The Bible

 

Genesis 1:9

Study

       

9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

Commentary

 

Whale

  

'A whale,' as in Jeremiah 51:34, signifies people who possess the universal aspects of the knowledges of faith, as known, and apply them to evil purposes. 'Whales,' or 'great fishes,' are sometimes mentioned in the prophets, and are used to signify the universal aspects of knowledges

(References: Arcana Coelestia 42)


From Swedenborg's Works

 

Heaven and Hell #50

Study this Passage

  
/ 603  
  

50. It has been said above that in the heavens there are larger and smaller societies. The larger consist of myriads of angels, the smaller of some thousands, and the least of some hundreds. There are also some that dwell apart, house by house as it were, and family by family. Although these live in this scattered way, they are arranged in order like those who live in societies, the wiser in the middle and the more simple in the borders. Such are more closely under the Divine auspices of the Lord, and are the best of the angels.

  
/ 603  
  

Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.