or even for a large group with shared interests...
擊打
'The smitten' signify people who are oppressed by the falsities of ignorance.
找
To not to be found any more, signifies not to rise again.
地方
'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...
耶和華
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...
說
Like "say," the word "speak" refers to thoughts and feelings moving from our more internal spiritual levels to our more external ones – and ultimately...
二
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...
妻子的
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...
後
'A hind,' as mentioned in Genesis 49:21, signifies the affection of natural truth.
留
'To stay with,' as in Genesis 32:4, relates to the life of truth when accompanied by good, and in this instance, it means to take...
平原
'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...
山
'Hills' signify the good of charity.
救
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...
死了
Dead (Gen. 23:8) signifies night, in respect to the goodnesses and truths of faith.
近
'Near,' in the Word, signifies presence and conjunction. 'To be near' signifies being on internal levels. Near,' as in Genesis 19:20, signifies truth bordering upon...
傾覆
'Overturned' signifies punishing.
快
'To hasten' or 'hastiness' in the internal sense, does not denote what is quick, but what is certain, and also what is full, thus every...
叫
'To proclaim' signifies exploration from influx of the Lord.
太陽
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...
地面
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...
來了
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “come” in the Bible is highly dependent on context – its meaning is determined largely by...
硫
Brimstone (Isa. 34:9, etc.) signifies filthy lusts.
火
Just as natural fire can be both comforting in keeping you warm or scary in burning down your house, so fire in the spiritual sense...
天
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...
居民
Inhabitants,' in Isaiah 26:9, signify the men of the church who are in good of doctrine, and thence in the good of life.
鹽
'Salt' is the desire of conjunction of truth with good, which is why only salt will conjoin water, which corresponds to truth, and oil, which...
亞伯拉罕
Abraham (or Abram, as he is named in the beginning of his story) is one of the major characters in the story of the sacred...
早
Morning comes with the rising of the sun, and the sun – which gives life to the earth with its warmth and light – represents...
上升
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...
神
The Lord is love itself, expressed in the form of wisdom itself. Love, then, is His essence, His inmost. Wisdom - the loving understanding of...
住
Many people were nomadic in Biblical times, especially the times of the Old Testament, and lived in tents that could be struck, moved and re-raised...
父親
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...
知道
Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases – when it...
兒子
'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...
摩押
'Moab,' in a positive sense, signifies people who are in natural good, and allow themselves to be easily seduced, but in an opposite sense, it...
