names
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...
Sons of Israel
'The camp of the sons of Israel' represents the church.
israel
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...
came
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “come” in the Bible is highly dependent on context – its meaning is determined largely by...
egypt
In the Bible, Egypt means knowledge and the love of knowledge. In a good sense that means knowledge of truth from the Lord through the...
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...
man
The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings – Conjugial Love or Love in Marriage –...
house
A "house" is essentially a container - for a person, for a family, for several families or even for a large group with shared interests...
reuben
'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....
Simeon
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...
judah
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.
Issachar
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...
Zebulun
Zebulon's name comes from a Hebrew root word meaning habitation, or "dwelling together". In Genesis 30:19, 22 and Genesis 49:13, 'Zebulon' signifies the way that...
and Benjamin
'The tribe of Zebulon' signifies the conjunction of people in the third heaven with the Lord, 'the tribe of Joseph,' the conjunction of people in...
Benjamin
Also, Benjamin signifies the Word in its ultimate sense (Deut. 33:12)
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...
naphtali
'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...
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...
souls
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...
thigh
In Revelation 19:16, 'the Lord’s thigh' signifies the Word regarding its divine good. 'The thigh and loins' signify conjugial love, and because this is the...
joseph
'The tribe of Zebulon' signifies the conjunction of people in the third heaven with the Lord, 'the tribe of Joseph,' the conjunction of people in...
died
Dead (Gen. 23:8) signifies night, in respect to the goodnesses and truths of faith.
brothers
Brethren (Gen. 27:29) signify the affections of good.
generation
To “generate” something is to create it, and that idea underpins the meaning of a “generation” of people – it is a group that was...
fruitful
To be fruitful is predicated of goodnesses, and to be multiplied, of truths.
land
Land' in the Word, denotes the church, for the things which signify the church also signify the things relating to the church, for these constitute...
filled
Being "filled" means being endowed with a spiritual quality. When the material in question is good – water, food, people who represent good things, etc....
knew
In a general sense, men represent things of the intellect – facts, ideas, knowledge, everything from the deepest truths to the most pernicious falsities about...
said
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...
many
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...
us
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,...
war
War in the Word represents the combat of temptation when what is good is assaulted by what is evil or false. The evil that attacks...
hate
If you truly hate someone, that means you would kill them and destroy their reputation if you could do so without repercussion – not a...
princes
Captains and Rulers (Jer. 51:23) signifies principal evils and falsities. Captains and Rulers (Ezek 33:6) signifies principal truths. See Chief Captains.
built
To build something generally means to put together a variety of simpler pieces to make a useful and more complex structure, as to build a...
cities
In the ancient world cities were very nearly nations unto themselves – they existed within walls, with their own laws and customs, generally centered on...
Storehouses
The 'storehouses' built by the enslaved Israelites denote doctrines from falsified truths.
pharaoh
'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...
Pithom
'Pithom or Ramses' denotes quality of doctrine from falsified truths.
Rameses
'The land of Rameses,' as in Genesis 47:11, signifies the inmost of the spiritual principle in the natural mind.
egyptians
Egyptians represent those who are in natural science, thus the natural, but the Hebrews, those who are of the church, thus respectively the spiritual. The...
serve
Generally speaking, those who are at lower levels of an organization serve those at higher levels. Bosses boss and their employees serve; coaches devise strategy...
life
'Lives' is used in the plural, because of the will and understanding, and because these two lives make one.
service
'Service' denotes everything beneath, which is subordinate and obeys, and so, truth being derived from good, and ministering to good.
field
A "field" in the Bible usually represents the Lord's church, and more specifically the desire for good within the church. It's where good things start,...
hebrew
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...
name
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...
one
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...
Midwife
'A midwife,' as in Genesis 26, signifies the natural level. Midwives,' as in Exodus 1:15-21, signify receptions of truth in the natural principle.
see
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...
son
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....
Put
'To put' has reference to order, arrangement, application, and influx.
feared
Fear of the unknown and fear of change are both common ideas, and together cover a broad spectrum of the fears we tend to have...
God
When the Bible speaks of "Jehovah," it is representing love itself, the inmost love that is the essence of the Lord. That divine love is...
called
'To proclaim' signifies exploration from influx of the Lord.
women
The word "woman" is used a number of different ways in the Bible – as a simple description, as someone connected to a man ("his...
birth
To beget or to be begotten is very similar in meaning to birth: It represents one spiritual state leading to the next spiritual state. "Beget,"...
comes
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “come” in the Bible is highly dependent on context – its meaning is determined largely by...
became
To beget or to be begotten is very similar in meaning to birth: It represents one spiritual state leading to the next spiritual state. "Beget,"...
houses
A "house" is essentially a container - for a person, for a family, for several families or even for a large group with shared interests...
commanded
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,...
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