words
'Word,' as in Psalms 119:6-17, stands for doctrine in general. 'The Word,' as in Psalms 147:18, signifies divine good united with divine truth. 'Word,' as...
vision
Vision is the innermost revelation, which is of perception. Visions are according to the state of humankind. The visions of people whose interiors are closed,...
Fear not
Fear not, as in Revelation 1:17; Daniel 10:5, 12; Matthew 17:5, 7; 28:10, etc., signifies resuscitation to life, and at the same time adoration from...
fear
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...
shield
'A shield' signifies defense which is trusted against evils and falsities. In respect to the Lord, it signifies defense, and in respect to people, confidence...
reward
A "reward" in the Bible represents something that brings people together, or brings spiritual states together, and binds them. It's easy to see this in...
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...
eliezer
Eliezer (Exod. 18:4) signifies the quality of the good of truths among those who are within the church.
given
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...
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....
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...
the Word
In general, we tend to be very aware of how knowing what's true leads to doing what is good. That starts as children, with parents...
word
'Word,' as in Psalms 119:6-17, stands for doctrine in general. 'The Word,' as in Psalms 147:18, signifies divine good united with divine truth. 'Word,' as...
heir
'An heir,' as mentioned in Jeremiah 49:1, signifies the good that comes from truth. 'To become an heir, or to inherit,' signifies eternal life in...
heavens
Heavens are celestial and spiritual things. Consequently, they are inmost things, both of the Lord's kingdom in heaven the and in the earth. This also...
number
To number,' as in Isaiah 22:10, signifies falsifying. To number bones,' as in Psalm 22:14-18, signifies desiring to dissipate truths by reasonings and false principles....
justice
He is said to be 'just' in a spiritual sense, who lives according to divine laws. They on the right hand being called 'just,' as...
Ur of the Chaldeans
'Ur of the Chaldeans,' as in Genesis 11:28, signifies external worship in falsities.
chaldeans
Chaldea was a land lying along the Euphrates river near its mouth, south of Babylon, part of what is now southern Iraq. It was a...
lord
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...
Jehovih
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...
heifer
'The heifer whereby labor has not been done,' as mentioned in Deuteronomy 21:3, signifies the innocence of the external self, which is in ignorance. 'The...
three
The Writings talk about many aspects of life using the philosophical terms "end," "cause" and "effect." The "end" is someone’s goal or purpose, the ultimate...
she-goat
A she-goat, as in Genesis 30:32, signifies the good of truth, or the charity of faith.
goat
From correspondences, a goat signifies the natural man. The goat which was sacrificed, as in Leviticus 16:5-10, signifies the natural man regarding a part purified,...
ram
'A ram' signifies the Lord’s divine spiritual nature pertaining to a person. 'A ram' signifies the good of innocence and charity in the internal self....
young
'A young pigeon' signifies innocence.
pigeon
'A young pigeon' signifies innocence.
midst
The "midst" of something in the Bible represents the thing that is most central and most important to the spiritual state being described, the motivation...
meet
In natural language, to "meet" someone can be positive or negative: it can be a welcoming and greeting, or it can be "meeting" them in...
companion
In the Bible, there is a careful distinction between the word “brother” and the word “companion” or “friend.” That’s partly because the people of Israel...
birds
"Birds" mean rational concepts in the external man and intellectual concepts in the internal man.
down
"Down" is used many different ways in natural language, and its spiritual meaning in the Bible is highly dependent on context. Phrases like "bowing down,"...
fell
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...
falling
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...
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...
know
Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases – when it...
knowing
Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases – when it...
sojourner
'A sojourner' or 'stranger,' as in Matthew 25:32, signifies someone who is willing to be instructed.
four
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...
Four hundred
Four hundred signifies vastation, temptations, and the duration thereof.
hundred
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...
nation
'Nations' signify people who are in the good of love and charity from the Lord. Two nations in the womb,' as in Genesis 25:23, signify...
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...
after
According to Swedenborg, time and space don’t exist in spiritual reality; they are purely natural things that exist only on the physical plane. This means...
acquisition
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...
come
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “come” in the Bible is highly dependent on context – its meaning is determined largely by...
fathers
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...
peace
In ordinary life, we tend to think of "peace" as essentially "a lack of conflict." As a nation, if we're not at war, it's a...
buried
'Being buried' or 'put into monuments' signifies resurrection and continuation of life.
good
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...
fourth
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...
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...
return
There are many instances in the Bible which describe people turning back, looking back or going back. In most cases it is a negative, sometimes...
iniquity
In the Word three terms are used to mean bad things that are done. These three are transgression, iniquity, and sin, and they are here...
sun
The 'sun' signifies celestial and spiritual love. The 'sun' in the Word, when referring to the Lord, signifies His divine love and wisdom. Because the...
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...
smoking
'Smoke' signifies divine truth in extremes, because 'fire' which gives off smoke, signifies love. 'Smoke' also signifies the same thing as 'cloud' in many places....
oven
'An oven,' as in Malachi 4:1, signifies hell, where the people live who confirm themselves in false doctrines and evils of life from earthly and...
fire
Just as natural fire can be both comforting in keeping you warm or scary in burning down your house, so fire in the spiritual sense...
passed
'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...
day
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...
jehovah
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...
Abram
Abram and Nahor taking to themselves wives, Sarah and Milcah (Gen 11:29), signifies marriages of evil with falsity in idolatrous worship. Abram, Nahor, and Haran,...
seed
'A seed' signifies love, and everyone who has love, as in Genesis 12:7. 8:15, 16. 'A seed' signifies faith grounded in charity. 'A seed' signifies...
give
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...
land
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...
river
The river Euphrates signifies, in Psalms 80:9, 10, signifies the sensual and scientific principle.
river of Egypt
The Nile' or 'river of Egypt' represents the sensory things subject to the intellectual mind, and the scientific ideas which are derived from them. This...
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...
great
The word "great" is used in the Bible to represent a state with a strong degree of love and affection, of the desire for good;...
euphrates
The river Euphrates signifies, in Psalms 80:9, 10, signifies the sensual and scientific principle.
Kenite
The Kenite, Kenizzite, and Kadmonite,' as in Genesis 15:19, signify falsities which are to be expelled from the kingdom of the Lord.
and the Kadmonite
The Kenite, Kenizzite, and Kadmonite,' as in Genesis 15:19, signify falsities which are to be expelled from the kingdom of the Lord.
Kadmonite
A Kadmonite' signifies falsities to be expelled from the Lord's kingdom.
hittite
'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...
rephaim
'The Rephaim' signify people who, above all others, were in the love of self, and so most completely natural. From the persuasion of their own...
