homme
The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings – Conjugial Love or Love in Marriage –...
Maison
A "house" is essentially a container - for a person, for a family, for several families or even for a large group with shared interests...
lévi
'Levi' signifies truth in practice, which is the good of life. 'Levi,' in the highest sense, signifies love and mercy, in a spiritual sense, he...
fille
"Behold I have two daughters,” etc. (Gen. 19:8), signifies the affections of good and truth, and the blessedness perceivable from the enjoyment thereof, by those...
femme
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...
enceinte
To be with child, (Gen. 38:24), signifies to produce something.
Fils
'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...
Trois
'Thirteen,' between twelve and fourteen, denotes the intermediate state. 'Thirteen,' as the sum of ten and three, denotes remains.
jonc
Bulrushes signify what is vile, but nevertheless derived from truth. See Branch.
l'enfant
A boy (Gen. 18:7) signifies the natural man, and consequently, him who ministers and administers. Boy (Gen. 22:3) signifies the Lord's former rational principle merely...
roseaux
Bulrushes signify what is vile, but nevertheless derived from truth. See Branch.
savoir
Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases – when it...
Pharaon
'Pharaoh' signifies scientific ideas, or the natural principle in general. 'Pharaoh' signifies false ideas infesting the truth of the church. Pharaoh,' in Genesis 40, represents...
baigner
It does not take a great leap of imagination to see that “washing” in the Bible represents purification. Washing dirt from the skin is symbolic...
Milieu
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...
servante
'Maids' denote external affections serving the internal.
l'ouvrit
To open,' as in Revelation 9, signifies communication and conjunction.
garçon
A boy (Gen. 18:7) signifies the natural man, and consequently, him who ministers and administers. Boy (Gen. 22:3) signifies the Lord's former rational principle merely...
dit
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...
hébreux
The term 'Hebrew' is used in the Word to signify anything relating to service, whatever its nature may be. Hence Abraham, in one passage only...
les femmes
'Women,' as in Genesis 45:19, signify the affections of truth. But in Genesis 31:50, 'women' signify affections of not genuine truth, so not of the...
femmes
The word "woman" is used a number of different ways in the Bible – as a simple description, as someone connected to a man ("his...
mère
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...
salaire
'Hire,' as mentioned in Genesis 30:33, referring to the Lord, signifies His proprium, that is, what was acquired from His own proper ability.
la femme
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...
à
‘To grow’ signifies to be perfected.
Nom
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...
de Moïse
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...
Moïse
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...
eaux
'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...
Frères
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...
frappait
'To smite' signifies condemnation. 'To smite,' as in Genesis 14:15, signifies vindication. 'To smite,' as in Genesis 32:8, signifies destruction. 'To smite the earth with...
hébreu
The term 'Hebrew' is used in the Word to signify anything relating to service, whatever its nature may be. Hence Abraham, in one passage only...
voyant
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...
le sable
'Sand,' as in Matthew 7:27, signifies faith separate from charity.
sable
'Sand,' as in Matthew 7:27, signifies faith separate from charity.
jour
"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...
deux
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...
chef
Captains and Rulers (Jer. 51:23) signifies principal evils and falsities. Captains and Rulers (Ezek 33:6) signifies principal truths. See Chief Captains.
juge
It’s easy to see the connection between judging and truth. In a court of law, the judge’s whole purpose is to find the truth. In...
nous
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,...
tuer
'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...
Tué
'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...
Peur
The fearful signify people who have no faith.
s'enfuit
Flight, as in Matthew 14:20, signifies removal from a state of the good of love and innocence. Flight, as in Mark 8:18, signifies the last...
Pays
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...
Madian
'Midianites' signify people who are in the truth of simple good.
puits
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...
Sept
The number 'seven' was considered holy, as is well known, because of the six days of creation, and the seventh, which is the celestial self,...
filles
Marriages among people – both in the Bible and in life – represent spiritual marriage. Women represent the desire to be good and to do...
vinrent
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “come” in the Bible is highly dependent on context – its meaning is determined largely by...
l'eau
Water was obviously of tremendous importance in Biblical times (and every other time). It is the basis of life, the essential ingredient in all drinks,...
remplirent
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...
auges
‘Gutters,’ as in Genesis 30:38, signify the good that comes from truth in the natural level of the mind.
Troupeau
A flock, as in Genesis 26, denotes interior or rational good. A flock signifies those who are in spiritual good. A flock signifies natural interior...
père
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...
bergers
The Writings tell us that shepherds represent those who lead and teach others, using knowledge and true ideas to help people reach the goodness of...
arrivèrent
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “come” in the Bible is highly dependent on context – its meaning is determined largely by...
Réuel
'Reuel' was a priest and so denotes the good of the church.
aujourd'hui
"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...
main
Scientists believe that one of the most crucial developments in the evolution of humans was bipedalism – walking on two legs. That left our hands...
Étranger
The word "stranger" is used many times in the Bible, and it is sometimes paired with the word "sojourner". They are different concepts in the...
Roi
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...
Egypte
'Mizraim' signifies the same thing as Egypt.
Enfants
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....
d'Israël
'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...
Israël
'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...
servitude
'Servitude' relates to the regenerate, or to the external self submissive to the internal. This is not felt as servitude, because it is from submission...
Dieu
Le Seigneur est l'amour lui-même, exprimé sous la forme de la sagesse elle-même. L'amour, donc, est Son essence, Son plus profond. La sagesse - la...
entendit
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...
souvint
'To remember,' as in Genesis 41:9, signifies conjunction. 'Remembering' denotes conjunction because the remembrance of anyone in the other life joins them together, because as...
Abraham
Abraham (or Abram, as he is named in the beginning of his story) is one of the major characters in the story of the sacred...
Isaac
'Isaac' represents spiritual love. 'Isaac,' in Genesis 17:19, signifies the rational divine. 'Isaac' signifies the Lord's divine rational in reference to divine good. Isaac' signifies...
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...
