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...
blesseth
The Lord is perfect love expressed as perfect wisdom. He created us so that He could love us, could give us love and wisdom of...
noah
'Noah,' as in Genesis 5:29, signifies the ancient church, or the parent of the three churches after the flood.
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...
fruitful
To be fruitful is predicated of goodnesses, and to be multiplied, of truths.
multiply
'Spreading themselves on the earth,' as in Genesis 8:17, signifies the internal self operating on the external.
fill
There are two ways something can be filled: It can be filled with something bad against the wishes of its owner, or it can be...
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...
fowl
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...
heavens
"Heaven" and "heavens" are used many times in the Bible, with a couple of variations of meaning. Sometimes it is relatively literal, including times when...
ground
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...
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,...
hand
In Genesis 27:22, 'voice' relates to truth, and 'hand,' to good.
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...
food
To give food, as in Genesis 41:48, signifies to store up.
herb
Every herb in the Word signifies some species of scientifics. 'Herb bearing seed,' as mentioned in Genesis 1:29, signifies every truth which regards use. 'Green...
flesh
Flesh has several meanings just in its most obvious form. It can mean all living creatures as when the Lord talks about the flood "destroying...
blood
The internal meaning of “blood” is a little tricky, because Swedenborg gives two meanings that seem quite different. In most cases, Swedenborg links blood with...
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...
Lives
'Lives' is used in the plural, because of the will and understanding, and because these two lives make one.
Require
'To require of another' denotes the state when one thing is joined to another so that it cannot be separated.
living
'Lives' is used in the plural, because of the will and understanding, and because these two lives make one.
man
The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings – Conjugial Love or Love in Marriage –...
brother
Brethren (Gen. 27:29) signify the affections of good.
life
'Lives' is used in the plural, because of the will and understanding, and because these two lives make one.
image
'An image' signifies falsities from self-derived intelligence.
speaketh
Like "say," the word "speak" refers to thoughts and feelings moving from our more internal spiritual levels to our more external ones – and ultimately...
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...
after
According to Swedenborg, time and space don’t exist in spiritual reality; they are purely natural things that exist only on the physical plane. This means...
beast
"Beasts" represent the affection for doing good things, a true desire to do them from the heart. In the negative sense, "beasts" stand for the...
going
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...
Cut off
To be cut off, as in Genesis 41:36, signifies to perish.
token
'A token,' as in Genesis 9:12, 13, 17, signifies causing it to be.
Token of the covenant
'The token of the covenant,' as in Genesis 9:12, signifies a mark of the Lord’s presence in charity, suggesting remembrance for people.
giving
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...
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...
bow
A bow signifies falsity of doctrine destroying truth, and spear, the falsity of evil destroying good. (Jer. 6:23.)
cloud
In Isaiah 19:1, "Jehovah rides upon a light cloud, and comes into Egypt", signifies the visitation of the natural man from spiritual-natural Divine Truth, for...
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...
remembered
'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...
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...
Shem
'Shem' can be understood to be internal worship, 'Japheth' is the corresponding external worship, 'Ham' is internal worship corrupted, and 'Canaan' is external worship separate...
Ham
'Shem' can be understood to be internal worship, 'Japheth' is the corresponding external worship, 'Ham' is internal worship corrupted, and 'Canaan' is external worship separate...
Japheth
'Shem' can be understood to be internal worship, 'Japheth' is the corresponding external worship, 'Ham' is internal worship corrupted, and 'Canaan' is external worship separate...
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...
canaan
Canaan signifies a worship in things external without internals, which arose out of the internal church corrupted, called Ham. Thus it is that Ham is...
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...
man of the
'The man of the right hand,' as in Psalm 80:17, signifies the Lord with respect to the Word. He is called 'the man of the...
planteth
'To plant' denotes regeneration.
Vineyard
A vineyard signifies the church where the Word is, by which the Lord is known. (Apocalypse Revealed 650)
drinketh
To be drunken without wine (Isa. 29:9), are they who are unconcerned about the Word, and the truths of faith, and thus have no inclination...
Wine
In Revelation 18:13, 'wine, oil, flour, and wheat' signify celestial principles of worship.
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...
tent
'The tabernacle' has almost the same meaning as 'temple,' that is, in the highest sense, the Lord’s divine humanity, and in a relative sense, heaven...
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...
nakedness
'Unclothed' signifies being deprived of the truths of faith.
declareth
To "declare" something means to say it formally, publicly and with emphasis; you might say what you think, but you only declare things you're sure...
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...
brethren
There are two ways "brother" is used in the Bible, ways that are still reflected in modern language. One denotes an actual blood relationship; the...
both
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...
cover
The "high mountains being covered " (Gen. 7:19) signifies that all the good things of charity were extinguished.
faces
“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...
son
Marriages in the Bible represent the union we all can have between the desire for good and the understanding of truth (or an understanding of...
Servant of servants
'A servant of servants,' as in Genesis 9:25, signifies worship in externals without charity, or the most vile things in the church.
servant
“Servant” literally means “a person who serves another,"" and its meaning is similar in reference to the spiritual meaninngs of the Bible. Our lives in...
servants
“Servant” literally means “a person who serves another,"" and its meaning is similar in reference to the spiritual meaninngs of the Bible. Our lives in...
blessed
The Lord is perfect love expressed as perfect wisdom. He created us so that He could love us, could give us love and wisdom of...
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...
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...
and Canaan
'Shem' can be understood to be internal worship, 'Japheth' is the corresponding external worship, 'Ham' is internal worship corrupted, and 'Canaan' is external worship separate...
Three hundred
'Three hundred' signifies fullness, because the number comes from three and a hundred multiplied. Both 'three' and 'a hundred' signifies fullness. The significance of products...
Hundred and fifty
'A hundred and fifty,' as mentioned in Genesis 7:24, signifies a last and first term. Here, it refers to the last term of the most...
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...
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....
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...
nine
'Nine' signifies conjunction.
dieth
Dead (Gen. 23:8) signifies night, in respect to the goodnesses and truths of faith.
