rejoice
To make glad signifies influx and reception from joy of heart.
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...
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...
love
To some degree, there really is no spiritual meaning to the word “love” in the Bible. Why? Because if you truly love another, that is...
prostitute
'A harlot' signifies the affection of falsities, thus the church corrupted.
grain
Corn,' as in Genesis 42:2, here stands for a word in the original language which means 'breaking,' and also for a similar word meaning to...
floor
The floor, as in Matthew 3:12, signifies the world of spirits which is between heaven and hell, and where the separation of evils and falsities...
feed
When the Bible talks about "feeding" it is generally referring to instruction in spiritual things – teaching people the true concepts that can lead them...
new wine
'New wine' is the divine truth of the New Testament.
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...
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...
land
"Earth" in the Bible can mean a person or a group of like-minded people as in a church. But it refers specifically to the external...
ephraim
Ephraim was the second son born to Joseph in Egypt and was, along with his older brother Manasseh, elevated by Jacob to the same status...
return
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...
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...
eat
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...
unclean
'Pollution' denotes the truth of faith defiled.
Wine
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;...
Offerings
'Offerings' signify worship.
bread
The word “bread” is used two ways in the Bible. In some cases it means actual bread; in others it stands for food in general....
polluted
'Pollution' denotes the truth of faith defiled.
come
Coming (Gen. 41:14) denotes communication by influx.
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...
day of
'Day of vengeance' signifies a state of damnation.
day
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...
Memphis
'Memphis' signifies people who desire wisdom of divine things from themselves.
Nettles
'Nettles' signify vastation of good. An abandoned place of nettles,' as in Zephaniah 2:9, signifies the rage or burning of the life of a person...
silver
'Money' relates to truth.
Tents
'Tent' is used in the Word to signify the celestial and holy aspects of love, because in ancient time they performed holy worship in their...
days
"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...
visitation
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...
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...
man
The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings – Conjugial Love or Love in Marriage –...
sins
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...
snare
'To be in a snare' signifies being taken and seduced by one’s own evil and falsity.
paths
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....
gibeah
Gibeah, as in 2 Samuel 6, signifies the natural or ultimate principle of the church. Gibeah, Ramah, and Bethaven, as in Hosea 5:8, denote those...
remember
'To remember,' as in Genesis 41:9, signifies conjunction. 'Remembering' denotes conjunction because the remembrance of anyone in the other life joins them together, because as...
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...
found
Finding, or being found, can have different meanings in the Word, depending on the context. Here are two examples, From Arcana Coelestia 5756, 'Behold, the...
wilderness
'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...
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...
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...
first
In the Word, "beginning" doesn't just mean the beginning of something in time. In the inner sense, it means the initial phase of a spiritual...
Ripe
'Ripe' relates to the final state of the church.
fig tree
The Writings tell us that the fig tree represents the "natural human," which is our outward life in the world, and the thoughts and feelings...
fig
The Writings tell us that the fig tree represents the "natural human," which is our outward life in the world, and the thoughts and feelings...
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...
loved
To some degree, there really is no spiritual meaning to the word “love” in the Bible. Why? Because if you truly love another, that is...
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...
bird
Fowl signify spiritual truth; a bird, natural truth; and a winged thing, sensual truth. Fowl signify intellectual things. Fowl signify thoughts, and all that creeps...
birth
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,"...
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....
To
‘To grow’ signifies to be perfected.
seen
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...
Tyre
'Tyre,' as in Ezekiel 27:13-14, represents people with knowledge of celestial and spiritual things.
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...
womb
'Matrix' signifies opening of the spiritual mind.
breasts
The breast (Ezek. 16:7), signifies natural good.
wickedness
'Wickedness' signifies evil, and 'iniquity' signifies falsities.
gilgal
Gilgal signifies the doctrine of natural truth, serving for introduction into the church.
hated
If you truly hate someone, that means you would kill them and destroy their reputation if you could do so without repercussion – not a...
princes
Captains and Rulers (Jer. 51:23) signifies principal evils and falsities. Captains and Rulers (Ezek 33:6) signifies principal truths. See Chief Captains.
struck
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...
root
'A root,' as in Malachi 4:1, signifies charity. The dried up root,' as in Hosea 9:16, 17, signifies charity which could not bear fruit.
dried
'Withering and drying up,' as in Ezekiel 17:10, referring to the east wind, signifies when there is no good or truth.
fruit
In Zechariah 8:12, 'the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground her increase,' signifies that the spiritual affection of truth produces the good of...
listen
'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...
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...
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