man
The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings – Conjugial Love or Love in Marriage –...
knew
Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases – when it...
Eve
The name 'Eve' comes from the Hebrew word חַוָּה or 'Chava,' a form of the word for life, which is why she is called 'the...
wife
It is because of a celestial and angelic proprium, or selfhood, that the church is called 'a woman,' 'a wife,' 'a bride,' 'a virgin,' and...
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,"...
cain
'Cain' signifies the doctrine of faith separated from love. See Arcana Coelestia 338 and the sections that follow it.
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...
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...
brother
There are two ways "brother" is used in the Bible, ways that are still reflected in modern language. One denotes an actual blood relationship; the...
Abel
Abel signifies charity or love, in Genesis 4:2. (Divine Providence 242, Arcana Coelestia 325, and Arcana Coelestia 341). Abel signifies celestial love, which is loving...
shepherd
The Writings tell us that shepherds represent those who lead and teach others, using knowledge and true ideas to help people reach the goodness of...
flock
It’s pretty easy for most people to read the Bible and get a sense for what “sheep” means without any help. They are simple, peaceful,...
days
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...
fruit
In Zechariah 8:12, 'the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground her increase,' signifies that the spiritual affection of truth produces the good of...
ground
In Zechariah 8:12, 'the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground her increase,' signifies that the spiritual affection of truth produces the good of...
offering
It was customary in the representative Ancient Church, and later in the Jewish Church, when people went to the judges, and at a later time,...
fat
'Fat things full of marrow,' signify goods.
faces
“The eyes are the windows of the soul.” That’s a sentiment with roots somewhere in murky antiquity, but one that has become hopelessly cliché because...
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...
fallen
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...
well
A pit,' or 'well which has no water,' as in Jeremiah 2:13, signifies doctrines which have no truths.
sin
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...
entrance
In a general sense, doors in the Bible represent the initial desires for good and concepts of truth that introduce people to new levels of...
field
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...
rose
It is common in the Bible for people to "rise up," and it would be easy to pass over the phrase as simply describing a...
killed
'To slay a man to his wounding,' means extinguishing faith, and 'to slay a young man to his hurt,' signifies extinguishing charity, as in Genesis...
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...
keeper
"Keeping" in the Bible generally has to do with controlling the actual actions of life, though in some cases it can mean holding something away...
voice
'Voice' signifies what is announced from the Word. 'Voice' often refers and is applied to things that cannot have a voice, as in Exodus 4,...
bloods
Bloods signify evil, in Ezek. 16:9.
open
To open,' as in Revelation 9, signifies communication and conjunction.
mouth
In most cases, "mouth" in the Bible represents thought and logic, especially the kind of active, concrete thought that is connected with speech. The reason...
hand
Scientists believe that one of the most crucial developments in the evolution of humans was bipedalism – walking on two legs. That left our hands...
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...
vagabond
'To be a vagabond' is to have no knowledge of truth and good.
earth
Is there any difference in meaning between “earth” and “ground”? At first it doesn’t seem so; both refer to the soil making up the land...
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...
greater
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;...
today
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...
hidden
'To hide themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains,' as mentioned in Revelation 6:15, signifies being in evils and in falsities...
kill
'To slay a man to his wounding,' means extinguishing faith, and 'to slay a young man to his hurt,' signifies extinguishing charity, as in Genesis...
avenged
'To be avenged seventy and seven fold' denotes damnation.
sign
'A token,' as in Genesis 9:12, 13, 17, signifies causing it to be.
find
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...
smite
'The smitten' signify people who are oppressed by the falsities of ignorance.
dwelt
'Inhabit' refers to good.
the land of Nod
'The land of Seir' signifies in the highest sense, celestial natural good of the Lord. It has this signification because Mount Seir was the boundary...
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...
Nod
'The land of Nod,' as in Genesis 4:16, signifies a state destitute of goodness and truth.
eden
According to the Writings, “Eden” by itself means love, in most cases the love that comes from the Lord and our love for the Lord,...
enoch
'Hanoch' denotes those who are in the truth of faith.
building
wrought (also entwined or entwisted) is predicated of the natural scientific principle, and in Isaiah 45:13, of divine natural truth.
city
In the ancient world cities were very nearly nations unto themselves – they existed within walls, with their own laws and customs, generally centered on...
called
'To proclaim' signifies exploration from influx of the Lord.
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...
son
'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...
born
In a general sense, being "born" in the Bible represents one spiritual state producing another, usually some form of love or affection producing or "giving...
Irad
'Irad,' the son of Enoch, in Genesis 4:18, signifies heretical doctrine derived from Cain.
begot
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,"...
Mehujael
'Mehujael' signifies heresies.
lamech
Lamech,' as in Genesis 4:18, signifies the vastation of the church when there was no longer any faith. Lamech,' as in Genesis 5:25, signifies the...
two
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...
wives
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...
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...
Adah
Adah, Lamech's wife, (Genesis 4:9), represents the mother of the celestial things of faith.
second
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...
Zillah
Zillah, in Genesis 4:19, 22, was one of two wives of Lamech. She had two children, a son, Tubal-Cain, and a daughter, Naamah. "Lamech, the...
Jabal
'Jabal, the father of people who dwell in tents, and of cattle,' as in Genesis 4:20, signifies doctrine concerning the holy things of love, and...
father
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...
Tents
'The tabernacle' has almost the same meaning as 'temple,' that is, in the highest sense, the Lord’s divine humanity, and in a relative sense, heaven...
livestock
Animals in the Bible generally refer to spiritual activity, the things we actually do on a spiritual level. "Cattle," as typically used in the Bible,...
Jubal
'Jubal,' as in Genesis 4:21, signifies the doctrine of spiritual things in the new church which succeeded Lamech. Being 'the father of the harp and...
Tubal-Cain
'Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron,' as in Genesis 4:22, signifies the doctrine of natural good and truth. Tubal-Cain is called...
an instructor
'Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron,' as in Genesis 4:22, signifies the doctrine of natural good and truth. Tubal-Cain is called...
bronze
Brass and iron as in Isaiah 48:4 and Daniel 7:19 signify what is hard.
iron
Brass and iron as in Isaiah 48:4 and Daniel 7:19 signify what is hard.
the sister of Tubal-Cain
Naamah, the sister of Tubal-Cain,' as in Genesis 4:22, signifies a new church of the doctrine of natural good, and truth from that church.
sister
The Lord calls people who are in truth from the good of charity from Him 'sisters,' as in Matthew 12:50. 'Sister' denotes intellectual truth, when...
Naamah
Naamah, the sister of Tubal-Cain,' as in Genesis 4:22, signifies a new church of the doctrine of natural good, and truth from that church.
hear
'To hearken to father and mother,' as mentioned in Genesis 28:7, signifies obedience from affection. 'To hearken,' as mentioned in Genesis 30:22, signifies providence. See...
say
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...
wounding
'Wound,' as in Exodus 21:25, signifies a hurt done to the affection of love. 'To wound' signifies injuring the mind and spiritual life by falsities.
sevenfold
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,...
seventy and sevenfold
'To be avenged seventy and seven fold' denotes damnation.
Seth
'Seth,' as in Genesis 4:25 , signifies a new faith which brings charity.
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...
Put
'To put' has reference to order, arrangement, application, and influx.
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...
call
To call someone or summon someone in the Bible represents a desire for conjunction between higher and lower states of life. For instance, imagine someone...
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