the Word
In general, we tend to be very aware of how knowing what's true leads to doing what is good. That starts as children, with parents...
word
'Word,' as in Psalms 119:6-17, stands for doctrine in general. 'The Word,' as in Psalms 147:18, signifies divine good united with divine truth. 'Word,' as...
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...
son of man
The Lord, in some places, calls Himself 'the son of God,' at other times, 'the son of man (ἄνθρωπος).' This is always according to the...
son
Marriages in the Bible represent the union we all can have between the desire for good and the understanding of truth (or an understanding of...
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...
To
‘To grieve at heart’ is in reference to love, and ‘to repent,’ to wisdom, as in Genesis 6:6.
Tyre
'Tyre,' as in Ezekiel 27:13-14, represents people with knowledge of celestial and spiritual things.
saith
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...
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...
heart
The heart means love. A good heart means love to the Lord and to the neighbor while a hard or stony heart means the love...
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...
sit
'To sit before Jehovah' is to be with Him, and so, it also means willing and acting from Him. 'To stand before Him,' is to...
sea
Water generally represents what Swedenborg calls “natural truth,” or true concepts about day-to-day matters and physical things. Since all water ultimately flows into the seas,...
Wisdom
At its heart, wisdom is love's imperative desire to take form. That's a tricky statement, but think of it this way: If you love someone,...
gold
'Money' relates to truth.
silver
'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,...
treasures
Substance' and 'treasures,' as in Jeremiah 17:3, signify the spiritual riches of faith, or the aspects of the doctrine of faith.
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...
nations
The Bible generally uses two different terms for large groups: “people” and “nations.” When it uses “nation,” it is talking about a group with the...
swords
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...
beauty
Beauty of his ornament (Ezek. 7:20) signifies the church and its doctrine.
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,"...
die
Dead (Gen. 23:8) signifies night, in respect to the goodnesses and truths of faith.
slain
'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...
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...
slay
'To slay a man to his wounding,' means extinguishing faith, and 'to slay a young man to his hurt,' signifies extinguishing charity, as in Genesis...
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...
uncircumcised
'The uncircumcised,' as in Ezekiel 31:18, signifies people lacking the good of charity.
spoken
Like "say," the word "speak" refers to thoughts and feelings moving from our more internal spiritual levels to our more external ones – and ultimately...
Full
'To satiate' relates to the extent of a person's will, for good or evil.
paradise
A garden and paradise signify intellect and wisdom.
stone
Stones in the Bible in general represent truths, or things we know concerning the Lord and what He wants from us and for us in...
covering
A covering of precious stones (Ezek. 28:4, 13) signifies the truths of intelligence.
sardius
'Sardine stone,' because it is red, indicates aspects of the good of love, or the goods of the Word in extremes
topaz
'Precious stones,' in application to the Word, symbolizes the Divine truth of the Word in its literal sense which the Divine truth in its spiritual...
jasper
Emerald, purple, broidered-work, fine linen, coral, and agate (Ezek. 27:16), signify the knowledges of good.
onyx
'Precious stones,' in application to the Word, symbolizes the Divine truth of the Word in its literal sense which the Divine truth in its spiritual...
Beryl
'Precious stones,' in application to the Word, symbolizes the Divine truth of the Word in its literal sense which the Divine truth in its spiritual...
sapphire
'Precious stones,' in application to the Word, symbolizes the Divine truth of the Word in its literal sense which the Divine truth in its spiritual...
carbuncle
Emerald, purple, broidered-work, fine linen, coral, and agate (Ezek. 27:16), signify the knowledges of good.
emerald
'Precious stones,' in application to the Word, symbolizes the Divine truth of the Word in its literal sense which the Divine truth in its spiritual...
work
'Works,' as in Genesis 46:33, denote goods, because they are from the will, and anything from the will is either good or evil, but anything...
Pipes
'Pipes' signify the joys of the affection of the knowledges of good and truth.
