Israel
'Israel,' in Jeremiah 23:8, signifies the spiritual natural church. The children of Israel dispersed all the literal sense of the Word by falsities. 'The children...
return
Everyone knows the phrase "the natural order of things." It means that everything is in its proper place, occupying the niche it is meant to...
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...
iniquity
In Isaiah 59:6, 'webs' and 'garments' signify aspects of the understanding, or thought, 'Iniquity' and 'violence,' aspects of the will, or works.
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...
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...
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,...
render
'To reward' signifies meting out punishment.
calves
'Oxen' or 'calves' signify the affections of the natural mind.
lips
'A lip' signifies doctrine. A lip,' as in Isaiah 6:3, 7, signifies the interior parts of a person, consequently, internal worship, where adoration is grounded....
save
To be saved or rescued means getting true ideas that we can hold to even in the face of a storm of false thinking. Sometimes...
ride
'To ride' signifies being elevated regarding the intellectual part of the mind. To ride upon a cherub,' as in Psalm 18:9, 10, denotes the Lord’s...
horses
'A horse' signifies knowledges or understanding of the Word. In an opposite sense it signifies the understanding of the Word falsified by reasonings, and likewise...
work
'Works,' as in Genesis 46:33, denote goods, because they are from the will, and anything from the will is either good or evil, but anything...
hands
Scientists believe that one of the most crucial developments in the evolution of humans was bipedalism – walking on two legs. That left our hands...
gods
The Lord is love itself, expressed in the form of wisdom itself. Love, then, is His essence, His inmost. Wisdom - the loving understanding of...
fatherless
'Orphans' signify people who are in a state of innocence and charity, and desire to know and to do what is good but are not...
love
To some degree, there really is no spiritual meaning to the word “love” in the Bible. Why? Because if you truly love another, that is...
anger
'Wrath,' as in Genesis 49:7, signifies aversion from truth. 'Great wrath,' as in Revelation 12:12, signifies hatred against the new church.
turned
Swedenborg says that the Lord is the sun of heaven, and like the natural sun of our world shines on everyone, good or evil. What...
dew
Dew, in Deut. 32:2 signifies the multiplication of truth from good, and the fructification of good by truth.
Grow
‘To grow’ signifies to be perfected.
lily
'To blossom as the lily,' as in Hosea 14:5, relates to the first state of the new birth, or of regeneration. For 'a lily' signifies...
roots
'A root,' as in Malachi 4:1, signifies charity. The dried up root,' as in Hosea 9:16, 17, signifies charity which could not bear fruit.
lebanon
'Lebanon' signifies spiritual good. 'Lebanon' signifies the church regarding the perception of truth from the rational self.
Olive tree
Shaking of an olive tree,' as in Isaiah 24:13, signifies the vastation of the church of its good. 'The olive tree' signifies the perception of...
Olive
'An olive,' as in Isaiah 17:6, signifies celestial remains. 'An olive' signifies love and charity, because 'the olive tree' signifies the celestial church, and so...
Smell
'The sense of smell,' in general, corresponds to the affection for perceiving.
dwell
Many people were nomadic in Biblical times, especially the times of the Old Testament, and lived in tents that could be struck, moved and re-raised...
shadow
'The shadow is good' of the oak, poplar and elm means complacence.
corn
Corn,' as in Genesis 42:2, here stands for a word in the original language which means 'breaking,' and also for a similar word meaning to...
Scent
'Scent' signifies perception.
Wine
In Revelation 18:13, 'wine, oil, flour, and wheat' signify celestial principles of worship.
Ephraim
Ephraim was the second son born to Joseph in Egypt and was, along with his older brother Manasseh, elevated by Jacob to the same status...
green
The color green is almost exclusively used in connection with plants in the Bible (the exceptions include two stomach-turning references to moldy plagues in Leviticus),...
Fir tree
A fir tree signifies the natural principle, as to good. A fir tree also signifies natural truth superior. A fir tree, as in Ezekiel 31:8,...
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...
found
To not to be found any more, signifies not to rise again.
wise
At its heart, wisdom is love's imperative desire to take form. That's a tricky statement, but think of it this way: If you love someone,...
know
In a general sense, men represent things of the intellect – facts, ideas, knowledge, everything from the deepest truths to the most pernicious falsities about...
ways
'To set a way,' as in Genesis 30:36, signifies being separated.
right
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...
walk
To walk in the Bible represents living, and usually means living according to the true things taught to us by the Lord -- to "walk...
