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
'Israel,' in Jeremiah 23:8, signifies the spiritual natural church. The children of Israel dispersed all the literal sense of the Word by falsities. 'The children...
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...
wilderness
'Wilderness' signifies something with little life in it, as described in the internal sense in Luke 1:80 'Wilderness' signifies somewhere there is no good because...
the first
'Resurrection' signifies salvation and eternal life. 'The first,' mentioned in Revelation 20:5, 6, does not mean a first resurrection, but the essence and primary part...
first
'The first and the last' signifies that the Lord is the only God.
month
'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...
kadesh
'Kadesh' denotes truths, and contention about truths.
Miriam
'Miriam,' as in Exodus 15:20, signifies the good of faith.
died
Dead (Gen. 23:8) signifies night, in respect to the goodnesses and truths of faith.
buried
'Being buried' or 'put into monuments' signifies resurrection and continuation of life.
water
'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...
moses
Moses's name appears 814 times in the Bible (KJV), third-most of any one character (Jesus at 961 actually trails David at 991). He himself wrote...
aaron
Aaron was the brother of Moses. He symbolizes two things, at different stages of the story. During the first part of the exodus, when he...
spoke
Like "say," the word "speak" refers to thoughts and feelings moving from our more internal spiritual levels to our more external ones – and ultimately...
brethren
Brethren (Gen. 27:29) signify the affections of good.
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...
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...
congregation
A congregation is a group of people with common loves, interests, and purposes. It often refers to a church group. In the Word it is...
die
Dead (Gen. 23:8) signifies night, in respect to the goodnesses and truths of faith.
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 up
To go up and to go down: in the Word, mention is made of going up and going down when speaking of going from one...
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...
bring
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...
evil
'To hurt,' as mentioned in Revelation 6:6, signifies violation and profanation. 'To hurt' as mentioned in Revelation 9:4, signifies perverting the truths and goods of...
place
'A room' or 'place' denotes state.
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...
figs
In the Bible, a fig tree represents the "natural", outward life of a person in the world, and the thoughts and feelings directly connected it....
pomegranates
'Pomegranates,' as in Exodus 28:34, signify the scientific ideas of good and truth, which are doctrinal matters from the Word in the memory, which is...
drink
Food in the Bible represents the desire for good, and water and other drinks represent the understanding and true ideas we need to recognize what...
entrance
All changes of place in the Bible represent changes in spiritual state. “Entering” – usually used as entering someone’s house or “going in unto” someone...
tent
'The sanctuary and habitation' together signify heaven and the church, 'sanctuary' regarding the good of love, and 'tabernacle' regarding truths of that good, because the...
meeting
A congregation is a group of people with common loves, interests, and purposes. It often refers to a church group. In the Word it is...
fell
Like other common verbs, the meaning of "fall" is highly dependent on context in regular language, and is highly dependent on context in a spiritual...
faces
“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...
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...
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...
rock
'Rocks' signify the good and truth of faith.
eyes
It’s common to say “I see” when we understand something. And indeed, “seeing” in the Bible represents grasping and understanding spiritual things. So it makes...
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...
commanded
To command is to give an order that something must be done, and is directed to an individual, or a group. It is an imperative,...
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...
hear
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...
rebels
'Rebel,' as in Genesis 14:4, relates to evils pertaining to a person, or to evil spirits, when they begin to arise and infest, after they...
hand
In Genesis 27:22, 'voice' relates to truth, and 'hand,' to good.
smote
'The smitten' signify people who are oppressed by the falsities of ignorance.
much
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...
drank
Food in the Bible represents the desire for good, and water and other drinks represent the understanding and true ideas we need to recognize what...
hallow
'To sanctify' denotes being led by the Lord. 'To sanctify' denotes being incapable of being violated.
land
Generally in the Bible a "country" means a political subdivision ruled by a king, or sometimes a tribe with a territory ruled by a king...
given
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...
meribah
'Meribah' signifies things pertaining to the spiritual church.
sent
'To send' signifies revealing.
messengers
'A messenger' signifies communication.
edom
'Edom' or 'Idumea,' as in Isaiah 34:5, signifies those who are in evil and in falsities thence derived.
says
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...
fathers
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...
down
"Down" is used many different ways in natural language, and its spiritual meaning in the Bible is highly dependent on context. Phrases like "bowing down,"...
dwelt
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...
long
'Long' and thence to prolong, refer to good.
egyptians
In the Bible, Egypt means knowledge and the love of knowledge. In a good sense that means knowledge of truth from the Lord through the...
heard
'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...
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,...
angel
'A messenger' signifies communication.
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...
extremity
Often translated as “edge,” “border,” “boundary,” “outskirts,” “far places” and other ways, this term is used in the Bible for the farthest reaches of an...
border
A border as in Isaiah 54:12 signifies the scientific and sensual principle. "And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand-breath round about."...
pass
'To pass,' as in Genesis 31:52, signifies flowing in. 'To pass the night,' as in Genesis 24:54, signifies having peace. 'To pass through,' as in...
country
Generally in the Bible a "country" means a political subdivision ruled by a king, or sometimes a tribe with a territory ruled by a king...
fields
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,...
vineyards
'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...
wells
In Genesis 21, 'wells' signify doctrines, both those disputed and not disputed. Without this significance digging wells and disputing about them would have been too...
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...
road
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....
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...
Right hand
'The man of the right hand,' as in Psalm 80:17, signifies the Lord with respect to the Word. He is called 'the man of the...
passed
'To pass,' as in Genesis 31:52, signifies flowing in. 'To pass the night,' as in Genesis 24:54, signifies having peace. 'To pass through,' as in...
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...
high
'Height' signifies what is inward, and also heaven.
way
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....
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,...
feet
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...
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...
removed
As with many verbs, the meaning of "remove" in the Bible varies a good bit depending on context. It generally involves a separation of spiritual...
mount
'Mount Olivet' signifies the celestial church, or celestial good, which comes from love towards the Lord, and divine love.
gathered
To gather, as in Genesis 6:21, refers to those things which are in the memory of man, where they are gathered. It also implies that...
enter
All changes of place in the Bible represent changes in spiritual state. “Entering” – usually used as entering someone’s house or “going in unto” someone...
rebelled
'Rebel,' as in Genesis 14:4, relates to evils pertaining to a person, or to evil spirits, when they begin to arise and infest, after they...
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....
strip
As in Micah 1:8, 'to be stripped' signifies being without goods, and 'to be naked' signifies being without truths.
garments
Soft raiment,' as in Matthew 11:9, represents the internal sense of the Word.
Put
'To put' has reference to order, arrangement, application, and influx.
stripped
As in Micah 1:8, 'to be stripped' signifies being without goods, and 'to be naked' signifies being without truths.
mountain
The Writings tell us that the Lord's love is the sun of heaven, and it is natural for us to look above ourselves to the...
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...
thirty
'Thirty' has a twofold significance because it is is the product of five and six, and also three and ten. From five multiplied by six,...
days
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...
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...
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