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...
Shittim wood
'Shittim wood' signifies the good of merit, and in the highest sense, the mercy of the Lord.
wood
In general, plants in the Bible represent facts, thoughts and ideas – intellectual things. This makes sense: Plants are rooted in place, but can grow...
Five
Five also signifies all things of one part.
Length
'Length' symbolizes goodness, here, the goodness of the church, for the same reason that 'breadth' symbolizes truth. This is because 'length means the sweep of...
square
'Square' signifies righteousness.
three
The Writings talk about many aspects of life using the philosophical terms "end," "cause" and "effect." The "end" is someone’s goal or purpose, the ultimate...
Height
'Height' signifies the good and truth of the church in every degree.
horns
'A horn,' when spoken of the Lord, signifies omnipotence. 'The little horn that rose up,' as mentioned in Daniel 7:3-8, signifies the full perversion of...
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...
brass
Brass and iron as in Isaiah 48:4 and Daniel 7:19 signify what is hard.
pots
There is an interesting relationship between facts and truth. It's necessary to have facts if we want to know the truth, but facts on their...
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...
vessels
'Vessels,' in the internal sense, signify things serving as a receptacle, as scientific ideas and knowledges are to truths, and as truths themselves are to...
net
To cast the net on the right side,' as in John 21:6, signifies teaching the good of life.
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...
rings
'Rings' signify the conjunction of good and truth. In Exodus 25:12, 'rings' particularly signify divine truth with divine good.
Put
'To put' has reference to order, arrangement, application, and influx.
beneath
Generally speaking things that are seen as lower physically in the Bible represent things that are lower or more external spiritually. In some cases this...
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...
bearing
Like many verbs, the spiritual meaning of "bearing" something depends greatly on context – what it is that's being borne, and why. It is further...
mount
'Mount Olivet' signifies the celestial church, or celestial good, which comes from love towards the Lord, and divine love.
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.
south
'South' denotes truth in light.
side
'Side' signifies good or spiritual love.
southward
'The land of the south,' as in Genesis 24:62, signifies divine light, for 'the south' signifies light, and the light of intelligence, which is wisdom,...
linen
The instruction not make clothing that mixes 'Woolen and linen' threads means, in the internal sense, that people's spiritual states of good and truth should...
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...
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...
one side
Generally when things in the Bible are described as having two sides – especially when the two sides are equal – it has to do...
twenty
'Twenty,' when referring to a quantity, signifies everything or fullness, because it is ten twice. 'Twenty,' as in Genesis 18:31, like all numbers occurring in...
pillars
A pillar of a cloud by day,' and 'a pillar of fire by night,' as in Exodus 8:21, signifies a state of illustration which is...
silver
'Silver,' in the internal sense of the Word, signifies truth, but also falsity. 'Silver' means the truth of faith, or the truth acquired from selfhood,...
north
'North' signifies people who are in obscurity regarding truth. North,' in Isaiah 14:31, signifies hell. The North,' as in Jeremiah 3:12, signifies people who are...
fifty
God rested on the seventh day of creation. That represents a state of holiness and tranquility that was preserved in the form of the sabbath....
ten
Most places in Swedenborg identify “ten” as representing “all,” or in some cases “many” or “much.” The Ten Commandments represent all the guidance we get...
fifteen
Fifteen, as in Genesis 7:20, signifies so few as to be scarce anything.
gate
"Gates" in ancient times had a significance that does not hold in the modern world. Cities then were enclosed by walls for protection; gates in...
blue
Blue and purple signify celestial goods and truths, and scarlet double-dyed and fine-twined linen, spiritual goods and truths. (Exod. 28:33.) Blue and purple from the...
purple
'Scarlet,' as in Isaiah 1:18, signifies truth derived from good, or truth from a celestial origin, such as is the truth of the Word in...
embroiderer
'Needlework,' as in Exodus 26:36, signifies the scientific principle.
Round about
'Round about' denotes the things most distant from the middle, or from good and truth.
Service
'Service' denotes everything beneath, which is subordinate and obeys, and so, truth being derived from good, and ministering to good.
pins
'A peg' denotes the conjoining and strengthening principles.
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,...
sons
'Sons of the stranger' signify counterfeit truths, or falsities. 'Our sons' signify the doctrines of truth, and 'our daughters,' the doctrines of good, as in...
Sons of Israel
'The camp of the sons of Israel' represents the church.
Israel
'Israel,' in Jeremiah 23:8, signifies the spiritual natural church. The children of Israel dispersed all the literal sense of the Word by falsities. 'The children...
Olive
'An olive,' as in Isaiah 17:6, signifies celestial remains. 'An olive' signifies love and charity, because 'the olive tree' signifies the celestial church, and so...
oil
In Revelation 18:13, 'wine, oil, flour, and wheat' signify celestial principles of worship.
lamp
The light of a lamp' signifies illumination from the Lord. A lamp,' as in Revelation 22, signifies natural light from self-derived intelligence. 'A lamp' signifies...
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...
tent
'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...
a
A help-meet for him,' or 'a help as before him,' as mentioned in Genesis 2:18, signifies proprium, or what is one's own. However, whereas the...
aaron
Aaron was the brother of Moses. He symbolizes two things, one during the first part of the exodus, when he was Moses' spokesperson, and another...
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...
morning
Morning comes with the rising of the sun, and the sun – which gives life to the earth with its warmth and light – represents...
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...
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...
generations
To “generate” something is to create it, and that idea underpins the meaning of a “generation” of people – it is a group that was...
