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...
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...
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...
smite
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...
shake
'To tremble,' as in Jeremiah 10:10, relates to the church when falsities are believed and called truths.
head
The head is the part of us that is highest, which means in a representative sense that it is what is closest to the Lord....
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...
slay
'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...
flee
Flight, as in Matthew 14:20, signifies removal from a state of the good of love and innocence. Flight, as in Mark 8:18, signifies the last...
sheol
'Hell,' as mentioned in Jonah 2:3, signifies the earth below.
hand
In Genesis 27:22, 'voice' relates to truth, and 'hand,' to good.
go up
To go up and to go down: in the Word, mention is made of going up and going down when speaking of going from one...
heavens
"Air" in the Bible represents thought, but in a very general way – more like our capacity to perceive ideas and the way we tend...
Come down
To come down (Gen. 11:5), is predicated of Jehovah, by reason of his being called the Highest. This is spoken according to appearance.
down
"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,"...
hid
'To hide themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains,' as mentioned in Revelation 6:15, signifies being in evils and in falsities...
carmel
Carmel (Isa. 16:10) signifies the good of the church. Carmel also signifies the celestial church. (Isa. 35:2.)
sea
Water generally represents what Swedenborg calls “natural truth,” or true concepts about day-to-day matters and physical things. Since all water ultimately flows into the seas,...
eyes
'Pairs of hands, eyes, etc.' relate to the will and understanding, or to good and truth. The right side to the will or good, and...
command
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,...
serpent
Serpents in the Bible represent reasoning that is based on what we know through our senses. This is the lowest and most outward mode of...
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...
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...
enemies
An enemy in the Bible refers to people who are in the love of evil and the false thinking that springs from evil. On a...
slain
'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...
eye
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...
evil
'To hurt,' as mentioned in Revelation 6:6, signifies violation and profanation. 'To hurt' as mentioned in Revelation 9:4, signifies perverting the truths and goods of...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
mourned
In a general sense, mourning in the Bible represents a state of grief over the lack of desires for good and true ideas about life....
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.
sunk
The spiritual meaning of "sink" is relatively easy to see: It means to descend into lower spiritual states, especially into states where false reasoning and...
egypt
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...
building
To build something generally means to put together a variety of simpler pieces to make a useful and more complex structure, as to build a...
earth
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...
calling
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...
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...
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...
cushim
Cush (Ezek. 29:10) signifies the interior knowledges of the Word, applied to confirm false principles originating in scientifics. Cush and Phut (Ezek. 30:4-6) signify knowledges...
Sons of Israel
'The camp of the sons of Israel' represents the church.
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...
philistines
The Philistines play a large role in the Bible as one of the longest-standing and most bitter rivals of the people of Israel, clashing with...
aram
'Syria,' as in Ezekiel 27:16, signifies the church regarding knowledges of truth and good.
Kir
Kir' denotes people who possess the knowledges of good and truth but pervert them.
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...
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...
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...
nations
The Bible generally uses two different terms for large groups: “people” and “nations.” When it uses “nation,” it is talking about a group with the...
falleth
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...
die
Dead (Gen. 23:8) signifies night, in respect to the goodnesses and truths of faith.
Overtake
'To overtake' denotes communication and influx.
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...
tabernacle
'Huts,' as mentioned in Genesis 33:17, signify the holy principle of truth, common, general, or exterior.
david
David is one of the most significant figures in the Bible. He was a musician, one of history’s greatest poets, the boy warrior who killed...
fallen
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...
breaches
A breach (Gen. 38:29) signifies the infraction and perversion of truth, by separation from good. A breach signifies falsity of doctrine, and the stroke of...
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...
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...
Days of old
The days of old (Psalms 77:5) signify states of the most ancient church, and years of ancient times, states of the ancient church.
of old
In many cases, the use of “eternity” in the Bible is pretty literal, simple meaning forever. This is especially true when the text is referring...
edom
'Edom' or 'Idumea,' as in Isaiah 34:5, signifies those who are in evil and in falsities thence derived.
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...
coming
Coming (Gen. 41:14) denotes communication by influx.
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...
nigh
'Nigh' denotes truth in affinity with good.
treader
'The treaders shall tread out no wine in the presses,' as in Isaiah 16:10, signifies that there were no longer any faithful.
seed
'A seed' signifies love, and everyone who has love, as in Genesis 12:7. 8:15, 16. 'A seed' signifies faith grounded in charity. 'A seed' signifies...
mountains
'Hills' signify the good of charity.
hills
The Writings tell us that the Lord's love is the sun of heaven, and it is natural for us to look above ourselves to the...
back
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...
captivity
Captivity and spoil (Daniel 11:33) signifies the deprivation of every truth and good.
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...
inhabited
'Inhabit' refers to good.
planted
'To plant' denotes regeneration.
vineyards
A vineyard signifies the church where the Word is, by which the Lord is known. (Apocalypse Revealed 650)
drunk
Food in the Bible represents the desire for good, and water and other drinks represent the understanding and true ideas we need to recognize what...
Wine
In Revelation 18:13, 'wine, oil, flour, and wheat' signify celestial principles of worship.
gardens
'Olive yards,' as in Amos 4:9, signify the celestial aspects of the church.
eaten
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...
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...
ground
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...
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...
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...
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