the Word
In general, we tend to be very aware of how knowing what's true leads to doing what is good. That starts as children, with parents...
word
'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...
jeremiah
Jeremiah, in the Book of Jeremiah 1:1 and what follows, represents the Lord. (Arcana Coelestia 2838 [2]). In Jeremiah 13:7, he signifies the state of...
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...
judah
City of Judah,' as in Isaiah 40:9, signifies the doctrine of love towards the Lord and love towards our neighbor in its whole extent.
babylon
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...
army
Forces denote the power of truth.
jerusalem
Jerusalem, on Mount Zion, signifies the doctrine of love to the Lord, and how it governs your life. Jerusalem first comes to our attention in...
prophet
The idea of a "prophet" is very closely tied to the idea of the Bible itself, since the Bible was largely written by prophets. At...
court
The court of the tabernacle (Exodus 27:9), etc., signifies the external of heaven, or the first, which is also called the ultimate heaven.
prison
'The house of the prison' denotes the vastation of falsity, and also falsity itself.
house
A "house" is essentially a container - for a person, for a family, for several families or even for a large group with shared interests...
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...
saith
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...
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...
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...
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...
chaldeans
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...
speak
Like "say," the word "speak" refers to thoughts and feelings moving from our more internal spiritual levels to our more external ones – and ultimately...
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...
eyes
It’s common to say “I see” when we understand something. And indeed, “seeing” in the Bible represents grasping and understanding spiritual things. So it makes...
lead
"Leading" people in the Bible is, in the inner meaning, about leading people in spiritual things, not natural ones. When it talks about the Lord...
visit
The end time of the church and each individual, is called 'the visitation,' and precedes judgment. 'Visitation' is nothing but an exploration of the quality...
prosper
'To be made to prosper' signifies being provided for. Which is why 'Jehovah made it prosper in his hand' means Divine Providence.
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...
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...
come
Coming (Gen. 41:14) denotes communication by influx.
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...
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...
country
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...
Benjamin
Also, Benjamin signifies the Word in its ultimate sense (Deut. 33:12)
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...
money
'Money' relates to truth.
seventeen
'Seventeen' signifies both the beginning and the end of temptation, because it is made up of the numbers seven and ten. This number, when it...
shekels
'A shekel' signifies the price or estimation of good and truth, and 'half a shekel' signifies the determination of the quantity thereof.
silver
'Money' relates to truth.
witnesses
In court, a witness is someone who saw a crime being committed, or observed something that could help determine the guilt or innocence of the...
balances
The balances mentioned in Revelation 6:5 signify the estimation of goodness and truth.
open
To open,' as in Revelation 9, signifies communication and conjunction.
sight
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...
book
(Rev. 10:9.) "And I went unto the angel, saying, give me the little book," signifies the faculty of perceiving the quality of the Word from...
sat
If you think about sitting, it seems fair to say that where you're sitting is more important than that you're sitting. Sitting in a movie...
hosts
A host and an army come from the same Hebrew word and mean the same thing in Bible; when the Children of Israel were numbered...
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...
israel
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...
Put
'To put' has reference to order, arrangement, application, and influx.
many
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...
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...
houses
A "house" is essentially a container - for a person, for a family, for several families or even for a large group with shared interests...
fields
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...
vineyards
A vineyard signifies the church where the Word is, by which the Lord is known. (Apocalypse Revealed 650)
land
'Lands' of different nations are used in the Word to signify the different kinds of love prevalent in the inhabitants.
heaven
"Heaven" and "heavens" are used many times in the Bible, with a couple of variations of meaning. Sometimes it is relatively literal, including times when...
earth
'Lands' of different nations are used in the Word to signify the different kinds of love prevalent in the inhabitants.
great power
In Revelation 11:17, 'thou hast taken to thee thy great power' signifies divine omnipotence, which is and was His from eternity.
great
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;...
arm
Arms and feet (Daniel 10:6) signify the exterior things of the Word, which are its literal sense.
kindness
In regular language, "mercy" means being caring and compassionate toward those who are in poor states. That's a position we are all in relative to...
thousands
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...
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...
fathers
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...
bosom
"Bosom" in general terms means the chest, but more as the seat of the emotions than simply as part of the body. You'd think of...
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....
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...
mighty
Mighty,' as in Revelation 19:18, signify people who are educated about doctrine derived from the Word. By extension, 'mighty' signifies education or learning derived from...
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...
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...
ways
These days we tend to think of "roads" as smooth swaths of pavement, and judge them by how fast we can drive cars on them....
men
The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings – Conjugial Love or Love in Marriage –...
