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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Ruben
'Reuben,' in the highest sense, signifies omniscience. In a spiritual sense, he signifies wisdom, intelligence, science, and faith. In a natural sense, he signifies sight....
premier-né
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....
commencement
Dans le Monde, "commencement" ne signifie pas seulement le début de quelque chose dans le temps. Au sens intérieur, cela signifie la phase initiale d'un...
l'eau
'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...
lit
A bed of ivory (Amos 6:4) are doctrines apparently from rational truths.
Siméon
In Revelation 7, 'Simeon', in the highest sense, signifies providence, in a spiritual sense, love towards our neighbor, or charity, and in a natural sense,...
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...
frères
Brethren (Gen. 27:29) signify the affections of good.
instruments
Instruments of music,' according to correspondences, signify the pleasant and delightful affection of spiritual and celestial things. Therefore, also in many of the Psalms of...
âme
The nature of the soul is a deep and complicated topic, but it can be summarized as "spiritual life," who we are in terms of...
compagnie
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...
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...
colère
'Wrath,' as in Genesis 49:7, signifies aversion from truth. 'Great wrath,' as in Revelation 12:12, signifies hatred against the new church.
disperserai
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"...
Juda
City of Judah,' as in Isaiah 40:9, signifies the doctrine of love towards the Lord and love towards our neighbor in its whole extent.
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...
ennemis
An enemy in the Bible refers to people who are in the love of evil and the false thinking that springs from evil. On a...
Lion
'A lion' signifies the good of celestial love and the truth from that good.
comme un lion
'A lion' signifies the good of celestial love and the truth from that good.
vieux
Swedenborg tells us that space and time in the physical world correspond to states of life in the spiritual world. So when the Bible talks...
Législateur
'A lawgiver,' as in Numbers 21:18, signifies the Lord.
pieds
The foot, as in Deuteronomy 33:3, signifies an inferior principle. To set the right foot on the sea and the left on the earth, as...
vigne
Wine played a key role in the ancient world, where safe, reliable water sources were scarce. It could be stored for long periods of time;...
ânon
Donkeys signify the things relating to the self-intelligence of the sensual man; and camels, the things of self-intelligence in the natural man (Isa 30:6, 7.)
ânesse
Donkeys signify the things relating to the self-intelligence of the sensual man; and camels, the things of self-intelligence in the natural man (Isa 30:6, 7.)
Vêtement
'Vestments' signify truth, and in relation to the Lord, divine truth. 'Vesture' signifies truth clothing good, and when describing the Word, it signifies the Word...
vin
Wine played a key role in the ancient world, where safe, reliable water sources were scarce. It could be stored for long periods of time;...
sang
Bloods signify evil, in Ezek. 16:9.
yeux
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...
les dents
'Tooth,' as in Exodus 21:24, denotes the exterior understanding, and natural truth.
lait
Water represents true ideas about day-to-day life, and other drinks and liquids in general represent different forms of truth. Milk is a drink that contains...
navires
Ships were used in the ancient world – as they generally are now – to carry freight from nation to nation for trade. The various...
issacar
Issachar,' in the highest sense, signifies the divine good of truth, and truth of good. In a spiritual sense, he signifies celestial conjugial love, which...
âne
Donkeys signify the things relating to the self-intelligence of the sensual man; and camels, the things of self-intelligence in the natural man (Isa 30:6, 7.)
vu
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...
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...
Dan
The tribe of Dan (Jer. 8:16) signifies truth in its own ultimate degree of order, here truth in the church, which is contained in the...
tribus
In general, 'the twelve tribes' signify every aspect of the doctrine of truth and good, or of faith and love. Truth and good, or faith...
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...
Serpent
'The bite of a snake' or 'serpent,' as in Amos. 5:19, signifies falsification of the Word, from the interior dominion of falsity from evil.
chemin
'A path' denotes truths, and in the opposite sense, falsities.
sentier
'A path' denotes truths, and in the opposite sense, falsities.
