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...
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...
journeyed
'To journey' signifies the institutes and order of life.
found
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...
land
"Earth" in the Bible can mean a person or a group of like-minded people as in a church. But it refers specifically to the external...
Shinar
'The land of Shinar,' as in Genesis 10:10, signifies external worship, which has profane internal.
dwelt
Inhabitants,' in Isaiah 26:9, signify the men of the church who are in good of doctrine, and thence in the good of life.
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...
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,...
stone
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...
slime
'Tar and pitch,' as in Exodus 2:3, signifies good mixed with evils and falsities, because 'tar' signifies good mixed with evils, and 'pitch' signifies good...
build
There are really two meanings for "build" in the Bible. When something is being built for the first time, or built in the most typical...
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...
tower
'Towers,' as in Psalms 48:12, signify the interior truths which defend the aspects of love and charity. In the opposite sense, they denote the interiors...
heaven
"Air" in the Bible represents thought, but in a very general way – more like our capacity to perceive ideas and the way we tend...
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...
scattered
The meaning of "scatter" in the Bible is relatively literal, but it is used in regard to spiritual things, not natural ones. So to "scatter"...
face
“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...
the Lord
The Bible refers to the Lord in many different ways, which from the text seem indistinguishable and interchangeable. Understood in the internal sense, though, there...
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...
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,"...
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...
children
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....
builded
There are really two meanings for "build" in the Bible. When something is being built for the first time, or built in the most typical...
go
In the physical world, the places we inhabit and the distances between them are physical realities, and we have to get our physical bodies through...
go down
To go up and to go down: in the Word, mention is made of going up and going down when speaking of going from one...
called
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...
babel
Babylon was an ancient city built on the Euphrates river in what is now southern Iraq. It once was the capital of a great empire...
scatter
The meaning of "scatter" in the Bible is relatively literal, but it is used in regard to spiritual things, not natural ones. So to "scatter"...
Shem
'Shem,' as in Genesis 10:21, signifies the ancient church in general.
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...
old
'Old waste places' signify the celestial aspects of faith.
begat
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,"...
arphaxad
Arphaxad (Genesis 10:24) signifies science.
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...
five
Five also signifies all things of one part.
daughters
"Behold I have two daughters,” etc. (Gen. 19:8), signifies the affections of good and truth, and the blessedness perceivable from the enjoyment thereof, by those...
thirty
'Thirty' has a twofold significance because it is is the product of five and six, and also three and ten. From five multiplied by six,...
Salah
'Salah' denotes the products of knowledge.
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.
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...
Eber
Eber is mentioned for the first time in Genesis 10:21, and then again in Genesis 11. In "Secrets of Heaven", Swedenborg says that Eber is...
Peleg
'Peleg,' as in Genesis 10:25, signifies the internal worship of the ancient church called Eber. Peleg,' as in Genesis 11:16, being mentioned as the son...
Four hundred and thirty
Four hundred and thirty, as in Genesis 15:18, denotes temptations.
reu
'Reu,' as in Genesis 11:18, signifies a more external worship than signified by 'Peleg,' his father.
nine
'Nine' signifies conjunction.
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...
Serug
In Genesis 11:20, 'Serug' signifies external worship.
seven
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,...
nahor
'Nahor,' as in Genesis 22:20, signifies the Lord’s church among the Gentiles.
twenty
'Twenty,' when referring to a quantity, signifies everything, or fullness, because it is ten twice. In Genesis 18:31, 'twenty', like all numbers occurring in the...
Abram
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...
haran
'Haran,' as mentioned in Genesis 11:28, signifies inward idolatrous worship. 'Haran,' as mentioned in Genesis 12:5, signifies an obscure state. 'Haran,' as mentioned in Genesis...
died
'The soul going forth' and 'dying,' as in Genesis 35:18, signifies the extreme of temptation, which is when the old self dies and the new...
before
In most cases, the meaning of "before" is pretty straightforward, both as a way of assessing relative time, and in its use meaning "in someone's...
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...
nativity
'Nativity,' as in Genesis 10:32, signifies reformation. Out of thy nativity and out of thy father's house,' as in Genesis 12:1, signifies corporeal and worldly...
Ur of the Chaldees
'Ur of the Chaldeans,' as in Genesis 11:28, signifies external worship in falsities.
chaldees
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...
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...
wife
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...
nahor's
'Nahor,' as in Genesis 22:20, signifies the Lord’s church among the Gentiles.
barren
"Sarai was barren, she had no child" (Gen 11:30), signifies that evil and falsity were not productive.
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....
son's
'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...
Land of Canaan
The land of Canaan' in the Word, means love, and consequently, the will of the celestial self.
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...
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...
days
"Day" describes a state in which we are turned toward the Lord, and are receiving light (which is truth) and heat (which is a desire...
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