兄弟
Brethren (Gen. 27:29) signify the affections of good.
母親
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...
妻子
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...
丈夫
'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,'...
天
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...
死
Dead (Gen. 23:8) signifies night, in respect to the goodnesses and truths of faith.
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...
愛
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...
水
'Waters' signify truths in the natural self, and in the opposite sense, falsities. 'Waters' signify particularly the spiritual parts of a person, or the intellectual...
麻布
Flax, as in Exodus 9:31, signifies truth of the natural exterior principle. A smoking flax, as in Isaiah 42:3, signifies a little of truth from...
油
Oil – typically olive oil – was an extremely important product in Biblical times, for food preparation, medicinal ointment and for burning in lamps. As...
給
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...
牆
'A hedge,' as mentioned in Matthew 21:33, signifies preservation from falsities of evil which are from hell.
找
To not to be found any more, signifies not to rise again.
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....
好
It seems rather circular to say that “good” in the Bible represents good, but in a general sense it’s true! The case is this: The...
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...
金
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...
銀
'Silver,' in the internal sense of the Word, signifies truth, but also falsity. 'Silver' means the truth of faith, or the truth acquired from selfhood,...
裸
Clothing in general represents day-to-day knowledge about spiritual things, held in the memory so it can be used for the goodness of life. For someone...
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...
月
'A month' has respect to the state of truth in a person. 'A month' signifies a full state. Month,' as in Genesis 29, signifies the...
安息日
In Exodus 31:13, 'verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep,' signifies continuous holy thought about the union of the Lord’s divine with His human.
無花果樹
The Writings tell us that the fig tree represents the "natural human," which is our outward life in the world, and the thoughts and feelings...
吃
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...
遺忘
To forget, in the internal sense, signifies nothing else but removal and apparent privation.
懲罰
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...
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...
葡萄園
'A vine' signifies spiritual good and truth. 'A vine' or 'vineyard' signifies the church where the Word, and the Lord in it, is known, or...
谷
Mountains in the Bible represent people's highest points, where we are closest to the Lord - our love of the Lord and the state of...
門
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...
埃及
'Mizraim' signifies the same thing as Egypt.
口
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...
鳥
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...
弓
A bow signifies falsity of doctrine destroying truth, and spear, the falsity of evil destroying good. (Jer. 6:23.)
劍
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...
永遠
'Perpetual' in the literal sense, means to the end of one’s life, after death, and eternity.
義
The word "righteous" has taken on a bit of negative shading in modern language. That may be because we hear it most often as part...
憐憫
In regular language, "mercy" means being caring and compassionate toward those who are in poor states. That's a position we are all in relative to...
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...
