Japheth
'Shem' can be understood to be internal worship, 'Japheth' is the corresponding external worship, 'Ham' is internal worship corrupted, and 'Canaan' is external worship separate...
born
In a general sense, being "born" in the Bible represents one spiritual state producing another, usually some form of love or affection producing or "giving...
after
According to Swedenborg, time and space don’t exist in spiritual reality; they are purely natural things that exist only on the physical plane. This means...
Sons of Japheth
In Genesis 10, the people called 'the sons of Japheth,' were those who kept external worship corresponding with internal, or lived in simplicity, friendship, and...
Gomer
‘Gomer’ denotes those who are in outward worship.
Magog
'Magog' signifies people in external natural worship.
madai
'Madai,' as in Isaiah 21:1, signifies the external church, or external worship in which is the internal. See Genesis 10:2, where 'Madai' is called 'the...
and Javan
'Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Tubal, and Javan,' as in Isaiah 66:19, signify varieties of external worship.
Javan
'Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Tubal, and Javan,' as in Isaiah 66:19, signify varieties of external worship.
Riphath
'Riphath,' in Genesis 10:3, was one of several nations which had an external form of worship, and signifies several doctrinal matters, which respected ritual observances...
Sons of Javan
'Sons of Zion' and 'Javan,' as in Zechariah 9:13, signify the internal and external truths of the Word. The Apocalypse Explained 724. In Arcana Coelestia...
islands
Islands' signify the natural mind, or the natural human, regarding truths and falsities. People who are steeped in the internal sense of the Word, such...
Lands
'Lands' of different nations are used in the Word to signify the different kinds of love prevalent in the inhabitants.
gentiles
'The time of the heathen,' as mentioned in Ezekiel 30:3, signifies the heathen, or wickedness.
tongue
In Psalms 5:9, 'the throat an open sepulcher,' relates to evil, 'the tongue speaking smooth things,' to falsity.
families
Families (as in Genesis 8:19) signify goodnesses and truths arranged in man by the Lord, according to order. See Secrets of Heaven 917. In Nahum...
nations
'Nations' signify people who are in the good of love and charity from the Lord. Two nations in the womb,' as in Genesis 25:23, signify...
hevila
'Havilah,' as mentioned in Genesis 10:28, signifies a ritual of the church called Eber. 'The land of Havilah,' as mentioned in Genesis 2:11, signifies the...
dadan
Dedan (Gen. 10) signifies the knowledges of celestial things of an inferior order, such as consist in ritual observances. Dedan, in Jer. 49:8 signifies rituals...
begot
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,"...
mighty
Mighty,' as in Revelation 19:18, signify people who are educated about doctrine derived from the Word. By extension, 'mighty' signifies education or learning derived from...
earth
Land' in the Word, denotes the church, for the things which signify the church also signify the things relating to the church, for these constitute...
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...
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...
beginning
In the Word, "beginning" doesn't just mean the beginning of something in time. In the inner sense, it means the initial phase of a spiritual...
babylon
Babylon was an ancient city built on the Euphrates river in what is now southern Iraq. It once was the capital of a great empire...
land
"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...
built
To build something generally means to put together a variety of simpler pieces to make a useful and more complex structure, as to build a...
ninive
'Nineveh' signifies the falsities of doctrinal matters, also the Gentiles, or the falsities originating in the fallacies of the senses, in the obscurity of an...
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...
Resen
'Resen, between Nineveh and Calah,' as in Genesis 10:12, signifies false doctrinal matters of life, originating in the specific falsities signified by 'Nineveh' and 'Calah.'
great
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;...
Ludim
'Lydians,' as in Jeremiah 46:8, signify fact based rituals.
philistines
The Philistines play a large role in the Bible as one of the longest-standing and most bitter rivals of the people of Israel, clashing with...
firstborn
When the Bible talks about generations or birth order, the internal meaning has to do with the progression of spiritual states and their relative importance....
hevite
The Hivites' represent those who were in idolatry, but in which there was something of good.
Hamathite
A 'Hamathite' signifies variety of idolatry.
comes
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “come” in the Bible is highly dependent on context – its meaning is determined largely by...
gerara
Gerar, as in Genesis 10:19, signifies those things which are revealed concerning faith.
gaza
Gaza (or Azzah) signifies things revealed concerning charity.
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...
sodom
"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...
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....
tongues
'The tongue,' as an organ, signifies doctrine, but as speech, or language, it signifies religion. 'Tongue' signifies perception of truth with respect to speech, 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...
Elder brother
An elder brother, as in Genesis 10:21, signifies the internal church.
elder
In general, things that are “elder” in the Bible represent spiritual states that come before others. For example, of the two sisters Jacob married, Leah...
brother
Brethren (Gen. 27:29) signify the affections of good.
elam
Elam, mentioned in Isaiah 21:1, signifies faith originating in charity, consequently, the internal church. Elam, in Jeremiah 49:34, signifies the falsification of doctrine. In Jeremiah...
arphaxad
Arphaxad (Genesis 10:24) signifies science.
lud
'Lud,' as in Genesis 10:22, signifies the knowledge of truth.
aram
'Syria,' as in Ezekiel 27:16, signifies the church regarding knowledges of truth and good.
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,...
Gether
Gether denotes various knowledges concerning good.
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...
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...
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...
days
"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...
jectan
Joktan,' as in Genesis 10:25, signifies the external worship in the church called Eber.
Uzal
'Usal,' as in Genesis 10:27, signifies a ritual of the church called Eber.
Abimael
Abimael, in Genesis 10:28, represents one of the ritual forms of the church called Eber. See Secrets of Heaven 1245. Abimael was the son of...
ophir
'Ophir,' as in Genesis 10:28, signifies a ritual of the church called 'Eber.' Gold of Ophir,' as in Isaiah 8:13 and Psalm 45, signifies spiritual...
dwelling
Habitation, as mentioned in Genesis 27:39, signifies life. The habitation of holiness signifies the celestial kingdom. The habitation of honorableness signifies the spiritual kingdom, as...
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...
Sephar
'Sephar,' as in Genesis 10:30, signifies good.
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...
peoples
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...
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