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...
Abramo
Abram represents different spiritual things, as his story develops. When he is first mentioned, Abram, with his brothers Nahor and Haran, are listed as the...
serva
'A handmaid' signifies the affection of rational and scientific things. 'A handmaid,' as mentioned in Genesis 30:3, signifies the affirming medium of conjoining inner truths...
nome
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...
agar
Hagar, as mentioned in Genesis 16, signifies the affection of sciences of the outward self and also the life of the outer or natural self.
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...
l’eterno
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...
voce
When the Lord speaks through the heaven, it descends into the lower spheres and is heard as thunder. As He speaks through the whole of...
dieci
Most places in Swedenborg identify “ten” as representing “all,” or in some cases “many” or “much.” The Ten Commandments represent all the guidance we get...
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...
marito
In general, men are driven by intellect and women by affections, and because of this men in the Bible generally represent knowledge and truth and...
padrona
'Mistress,' as in Genesis 16:9, signifies the affection for interior truth.
disprezzo
We tend to think of "despising" something or someone as just a strong way of expressing dislike, but there is a further shade of meaning...
ingiuria
We tend to think of "despising" something or someone as just a strong way of expressing dislike, but there is a further shade of meaning...
dato
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...
seno
"Bosom" in termini generali significa il petto, ma più come sede delle emozioni che semplicemente come parte del corpo. Si pensa di tenere uno stetoscopio...
Guarda
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...
giudice
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...
angelo
'A messenger' signifies communication.
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,...
deserto
'Wilderness' signifies something with little life in it, as described in the internal sense in Luke 1:80 'Wilderness' signifies somewhere there is no good because...
shur
'Shur,' or 'Assyria,' signifies the Lord's state when He first received instruction in matters of doctrine regarding charity and faith.
vieni
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “come” in the Bible is highly dependent on context – its meaning is determined largely by...
sotto
In the Bible, things that are lower down, or under, physically, generally represent things that are lower or more external spiritually. In some cases, the...
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...
incinta
To be with child, (Gen. 38:24), signifies to produce something.
figliuolo
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....
Ismaele
'Ishmael' represents the first rationality pertaining to the Lord. 'Ishmael' signifies rationality separate from good. 'Ishmael' signifies the Lord's merely human rational. Ishmael, in Genesis...
afflizione
Matthew 24:21 mentions an affliction "such as was not from the beginning of the world, no nor ever shall be". There, the affliction means the...
fratelli
Ci sono due modi in cui "fratello" è usato nella Bibbia, modi che si riflettono ancora nel linguaggio moderno. Uno denota una relazione di sangue...
parlato
Like "say," the word "speak" refers to thoughts and feelings moving from our more internal spiritual levels to our more external ones – and ultimately...
vista
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...
pozzo
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...
chiamato
Chiamare qualcuno o convocare qualcuno nella Bibbia rappresenta un desiderio di congiunzione tra gli stati superiori e inferiori della vita. Per esempio, immaginate qualcuno in...
kades
'Kadesh' denotes truths, and contention about truths.
Bered
Bared, as in Gen 16:14, signifies what is beneath, consequently, scientific truth, from which also the rational principle is derived