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...
saw
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...
Yahweh
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...
long
'Long' and thence to prolong, refer to good.
cry
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....
hear
'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...
violence
'Violence' signifies the outrage done to charity and the destruction of charity and faith. 'Violence,' as in Jeremiah 15:21, signifies falsities which assault the good...
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...
show
'Shew' signifies instruction to the life.
iniquity
Folly, iniquity, hypocrisy, and error, as in Isaiah 32:6: Folly has respect to the false, iniquity signifies evil, hypocrisy, the evils spoken against goods, and...
look
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...
Perversity
'Perversity' signifies the evil of falsity.
and violence
In Isaiah 59:6, 'webs' and 'garments' signify aspects of the understanding, or thought, 'Iniquity' and 'violence,' aspects of the will, or works.
rises
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...
rises up
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...
justice
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...
goes
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...
Wicked
'The wicked' or 'unrighteous' denotes being not in truth of faith.
surround
People inspired by evil desires and informed by false ideas want nothing more than to attack and destroy the things that are good and true...
righteous
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...
nations
'Nations' signify people who are in the good of love and charity from the Lord. Two nations in the womb,' as in Genesis 25:23, signify...
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...
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...
nation
'A nation,' as in Genesis 21:18, signifies the spiritual church which should receive the good of faith. Nation from afar,' as in Jeremiah 5:17, signifies...
earth
'Lands' of different nations are used in the Word to signify the different kinds of love prevalent in the inhabitants.
feared
Fear has various significations according to the thing which causes it. Fear signifies love. Fear, as in Gen 28:17, signifies a holy change.
judgment
Judgement' pertains to the Lord's divine human and holy proceeding. Judgment' has two sides, a principle of good, and a principle of truth. The faithful...
Proceed
'To proceed' signifies going forth.
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...
leopards
'A leopard,' being a crafty and insidious animal, particularly represents people who confirm faith separate from good works. 'A leopard' signifies the affection or lust...
evening
Since the light and warmth of the sun represent the Lord’s wisdom and love, it makes sense that evening, a time when the light and...
wolves
'A wolf' signifies eagerness to seize, but also eagerness to rescue and deliver the good.
horsemen
'A horseman' signifies intelligence, or one who is intelligent. 'A horseman,' as mentioned in Revelation 9:16, signifies reasonings concerning faith alone. 'A horseman' can also...
press
These verbs in the Bible indicate a conflict between two spiritual states, and the effort it takes to attain the higher state. It's easy to...
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...
fly
To fly, when spoken of the Lord, signifies to foresee and to provide. To fly, when predicated of the Lord, also signifies omnipresence. To fly...
eagle
Eagle wings, referred to in Daniel 7:3, signify rational principles grounded in man's proprium.
devour
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...
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...
prisoners
'To be in prison,' as in Revelation 2:10, signifies being infested by evils from hell, because this is like being bound in prison, because they...
sand
'Sand,' as in Matthew 7:27, signifies faith separate from charity.
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...
Wind
In the Bible, the wind represents the power of the Lord working on us through the heavens. The Lord is love itself, and by extending...
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...
die
Dead (Gen. 23:8) signifies night, in respect to the goodnesses and truths of faith.
rock
'A rock' signifies the Lord regarding the divine truth of the Word.
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...
see
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...
evil
'Wickedness' signifies evil, and 'iniquity' signifies falsities.
silent
'Silence' has various significations. In general it means everything which causes it, which includes astonishment, which is a special cause, as in Revelation 8:1.
sea
'The sea and the waves roaring' means heresy and controversies in the church and individual.
Creeping things
Creeping things (Gen. 6:7) signifies pleasures as well corporeal as sensual. Creeping things, in a proper sense, are what were the vilest of all which...
glad
To make glad signifies influx and reception from joy of heart.
kill
'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...
)