Every one
The phrase “Every one,” where it occurs in Genesis 20:7, signifies every thing or all things.
fruit
We tend to think of "fruit" in two ways in natural language. One is as food that grows on trees and vines, sweet and delicious,...
signs
'A token,' as in Genesis 9:12, 13, 17, signifies causing it to be.
egypt
In the Bible, Egypt means knowledge and the love of knowledge. In a good sense that means knowledge of truth from the Lord through the...
day
"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...
given
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...
swear
The Lord swearing by himself signifies that divine truth testifies, for He is divine truth itself, and this testifies from itself and means itself. It...
milk
Water represents true ideas about day-to-day life, and other drinks and liquids in general represent different forms of truth. Milk is a drink that contains...
honey
'Honey' signifies the delight derived from good and truth or from the affection thereof, and specifically the external delight. Thus it signifies the delight of...
voice
In Genesis 27:22, 'voice' relates to truth, and 'hand,' to good.
walked
To walk in the Bible represents living, and usually means living according to the true things taught to us by the Lord -- to "walk...
evil
'Wickedness' signifies evil, and 'iniquity' signifies falsities.
sword
The three words, sword, famine and pestilence, appear in a group in 26 different Bible verses. That's not an accident. Sword, famine and pestilence describe...
famine
The three words, sword, famine and pestilence, appear in a group in 26 different Bible verses. That's not an accident. Sword, famine and pestilence describe...
pestilence
'Pestilence' denotes the vastation of good and truth.
spoken
Like "say," the word "speak" refers to thoughts and feelings moving from our more internal spiritual levels to our more external ones – and ultimately...
flesh
Flesh has several meanings just in its most obvious form. It can mean all living creatures as when the Lord talks about the flood "destroying...
fire
Just as natural fire can be both comforting in keeping you warm or scary in burning down your house, so fire in the spiritual sense...
roofs
The roof of a house is its highest point, and the part most exposed to the sun. So it makes sense that in the Bible,...
baal
Baalim and her lovers (Hosea 2:13) signify those things which belong to the natural man, and are loved; such as the lusts and falsities thence...
Offerings
'Offerings' signify worship.
gods
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...
anger
Anger is an emotion so common to people that it requires no definition. However a couple of points of interest can be raised. 1) The...
youth
'Tender of age' denotes the state of truths newly received not yet genuine.
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...
fury
Fury is a receding from good, and anger is a receding from truth.
built
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...
remove
As with many verbs, the meaning of "remove" in the Bible varies a good bit depending on context. It generally involves a separation of spiritual...
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...
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...
kings
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...
princes
Captains and Rulers (Jer. 51:23) signifies principal evils and falsities. Captains and Rulers (Ezek 33:6) signifies principal truths. See Chief Captains.
priests
Priests' represent the Lord regarding His divine good. When they do not acknowledge the Lord, they lose their signification of the Lord.
prophets
The idea of a "prophet" is very closely tied to the idea of the Bible itself, since the Bible was largely written by prophets. At...
the inhabitants
'The inhabitants of Teman,' as in Jeremiah 49:20, signifies the evils and falsities opposed to the Lord’s celestial kingdom.
inhabitants
Inhabitants,' in Isaiah 26:9, signify the men of the church who are in good of doctrine, and thence in the good of life.
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...
rising
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...
early
Since the sun represents the Lord, the early morning and sunrise represent a state of enlightenment, with a new and clear understanding coming after a...
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...
high
'Height' signifies what is inward, and also heaven.
To
‘To grieve at heart’ is in reference to love, and ‘to repent,’ to wisdom, as in Genesis 6:6.
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...
pass
'To pass,' as in Genesis 31:52, signifies flowing in. 'To pass the night,' as in Genesis 24:54, signifies having peace. 'To pass through,' as in...
Molech
In Leviticus 18:21, 'giving of his seed to Molech,' signifies destroying the truth of the Word, and then the doctrines of the church by application...
commanded
To command is to give an order that something must be done, and is directed to an individual, or a group. It is an imperative,...
wrath
'Wrath,' as in Genesis 49:7, signifies aversion from truth. 'Great wrath,' as in Revelation 12:12, signifies hatred against the new church.
place
'A dry place,' as in Luke 11:24, signifies states of evil and falsity which are in the life of someone who does the work of...
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...
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...
heart
The heart means love. A good heart means love to the Lord and to the neighbor while a hard or stony heart means the love...
way
These days we tend to think of "roads" as smooth swaths of pavement, and judge them by how fast we can drive cars on them....
fear
Fear has various significations according to the thing which causes it. Fear signifies love. Fear, as in Gen 28:17, signifies a holy change.
good
It seems rather circular to say that “good” in the Bible represents good, but in a general sense it’s true! The case is this: The...
everlasting
'Perpetual' in the literal sense, means to the end of one’s life, after death, and eternity.
turn
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...
plant
'A shrub' signifies the knowledges of truth.
soul
The nature of the soul is a deep and complicated topic, but it can be summarized as "spiritual life," who we are in terms of...
bring
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “bring” is highly dependent on context, but in general it represents an introduction to a new...
beast
"Beasts" represent the affection for doing good things, a true desire to do them from the heart. In the negative sense, "beasts" stand for the...
cities
In the ancient world cities were very nearly nations unto themselves – they existed within walls, with their own laws and customs, generally centered on...
mountains
In Isaiah 40:12 'to weigh the mountains in a balance, and the hills in scales,' signifies that the celestial aspects of love and charity are...
south
In the Word, 'the south' or 'midday' means a state of light, which is a state of intelligence produced by truths, thus also an interior...
captivity
Captivity and spoil (Daniel 11:33) signifies the deprivation of every truth and good.
return
There are many instances in the Bible which describe people turning back, looking back or going back. In most cases it is a negative, sometimes...
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