Jacob
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...
lifted
The idea of "lifting" is used in a number of different ways in the Bible. In general, it means connecting with a higher spiritual state...
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...
esau
Esau (Gen. 28:5, etc.) signifies the truth of good in the natural principle. Esau (Gen. 32:3) signifies celestial good in the natural principle.
coming
Coming (Gen. 41:14) denotes communication by influx.
Four hundred
Four hundred signifies vastation, temptations, and the duration thereof.
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...
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...
men
"Man" is a tricky word to discuss, because the Hebrew of the Old Testament uses six different words that are generally translated as "man," with...
rachel
'Rachel' denotes the affection of interior truth.
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...
handmaids
'A handmaid' signifies the affection of rational and scientific things. 'A handmaid,' as mentioned in Genesis 30:3, signifies the affirming medium of conjoining inner truths...
Put
'To put' has reference to order, arrangement, application, and influx.
joseph
'The tribe of Zebulon' signifies the conjunction of people in the third heaven with the Lord, 'the tribe of Joseph,' the conjunction of people in...
passed
'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...
bowed
To bow, as in Genesis 18:2 signifies to humble.
ground
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...
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,...
near
'Nigh' denotes truth in affinity with good.
brother
Brethren (Gen. 27:29) signify the affections of good.
meet
In natural language, to "meet" someone can be positive or negative: it can be a welcoming and greeting, or it can be "meeting" them in...
fell
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...
neck
'The neck' signifies influx and the communication of interior and exterior levels and the following conjunction. The inmost or third heaven has reference to the...
kissed
To kiss' signifies uniting or conjunction from affection. To kiss,' as in c, signifies initiation. 'To kiss' signifies conjunction and acknowledgment.
wept
'Weeping with a loud voice' signifies the ultimate of grief.
saw
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...
women
The word "woman" is used a number of different ways in the Bible – as a simple description, as someone connected to a man ("his...
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...
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...
servant
“Servant” literally means “a person who serves another,"" and its meaning is similar in reference to the spiritual meaninngs of the Bible. Our lives in...
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...
find
To not to be found any more, signifies not to rise again.
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...
my lord
Characters in the Bible will often address others using the term “my lord,” and it seems to be no more than an expression of respect....
lord
In most cases, a "master" in the Bible refers to truth: knowledge, an understanding of the situation at hand, an understanding of the Lord's wishes,...
Enough
'Sufficiency' relates to the reception of good, because good is the spiritual nourishment of the soul, as natural food is the nourishment of the body.
found
To not to be found any more, signifies not to rise again.
present
It was customary in the representative Ancient Church, and later in the Jewish Church, when people went to the judges, and at a later time,...
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...
seen
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...
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...
urged
When someone is pressed or pressured in the Bible, it simply indicates a sense of urgency in a conflict between spiritual states.
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,...
journey
'To journey' signifies the institutes and order of life.
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...
knows
Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases – when it...
flocks
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,...
herds
'A herd,' as mentioned in Genesis 32:7, denotes exterior or natural good, and also not good things.
young
'The son of a cow' signifies the celestial natural level and natural exterior good.
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...
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...
die
Dead (Gen. 23:8) signifies night, in respect to the goodnesses and truths of faith.
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...
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...
come
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “come” in the Bible is highly dependent on context – its meaning is determined largely by...
Seir
'Seir,' as in Genesis 33:14, signifies the conjunction of spiritual and celestial things in the natural level, that is, the truth of faith with the...
returned
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...
way
'To set a way,' as in Genesis 30:36, signifies being separated.
traveled
'To journey' signifies the institutes and order of life.
Succoth
'Succoth,' as in Genesis 33:17, and Psalms 60:6-7 and 108:7-8, signifies the quality of the holy state of truth from good, because 'Succoth' signifies tents,...
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...
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...
livestock
Animals in the Bible generally refer to spiritual activity, the things we actually do on a spiritual level. "Cattle," as typically used in the Bible,...
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...
place
'A room' or 'place' denotes state.
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...
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...
peace
In ordinary life, we tend to think of "peace" as essentially "a lack of conflict." As a nation, if we're not at war, it's a...
city
Cities of the mountain and cities of the plain (Jer. 33:13) signify doctrines of charity and faith.
Shechem
In Genesis 12:6, 'Abram’s passing through the land unto the place Shechem' signifies a new state of the Lord when the celestial aspects of love...
Land of Canaan
The land of Canaan' in the Word, means love, and consequently, the will of the celestial self.
land
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...
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...
Paddan Aram
'Padan Aram,' as in Genesis 28:2, signifies the exterior knowledges of good and truth.
encamped
'Pitch,' as in Genesis 14:10, denotes lusts. 'Burning pitch,' as in Isaiah 34:9, signifies direful fantasies.
tent
'The tabernacle' has almost the same meaning as 'temple,' that is, in the highest sense, the Lord’s divine humanity, and in a relative sense, heaven...
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....
Hamor
'Hamor, the father of Schechem,' represents the truth of the church among the ancients. 'Hamor, the father of Schechem,' signifies the good of the church...
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...
One hundred
'One hundred' signifies a full state of uniting.
altar
The first altar mentioned in the Word was built by Noah after he came out of the ark. On that altar, he sacrificed clean animals...