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...
created
The creation of heaven and earth in the first chapter of Genesis means the new creation of the celestial church called 'Man'.
cherub
A Cherub has as its first definition in the dictionary, “A winged heavenly creature.” Cherubim is the plural of cherub. In the Word, the words...
holy
'Sanctuary' signifies the truth of heaven and the church. 'Sanctuary,' as in Ezekiel 24:21, signifies the Word.
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...
walked
To walk in the Bible represents living, and usually means living according to the true things taught to us by the Lord -- to "walk...
midst
The "midst" of something in the Bible represents the thing that is most central and most important to the spiritual state being described, the motivation...
stones
Stones in the Bible in general represent truths, or things we know concerning the Lord and what He wants from us and for us in...
fire
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...
perfect
'The days of the perfect' signifies the states of people who are in good and truths from good.
ways
'To set a way,' as in Genesis 30:36, signifies being separated.
day of
'Day of vengeance' signifies a state of damnation.
creation
The creation of heaven and earth in the first chapter of Genesis means the new creation of the celestial church called 'Man'.
found
Finding, or being found, can have different meanings in the Word, depending on the context. Here are two examples, From Arcana Coelestia 5756, 'Behold, the...
merchandise
'Merchandise' signifies the knowledges of good.
filled
There are two ways something can be filled: It can be filled with something bad against the wishes of its owner, or it can be...
iniquity
In Isaiah 59:6, 'webs' and 'garments' signify aspects of the understanding, or thought, 'Iniquity' and 'violence,' aspects of the will, or works.
ground
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...
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...
kings
The human mind is composed of two parts, a will and an understanding, a seat of loves and affections, and a seat of wisdom and...
might
'Might' denotes the forces or power of truth.
iniquities
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...
devour
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...
ashes
Ashes as in ('Ezekiel 27:30') signify what is condemned; because fire from which they are derived signify infernal love. Ashes of the furnace ('Exodus 9:8')...
earth
'Lands' of different nations are used in the Word to signify the different kinds of love prevalent in the inhabitants.
sight
The symbolic meaning of "seeing" is "understanding," which is obvious enough that it has become part of common language (think about it; you might see...
see
The symbolic meaning of "seeing" is "understanding," which is obvious enough that it has become part of common language (think about it; you might see...
glorified
'Honor' signifies the good of love. 'To honor,' as mentioned in Isaiah 24:15, signifies worship and adoration. 'To honor thy father and thy mother,' as...
know
Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases – when it...
sanctified
'To sanctify' denotes being led by the Lord. 'To sanctify' denotes being incapable of being violated.
send
In every instance, however, 'being sent' means coming forth, (or going forth), in the internal sense, as in John 17:8. In similar manner, it is...
pestilence
'Pestilence' denotes the vastation of good and truth.
blood
Bloods signify evil, in Ezek. 16:9.
streets
The phrase 'in the streets and synagogues' in Matthew 6:2, 5, and Luke 8:26-27, refers to a representative rite amongst the Jews to teach in...
fall
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...
sword
The three words, sword, famine and pestilence, appear in a group in 26 different Bible verses. That's not an accident. Sword, famine and pestilence describe...
sides
'Side' signifies good or spiritual love.
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...
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...
Pain
'Pain' signifies repugnant things arising from interior falsities, because what is repugnant is painful.
side
'Side' signifies good or spiritual love.
Round about
'Round about' denotes the things most distant from the middle, or from good and truth.
people
The Bible generally uses two different terms for large groups: “people” and “nations.” When it uses “nation,” it is talking about a group with the...
scattered
The meaning of "scatter" in the Bible is relatively literal, but it is used in regard to spiritual things, not natural ones. So to "scatter"...
gentiles
'The time of the heathen,' as mentioned in Ezekiel 30:3, signifies the heathen, or wickedness.
dwell
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...
own
In many cases, the spiritual meaning of "own," both as a verb and as an adjective, is relatively literal. When people are described as the...
servant
“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...
Jacob
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...
build
There are really two meanings for "build" in the Bible. When something is being built for the first time, or built in the most typical...
houses
A "house" is essentially a container - for a person, for a family, for several families or even for a large group with shared interests...
plant
'To plant' denotes regeneration.
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...
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