giacobbe
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...
figliuoli
'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...
disse
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...
israele
'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...
padre
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....
primogenito
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....
principio
Nel Verbo, "inizio" non significa solo l'inizio di qualcosa nel tempo. In senso interiore, significa la fase iniziale di uno stato spirituale. Spiritualmente, "l'inizio" avviene...
acqua
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,...
letto
A bed of ivory (Amos 6:4) are doctrines apparently from rational truths.
simeone
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,...
levi
'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...
fratelli
Brethren (Gen. 27:29) signify the affections of good.
violenza
'Violence' signifies the outrage done to charity and the destruction of charity and faith. 'Violence,' as in Jeremiah 15:21, signifies falsities which assault the good...
anima
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...
ira
'Wrath,' as in Genesis 49:7, signifies aversion from truth. 'Great wrath,' as in Revelation 12:12, signifies hatred against the new church.
uomini
The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings – Conjugial Love or Love in Marriage –...
Giuda
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.
mano
Scientists believe that one of the most crucial developments in the evolution of humans was bipedalism – walking on two legs. That left our hands...
nemici
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...
Leone
'A lion' signifies the good of celestial love and the truth from that good.
legislatore
'A lawgiver,' as in Numbers 21:18, signifies the Lord.
piedi
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...
figlio
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....
vino
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;...
occhi
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...
denti
'Tooth,' as in Exodus 21:24, denotes the exterior understanding, and natural truth.
latte
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...
mari
Water generally represents what Swedenborg calls “natural truth,” or true concepts about day-to-day matters and physical things. Since all water ultimately flows into the seas,...
navi
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...
asino
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.)
buona
It seems rather circular to say that “good” in the Bible represents good, but in a general sense it’s true! The case is this: The...
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...
tribù
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’israele
'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...
serpe
'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.
strada
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....
sentiero
'A path' denotes truths, and in the opposite sense, falsities.
cavallo
'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...
cade
Like other common verbs, the meaning of "fall" is highly dependent on context in regular language, and is highly dependent on context in a spiritual...
signore
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...
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...
neftali
'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...
parole
'Words,' as in Exodus 34:28, signify everything pertaining to doctrine.
Giuseppe
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...
arco
A bow signifies falsity of doctrine destroying truth, and spear, the falsity of evil destroying good. (Jer. 6:23.)
braccia
Arms and feet (Daniel 10:6) signify the exterior things of the Word, which are its literal sense.
mani
Scientists believe that one of the most crucial developments in the evolution of humans was bipedalism – walking on two legs. That left our hands...
pastore
'A pastor' or 'shepherd' signifies people who teach truths and lead people to the good of life.
pietra
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...
onnipotente
'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...
benedizioni
Il Signore è l'amore perfetto espresso come saggezza perfetta. Ci ha creati perché ci amasse, ci desse amore e saggezza, e potesse così unirsi a...
cielo
I cieli sono cose celesti e spirituali. Di conseguenza, sono le cose più profonde, sia del regno del Signore nei cieli che della terra. Questo...
beniamino
Also, Benjamin signifies the Word in its ultimate sense (Deut. 33:12)
lupo
'A wolf' signifies eagerness to seize, but also eagerness to rescue and deliver the good.
mattina
Morning comes with the rising of the sun, and the sun – which gives life to the earth with its warmth and light – represents...
sera
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...
benedisse
Il Signore è l'amore perfetto espresso come saggezza perfetta. Ci ha creati perché ci amasse, ci desse amore e saggezza, e potesse così unirsi a...
secondo
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...
benedizione
Il Signore è l'amore perfetto espresso come saggezza perfetta. Ci ha creati perché ci amasse, ci desse amore e saggezza, e potesse così unirsi a...
padri
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...
campo
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...
efron
Ephron (Gen. 23:8, 17) signifies those with whom the good and truth of faith, which are the constituents of the church, might be received.
hitteo
'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...
Macpela
'Macpelah,' as in Genesis 23:17, signifies regeneration by truth, which relates to faith.
mamre
Mamre was an Amorite who lived in the land of Canaan, in the area called Hebron in what would much later be the kingdom of...
Abrahamo
Abramo (o Abram, come viene chiamato all'inizio della sua storia) è uno dei personaggi principali della storia delle Sacre Scritture. Fu l'antenato di tutti i...
sepoltura
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...
moglie
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...
Isacco
'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...
rebecca
'Rebecca,' as in Genesis 24, signifies divine truth which would be joined to divine good of the Lord’s rational mind, which is 'Isaac.'
het
The daughters of Heth, as mentioned in Genesis 27:46, signify the affections of truth from a ground that is not genuine. Here they are the...
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