יעקב
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...
עשו
Esau (Gen. 28:5, etc.) signifies the truth of good in the natural principle. Esau (Gen. 32:3) signifies celestial good in the natural principle.
בא
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “come” in the Bible is highly dependent on context – its meaning is determined largely by...
ארבע
The number "four" in the Bible represents things being linked together or joined. This is partly because four is two times two, and two represents...
מאות
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...
איש
The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings – Conjugial Love or Love in Marriage –...
רחל
'Rachel' denotes the affection of interior truth.
יוסף
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...
עבר
'To pass,' as in Genesis 31:52, signifies flowing in. 'To pass the night,' as in Genesis 24:54, signifies having peace. 'To pass through,' as in...
שבע
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,...
רב
Intellectual things – ideas, knowledge, facts, even insight and understanding – are more separate and free-standing than emotional things, and it’s easier to imagine numbering...
מצאתי
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...
ידע
Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases – when it...
יום
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...
אחד
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...
לפני
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...
נסע
'To journey' signifies the institutes and order of life.
בית
A "house" is essentially a container - for a person, for a family, for several families or even for a large group with shared interests...
שם
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...
שלם
'Shalem,' or 'Salem,' signifies the tranquility of peace.
עיר
Cities of the mountain and cities of the plain (Jeremiah 33:13) signify doctrines of charity and faith.
שכם
In Genesis 12:6, 'Abram’s passing through the land unto the place Shechem' signifies a new state of the Lord when the celestial aspects of love...
כנען
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...
העיר
Cities of the mountain and cities of the plain (Jeremiah 33:13) signify doctrines of charity and faith.
מזבח
The first altar mentioned in the Word was built by Noah after he came out of the ark. On that altar, he sacrificed clean animals...
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