man
The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings – Conjugial Love or Love in Marriage –...
Levis
'Levi' signifies truth in practice, which is the good of life. 'Levi,' in the highest sense, signifies love and mercy, in a spiritual sense, he...
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...
dotter
Marriages among people – both in the Bible and in life – represent spiritual marriage. Women represent the desire to be good and to do...
blev
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,"...
havande
To be with child, (Gen. 38:24), signifies to produce something.
födde
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,"...
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...
barn
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....
tre
'Thirteen,' between twelve and fourteen, denotes the intermediate state. 'Thirteen,' as the sum of ten and three, denotes remains.
syster
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...
Faraos
'Pharaoh' signifies scientific ideas, or the natural principle in general. 'Pharaoh' signifies false ideas infesting the truth of the church. Pharaoh,' in Genesis 40, represents...
ned
"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,"...
bada
It does not take a great leap of imagination to see that “washing” in the Bible represents purification. Washing dirt from the skin is symbolic...
Se
To look,' as in Genesis 18:22, signifies thinking, because seeing denotes understanding. Look not back behind thee,' as in Genesis 19:17, means that Lot, who...
sände
'Being sent' everywhere signifies, in an internal sense, going forth, as in John 17:8. In similar manner, it is said of the holy of the...
tjänarinna
'Maids' denote external affections serving the internal.
hebreiska
The term 'Hebrew' is used in the Word to signify anything relating to service, whatever its nature may be. Hence Abraham, in one passage only...
kalla
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...
hebreisk
The term 'Hebrew' is used in the Word to signify anything relating to service, whatever its nature may be. Hence Abraham, in one passage only...
amma
To 'suck,' as in Isaiah 66:11, signifies influx from the Lord. To' suck the abundance of the sea' signifies imbibing truths of doctrine from the...
moder
In general, mothers in the Bible represent the Lord's church on earth, or the church among those who know and follow the Lord. In some...
till
‘To grow’ signifies to be perfected.
Mose
Moses's name appears 814 times in the Bible (KJV), third-most of any one character (Jesus at 961 actually trails David at 991). He himself wrote...
bröder
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...
slog
To strike or smite, when used in the Bible, means to attack, harm or destroy, and is usually in reference to an attack on someone’s...
sanden
'Sand,' as in Matthew 7:27, signifies faith separate from charity.
två
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...
slå
'To smite' signifies condemnation. 'To smite,' as in Genesis 14:15, signifies vindication. 'To smite,' as in Genesis 32:8, signifies destruction. 'To smite the earth with...
domare
It’s easy to see the connection between judging and truth. In a court of law, the judge’s whole purpose is to find the truth. In...
oss
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,...
dräpa
'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...
dräpte
'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...
känd
Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases – when it...
Farao
'Pharaoh' signifies scientific ideas, or the natural principle in general. 'Pharaoh' signifies false ideas infesting the truth of the church. Pharaoh,' in Genesis 40, represents...
höra
'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...
Midjans
'Midian' signifies people who are in falsity.
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...
brunn
In Genesis 21, 'wells' signify doctrines, both those disputed and not disputed. Without this significance digging wells and disputing about them would have been too...
Midjan
'Midianites' signify people who are in the truth of simple good.
sju
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,...
döttrar
"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...
vatten
Water was obviously of tremendous importance in Biblical times (and every other time). It is the basis of life, the essential ingredient in all drinks,...
fylla
There are two ways something can be filled: It can be filled with something bad against the wishes of its owner, or it can be...
får
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,...
stod upp
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...
fader
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...
eguel
'Reuel' was a priest and so denotes the good of the church.
i dag
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...
dag
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...
äta
When we eat, our bodies break down the food and get from it both energy and materials for building and repairing the body. The process...
Sippora
Zipporah, Moses's first wife, signifies different things in the three places that she appears. The relationships of Zipporah, her father Jethro (also known as Reuel)...
Gersom
Gershom, as in Exodus 18:3, denotes the quality of the good of truth among those who are without the church.
främling
The word "stranger" is used many times in the Bible, and it is sometimes paired with the word "sojourner". They are different concepts in the...
Lång
'Long' and thence to prolong, refer to good.
dog
Dead (Gen. 23:8) signifies night, in respect to the goodnesses and truths of faith.
konungen
The human mind is composed of two parts, a will and an understanding, a seat of loves and affections, and a seat of wisdom and...
Egypten
Egyptians represent those who are in natural science, thus the natural, but the Hebrews, those who are of the church, thus respectively the spiritual. The...
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...
träldom
'Servitude' relates to the regenerate, or to the external self submissive to the internal. This is not felt as servitude, because it is from submission...
rop
As with most common verbs, the spiritual meaning of “crying” or “crying out” (meaning a shout or wail, not weeping) is highly dependent on context....
Gud
Herren är själv kärlek, uttryckt i form av visdom i sig. Kärlek är alltså Hans väsen, Hans inre. Vishet - den kärleksfulla förståelsen för hur...
Abraham
Abraham (or Abram, as he is named in the beginning of his story) is one of the major characters in the story of the sacred...
Isak
'Isaac' represents spiritual love. 'Isaac,' in Genesis 17:19, signifies the rational divine. 'Isaac' signifies the Lord's divine rational in reference to divine good. Isaac' signifies...
Jakob
Jacob is told twice that his name will now be Israel. The first time is when he wrestles with an angel on his journey to...
