Child-bearing being what it is, the spiritual meaning of "bearing" in that context seems to be particularly important, and sheds some light on other uses. Children represent new spiritual ideas or new affections for spiritual things; the Writings say "bearing" a child means "acknowledging" that idea or affection "in action as well as in faith." So it's not just thinking about a new idea or feeling good about something, it's actually going out and doing something about it, to make it real.In a general sense, other uses of "bear" also indicate an active and supportive approach to spiritual things, with actual works being done in pursuit of spiritual issues of various sorts.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 complicated by the fact that "bearing" in the literal sense can mean anything from putting up with an annoyance to the miracle of pregnancy and birth.

This can, of course, be a wonderful thing: It is essential for our journey to heaven, and is the reason for the holiness of marriage. But when the men represent falsity it can also be horrendously twisted, as in the attempted homosexual rape in Sodom (Genesis 19) and the rape of the concubine in Gibeah (Judges 19). In a general sense, men represent things of the intellect -- facts, ideas, knowledge, everything from the deepest truths to the most pernicious falsities about life and the Lord. Women in general represents things of affection -- desire, passion, caring, everything from the most exalted love for the Lord to the darkest hatred. When a man “knows” a woman in the Bible, then, it represents a joining together of those intellectual and affectionate faculties. “Know" is also often used in connection with virginity. A women who has “not known a man” represents the affection for truth, unsullied by falsity.