Hands in the Bible represent power, the force with which things are put into action. To be specific, they represent the power of spiritual good -- which is the love of others and serving others -- expressed through spiritual truth -- which is an understanding and knowledge of what it is to love and serve others. This is in contrast to the feet, which represent power on the natural level, and a “rod,” which represents the power of the hand passed down into external or natural ideas. In a few cases in the Bible, hands also represent communication and a drawing together. This is true when people lift their hands to heaven or to Jehovah, and also when the Lord touches children or touches people to heal them.

Plants in general stand for facts and ideas, so it makes sense that a forest in the Bible represents a collection or system of external, factual, ideas. This can be a collection on its own, or it can be the collected external knowledge of a church. It can also represent the level of a person's mind where he or she deals with such systems of ideas.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 9011 [1,3-7], 9642 [3,23]; The Apocalypse Explained 650 [26,49])