A congregation is a group of people with common loves, interests, and purposes. It often refers to a church group. In the Word it is almost always used to speak of the whole group of the Children of Israel, as the tabernacle of the congregation, or the people of the congregation. Sometimes the original Hebrew is translated as assembly, too. This is a case where readers and translators need to be aware of the context and potential nuances of meaning. Swedenborg writes that,'The congregation of the people' stands for people who are ruled by truths constituting intelligence, since 'congregation' is used with reference to truths... as also is 'people'... 'the assembly of the old' stands for people who are ruled by good. The usage of the term congregation also implies an ordering, or arrangement of truths.

(références: Apocalypse Explained 417; Arcana Coelestia 6338, 7843, 7891; The Apocalypse Explained 724 [17])

In Genesis 34:27, this signifies to destroy that posterity destroyed the doctrine of the previous church. (Arcana Coelestia 4503)

In Genesis 49:27, this signifies appropriating to Himself the goods and truths, or people that are snatched away and delivered. (Arcana Coelestia 6442)

In Exodus 3:22, this signifies that knowledges of good and truth are to be taken away from people who are in falsities and consequent evils. (Arcana Coelestia 6917, 6920)

'Spoil,' as in Deuteronomy 13:16, signifies the falsification of truth.

In Nahum 2:9, this signifies evil from falsity or violence to good and truth inflicted by falsity. (Arcana Coelestia 6978[2], Apocalypse Explained 355[23])

(références: Arcana Coelestia 4503 [1-11])