moses
Moses's name appears 814 times in the Bible (KJV), third-most of any one character (Jesus at 961 actually trails David at 991). He himself wrote...
feeding
When the Bible talks about "feeding" it is generally referring to instruction in spiritual things – teaching people the true concepts that can lead them...
flock
A flock, as in Genesis 26, denotes interior or rational good. A flock signifies those who are in spiritual good. A flock signifies natural interior...
Jethro
Jethro,' the father-in-law of Moses, in Exodus 18:1, represents divine good, from which proceeds ordering. Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses,' signifies the good of the...
midian
'Midianites' signify people who are in the truth of simple good.
behind
Behind, or after, (Gen. 16:13), signifies within or above, or an interior or superior principle.
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...
cometh
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “come” in the Bible is highly dependent on context – its meaning is determined largely by...
mount
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...
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...
messenger
'A messenger' signifies communication.
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...
flame
Fire, in the spiritual sense, can mean both love and hatred depending on the context, just as natural fire can be both comforting in keeping...
fire
Fire, in the spiritual sense, can mean both love and hatred depending on the context, just as natural fire can be both comforting in keeping...
midst
The "midst" of something in the Bible represents the thing that is most central and most important to the spiritual state being described, the motivation...
Bush
A bush (Exod. 3:2) signifies scientific truth.
seeth
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...
burning
Fire, in the spiritual sense, can mean both love and hatred depending on the context, just as natural fire can be both comforting in keeping...
consumed
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...
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...
turn
Swedenborg says that the Lord is the sun of heaven, and like the natural sun of our world shines on everyone, good or evil. What...
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...
great
The word "great" is used in the Bible to represent a state with a strong degree of love and affection, of the desire for good;...
turned
Swedenborg says that the Lord is the sun of heaven, and like the natural sun of our world shines on everyone, good or evil. What...
calleth
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...
near
'Near,' in the Word, signifies presence and conjunction. 'To be near' signifies being on internal levels. Near,' as in Genesis 19:20, signifies truth bordering upon...
shoes
In the Word, 'the sole of the foot' and 'the heel' signifies the ultimate natural. 'The shoe' is what clothes the sole of the foot...
feet
The foot, as in Deuteronomy 33:3, signifies an inferior principle. To set the right foot on the sea and the left on the earth, as...
place
'A dry place,' as in Luke 11:24, signifies states of evil and falsity which are in the life of someone who does the work of...
standing
'To stand,' and 'come forth' as in Daniel 7:10, refers to truth. In Genesis 24:13, it signifies a state of conjunction of divine truth with...
holy
The Bible describes many things as being holy, or sacred. The Ark of the Covenant is one very holy object. The inmost chamber of the...
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...
Abraham
Abraham (or Abram, as he is named in the beginning of his story) was the ancestor of all the Children of Israel, through his son...
isaac
'Isaac' represents spiritual love. 'Isaac,' in Genesis 17:19, signifies the rational divine. 'Isaac' signifies the Lord's divine rational in reference to divine good. Isaac' signifies...
God of Jacob
The God of Jacob signifies goods in act.
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...
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...
afraid
Fear has various significations according to the thing which causes it. Fear signifies love. Fear, as in Gen 28:17, signifies a holy change.
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...
affliction
Matthew 24:21 mentions an affliction "such as was not from the beginning of the world, no nor ever shall be". There, the affliction means the...
egypt
'Mizraim' signifies the same thing as Egypt.
heard
'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...
exactors
'Taskmasters' denote falsities which bind people in slavery.
known
Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases – when it...
go down
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...
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,"...
hand
In Genesis 27:22, 'voice' relates to truth, and 'hand,' to good.
egyptians
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...
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...
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...
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...
milk
Water represents true ideas about day-to-day life, and other drinks and liquids in general represent different forms of truth. Milk is a drink that contains...
honey
'Honey' signifies the delight derived from good and truth or from the affection thereof, and specifically the external delight. Thus it signifies the delight of...
hittite
'A Hittite' in a good sense, signifies the spiritual church, or the truth of the church. The Hittites were among the upright Gentiles who were...
hivite
The Hivites' represent those who were in idolatry, but in which there was something of good.
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...
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...
send
In every instance, however, 'being sent' means coming forth, (or going forth), in the internal sense, as in John 17:8. In similar manner, it is...
pharaoh
'Pharaoh' signifies scientific ideas, or the natural principle in general. 'Pharaoh' signifies false ideas infesting the truth of the church. Pharaoh,' in Genesis 40, represents...
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...
sign
'A token,' as in Genesis 9:12, 13, 17, signifies causing it to be.
sent
In every instance, however, 'being sent' means coming forth, (or going forth), in the internal sense, as in John 17:8. In similar manner, it is...
serve
Generally speaking, those who are at lower levels of an organization serve those at higher levels. Bosses boss and their employees serve; coaches devise strategy...
coming
As with common verbs in general, the meaning of “come” in the Bible is highly dependent on context – its meaning is determined largely by...
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...
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...
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...
say
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...
generation
To “generate” something is to create it, and that idea underpins the meaning of a “generation” of people – it is a group that was...
gathered
To gather, as in Genesis 6:21, refers to those things which are in the memory of man, where they are gathered. It also implies that...
Elders of Israel
The elders of Israel (Deut. 1:13, 15) represent celestial men.
elders
Ancients of the people, and the princes thereof ('Isaiah 3:14'), have a similar signification with the twelve disciples.
voice
In Genesis 27:22, 'voice' relates to truth, and 'hand,' to good.
entered
All changes of place in the Bible represent changes in spiritual state. “Entering” – usually used as entering someone’s house or “going in unto” someone...
hebrews
The term 'Hebrew' is used in the Word to signify anything relating to service, whatever its nature may be. Hence Abraham, in one passage only...
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,...
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...
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...
Put
'To put' has reference to order, arrangement, application, and influx.
smitten
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...
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...
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...
Woman
The word "woman" is used a number of different ways in the Bible – as a simple description, as someone connected to a man ("his...
neighbour
'The neighbor' is not only an individual person, but also people collectively, as a less or greater society, our country, the church, the Lord’s kingdom,...
sojourning
There is a long history of using travel to round out an education, from the 19th-century “world tours” taken by Oxford and Cambridge graduates to...
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...
vessels
Instruments of music,' according to correspondences, signify the pleasant and delightful affection of spiritual and celestial things. Therefore, also in many of the Psalms of...
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,...
gold
Gold means good, and just as gold was the most precious metal known to ancient mankind so it represents the good of the highest and...
garments
'Raiment of camel's hair,' as in Matthew 3:4, signifies the Word in its literal sense regarding truth, which is a clothing for the internal sense.
daughters
"Behold I have two daughters,” etc. (Gen. 19:8), signifies the affections of good and truth, and the blessedness perceivable from the enjoyment thereof, by those...
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