Bible Word Meanings

In many books of the Bible, the words and phrases in the text have specific, symbolic spiritual meanings. This symbolism is quite evident in some places, as in the early chapters of Genesis, and more arcane in others - but it's there, and it's really important. It's part of what makes the Bible sacred -- when a reader might otherwise think it's just stories about long-dead people from far away places. Back in the 1750's and 1760's, one of the all-time great Bible scholars, Emanuel Swedenborg, published two very thorough explanations of the Bible's inner, spiritual sense. The first, "Arcana Coelestia", explains the internal sense of Genesis and Exodus. The second, "Apocalypse Revealed", explains the inner meaning of the Book of Revelation. Swedenborg says that in the original languages, especially ancient Hebrew, the meaning is so deep that every letter of every word contributes, painting a spiritual picture of heaven itself. We know the Bible's major spiritual themes, and, with the knowledge of the spiritual meaning of many specific words and ideas, we can put the pieces in place. We can start to get a picture of what the true meaning might be, and the effort of doing so engages our minds and - ideally - opens us to the leading of the Lord. So, if you are wondering about the meaning of specific words, you can look them up here in our library of explained keywords, and get a turbo-boost on your spiritual journey.