daughters
Marriages among people – both in the Bible and in life – represent spiritual marriage. Women represent the desire to be good and to do...
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...
Sons of god
A spiritual person, as an image, the Lord calls 'a son of light,' as in John 12:36, but a celestial person, as a likeness, is...
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...
seeing
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...
daughters of men
In Genesis 6:2, 'the sons of God seeing the daughters of man (Hebrew: Adam)' signifies that they were good, and 'taking to themselves wives of...
wives
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...
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...
ever
In many cases, the use of “eternity” in the Bible is pretty literal, simple meaning forever. This is especially true when the text is referring...
flesh
Flesh has several meanings just in its most obvious form. It can mean all living creatures as when the Lord talks about the flood "destroying...
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...
hundred
It's a landmark for a young child to count to 100; it sort of covers all the "ordinary" numbers. One hundred is obviously significant for...
twenty
'Twenty,' when referring to a quantity, signifies everything or fullness, because it is ten twice. 'Twenty,' as in Genesis 18:31, like all numbers occurring in...
giants
Giants, as in Genesis 6:4, signify those who, through a persuasion of their own height and pre-eminence view whatever is holy and true as nothing.
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...
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...
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....
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...
Mighty men
'Mighty men,' as in Lamentations 1:15, denotes people who are in the good of love.
of old
In many cases, the use of “eternity” in the Bible is pretty literal, simple meaning forever. This is especially true when the text is referring...
old
'Old waste places' signify the celestial aspects of faith.
wickedness
'Wickedness' signifies evil, and 'iniquity' signifies falsities.
thought
Those who are 'anxious' are not content with their own lot, and do not trust the Divine, but only themselves. They only look to worldly...
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...
evil
'Wickedness' signifies evil, and 'iniquity' signifies falsities.
sorrow
Grief is anxiety of heart or will.
created
The creation of heaven and earth in the first chapter of Genesis means the new creation of the celestial church called 'Man'.
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...
beasts
"Beasts" represent the affection for doing good things, a true desire to do them from the heart. In the negative sense, "beasts" stand for the...
fowls
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...
air
"Air" in the Bible represents thought, but in a very general way – more like our capacity to perceive ideas and the way we tend...
found
To not to be found any more, signifies not to rise again.
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...
generations
To “generate” something is to create it, and that idea underpins the meaning of a “generation” of people – it is a group that was...
just
He is said to be 'just' in a spiritual sense, who lives according to divine laws. They on the right hand being called 'just,' as...
perfect
'The days of the perfect' signifies the states of people who are in good and truths from good.
man
The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings – Conjugial Love or Love in Marriage –...
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...
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,"...
three
The Writings talk about many aspects of life using the philosophical terms "end," "cause" and "effect." The "end" is someone’s goal or purpose, the ultimate...
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...
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...
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.
seen
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...
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....
come
Coming (Gen. 41:14) denotes communication by influx.
length
'Length' symbolizes goodness, here, the goodness of the church, for the same reason that 'breadth' symbolizes truth. This is because 'length means the sweep of...
Three hundred
'Three hundred' signifies fullness, because the number comes from three and a hundred multiplied. Both 'three' and 'a hundred' signifies fullness. The significance of products...
fifty
God rested on the seventh day of creation. That represents a state of holiness and tranquility that was preserved in the form of the sabbath....
height
'Height' signifies the good and truth of the church in every degree.
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,...
door
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...
side
'Side' signifies good or spiritual love.
middle
'Noon' signifies the full state of the church. 'Noon' signifies wisdom in its most luminous state. 'Noon' denotes a state of light, because the times...
third
The Writings talk about many aspects of life using the philosophical terms "end," "cause" and "effect." The "end" is someone’s goal or purpose, the ultimate...
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...
breath
'Breath' is the life of the body corresponding to spiritual things, just like the motion of the heart is the life of the body corresponding...
life
'Lives' is used in the plural, because of the will and understanding, and because these two lives make one.
under
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...
heaven
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...
all things
The Lord is life itself, is the Creator of the universe, and is the source of life on an ongoing basis. So in a literal...
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...
wife
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...
living
'Lives' is used in the plural, because of the will and understanding, and because these two lives make one.
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...
male
Because of their understanding of spiritual marriage, the people of the Most Ancient church perceived 'male and female' as two faculties in the spiritual self:...
female
Because of their understanding of spiritual marriage, the people of the Most Ancient church perceived 'male and female' as two faculties in the spiritual self:...
eaten
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...
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,...
