hør
'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...
ord
'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...
Israels
'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...
hus
A "house" is essentially a container - for a person, for a family, for several families or even for a large group with shared interests...
falt
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...
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...
sier
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...
herren
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...
by
Cities of the mountain and cities of the plain (Jeremiah 33:13) signify doctrines of charity and faith.
tusen
As children, most of us at some point frustrated our mothers into using the phrase “if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand...
hundre
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...
ti
Most places in Swedenborg identify “ten” as representing “all,” or in some cases “many” or “much.” The Ten Commandments represent all the guidance we get...
Søk
The meaning of "to seek" in the Bible is pretty straightforward, but there is a bit of nuance: Swedenborg tells us that in most cases...
betel
When Jacob had his famous dream, of a staircase leading to heaven, he named the place "Bethel," which is Hebrew for "the house of God."...
kom
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “come” in the Bible is highly dependent on context – its meaning is determined largely by...
gilgal
Gilgal signifies the doctrine of natural truth, serving for introduction into the church.
josefs
Joseph, Jacob’s eleventh son, is one of the favorite characters in the Bible, with his troubles, his triumphs over them, and his constant trust in...
malurt
'Wormwood' signifies infernal falsity because of its intense bitterness, which makes meat and drink awful. 'Waters of wormwood' signifies falsities of evil.
morgen
Morning comes with the rising of the sun, and the sun – which gives life to the earth with its warmth and light – represents...
natten
'Midnight,' as in Exodus 11:4, signifies total devastation from a state of mere falsities.
kaller
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...
vann
'Waters' signify truths in the natural self, and in the opposite sense, falsities. 'Waters' signify particularly the spiritual parts of a person, or the intellectual...
Navn
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...
hater
If you truly hate someone, that means you would kill them and destroy their reputation if you could do so without repercussion – not a...
taler
Like "say," the word "speak" refers to thoughts and feelings moving from our more internal spiritual levels to our more external ones – and ultimately...
bygget
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...
drikke
Food in the Bible represents the desire for good, and water and other drinks represent the understanding and true ideas we need to recognize what...
vin
Wine played a key role in the ancient world, where safe, reliable water sources were scarce. It could be stored for long periods of time;...
vingårder
'A vine' signifies spiritual good and truth. 'A vine' or 'vineyard' signifies the church where the Word, and the Lord in it, is known, or...
plantet
'A shrub' signifies the knowledges of truth.
vet
Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases – when it...
overtredelser
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...
mange
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...
synder
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...
tid
Time is an aspect of the physical world, but according to Swedenborg is not an aspect of the spiritual world. The same is true of...
ond
'Wickedness' signifies evil, and 'iniquity' signifies falsities.
hærskarenes
Armies of the heavens and the sands of the sea ('Jeremiah 33:15-22') signify the knowledges of truth and good in the spiritual and natural ma{ign21}
gud
The Lord is called "Jehovah" in the Bible when the text is referring to his essence, which is love itself. He is called "God" when...
hat
If you truly hate someone, that means you would kill them and destroy their reputation if you could do so without repercussion – not a...
si
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...
gater
The phrase 'in the streets and synagogues' in Matthew 6:2, 5, and Luke 8:26-27, refers to a representative rite amongst the Jews to teach in...
bonden
'A husbandman,' as mentioned in Amos 5:16, signifies the man of the church, because 'field' signifies the church regarding the implantation of truth. 'A husbandman,'...
dag
"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...
mørke
"Darkness" is a state without light. "Light" is truth from the Lord, so "darkness" represents a state where truth is lacking. Here's a cogent passage...
lys
In the Word, “light” in the highest sense represents Divine Truth: knowledge, ideas, understanding that come to us from the Lord. In lesser degrees...
flykter
Flight, as in Matthew 14:20, signifies removal from a state of the good of love and innocence. Flight, as in Mark 8:18, signifies the last...
løve
'A lion' signifies the good of celestial love and the truth from that good.
Bjørn
Bears represent the power of the literal external stories and ideas of Bible, separate from their deeper meanings. Since they are wild carnivores, this is...
kommer
Coming (Gen. 41:14) denotes communication by influx.
gjøkalver
Fatlings signify celestial goods and the affections thereof, and the delights of those affections. Fatlings of Bashan, as in Ezekiel 39:11, signify goods of the...
sanger
'The sound of musical instruments' corresponds to affections of spiritual and celestial love.
høre
'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...
bekk
A 'stream' signifies aspects of intelligence.
ørkenen
'Wilderness' signifies something with little life in it, as described in the internal sense in Luke 1:80 'Wilderness' signifies somewhere there is no good because...
firti
'Forty' means completeness because 'four' means what is complete, as does 'ten.' Forty is the product of four and ten. Compound numbers have a meaning...
Guds
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...
stjerne
'Stars' signify the knowledge of truth and good. 'Stars' are frequently mentioned in the Word, and always signify goods and truths, but in an opposite...
damaskus
Damascus and Aroer (Isaiah 17:1, 2) signify the knowledges of truth and good. See Eliezer of Damascus.