Cheval
'A horse' signifies knowledges or understanding of the Word. In an opposite sense it signifies the understanding of the Word falsified by reasonings, and likewise...
salut
'Salvation, to the Lord our God,' as in Revelation 19:1, signifies an acknowledgment and confession that salvation is from the Lord.
Gad
Gad, in a supreme sense, signifies omnipotence; in a spiritual sense, the good of life, or use; and in a natural sense, works. Gad, in...
troupes
'A troop,' as in Genesis 30:11, signifies omnipotence and omniscience in the highest sense, in an internal sense, the good of faith, and in an...
pain
Just as natural food feeds the natural body, so spiritual food feeds the spiritual body. And since our spiritual body is the expression of what...
nephthali
'Naphtali' in a supreme sense, signifies the proper power of the Lord’s divine human. In a spiritual sense, he signifies temptation and victory and a...
donne
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...
Joseph
Joseph, Jacob’s eleventh son, is one of the favorite characters in the Bible, with his troubles, his triumphs over them, and his constant trust in...
fertile
To be fruitful is predicated of goodnesses, and to be multiplied, of truths.
arc
A bow signifies falsity of doctrine destroying truth, and spear, the falsity of evil destroying good. (Jer. 6:23.)
les bras
Arms and feet (Daniel 10:6) signify the exterior things of the Word, which are its literal sense.
bras
Arms and feet (Daniel 10:6) signify the exterior things of the Word, which are its literal sense.
mains
Scientists believe that one of the most crucial developments in the evolution of humans was bipedalism – walking on two legs. That left our hands...
puissant
'Might' denotes the forces or power of truth.
Pasteur
'A pastor' or 'shepherd' signifies people who teach truths and lead people to the good of life.
pierre
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...
tout-puissant
'Shaddai,' as in Genesis 43:14, signifies temptation, and consolation after temptation. This is because the ancients called the one and only God by various names...
bénédictions
The Lord is perfect love expressed as perfect wisdom. He created us so that He could love us, could give us love and wisdom of...
Cieux
Les cieux sont des choses célestes et spirituelles. Par conséquent, ce sont des choses intimes, à la fois du royaume du Seigneur dans le ciel...
éternité
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...
tête
The head is the part of us that is highest, which means in a representative sense that it is what is closest to the Lord....
Nazaréen
'A Nazarite' represents the celestial self.
benjamin
Also, Benjamin signifies the Word in its ultimate sense (Deut. 33:12)
Loup
'A wolf' signifies eagerness to seize, but also eagerness to rescue and deliver the good.
Matin
Morning comes with the rising of the sun, and the sun – which gives life to the earth with its warmth and light – represents...
soir
Since the light and warmth of the sun represent the Lord’s wisdom and love, it makes sense that evening, a time when the light and...
butin
'To spoil,' as in Genesis 34:27, signifies destruction. 'Spoil,' as in Deuteronomy 13:16, signifies the falsification of truth.
bénit
The Lord is perfect love expressed as perfect wisdom. He created us so that He could love us, could give us love and wisdom of...
bénédiction
The Lord is perfect love expressed as perfect wisdom. He created us so that He could love us, could give us love and wisdom of...
commandement
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,...
pères
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...
champ
When we have a desire to be good people and to do good things, the natural first questions are "What does that mean?" "What should...
Héthien
'A Hittite' in a good sense, signifies the spiritual church, or the truth of the church. The Hittites were among the upright Gentiles who were...
Macpéla
'Macpelah,' as in Genesis 23:17, signifies regeneration by truth, which relates to faith.
Canaan
Canaan signifies a worship in things external without internals, which arose out of the internal church corrupted, called Ham. Thus it is that Ham is...
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...
sépulcre
A grave, as in Psalm 88:5, signifies hell. ‘To come forth out of the grave,’ as in John 5:29, signifies to come forth out of...
Sara
'Sarah' denotes truth joined to good. Sarai was called 'Sarah' so she would represent the divine intellectual principle by adding the 'H' from the name...
femme
'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...
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...
acquis
Acquisition (Genesis 12:5) means all things which are sensual truths or things of science which are the ground of thought in man. Acquisition and purchase...
