Bones are strong and supportive, providing a framework for our bodies and making motion and action possible. They are also the least “alive” part of our bodies, with much of their structure made up of a mineral matrix. As such, they represent a strong, supportive, functional but innately nearly dead part of our spiritual makeup: what Swedenborg calls the “proprium.”
The proprium (sometimes translated “as of self,” or as something similar, but often left in the original Latin) is the part of us that feels life as our own, that perceives our loves and our thoughts as originating within ourselves. This is a significant and powerful aspect of being human; because of it we take responsibility for reforming our thoughts and directing our actions, and feel empowered to approach the Lord. That’s the “strong, supportive functional” part. But this sense of self is also wrong and can lead us astray, because the fact is (according to Swedenborg) that our life comes from the Lord, and the Lord is the source of our loves and thoughts. That’s the “innately nearly dead” part.
Bones, on their own, will go dry, brittle and completely dead. This shows what can happen if we “go it alone,” indulging our sense of autonomy and power, trusting ourselves to know and do what is best. We will end up enslaved to our own selfishness and desire — we will, in fact, believe ourselves to be all-powerful and deny the existence of the Lord altogether. By refusing to receive life from the Lord, we come to the verge of being spiritually dead.
If, however, we acknowledge the Lord and follow him, that’s like putting flesh on the bones and being alive. The flesh, according to Swedenborg, represents our loves and desires when we feel them as our own but use them for the Lord’s purposes. When flesh is present, the bones represent our thoughts and ideas felt as our own but used fort the Lord’s purposes. In that case the bones – strong, supportive, protective and as alive as they can be – are moved by the flesh and do the bidding of the flesh, while giving us the structure we need to live.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia 3812.
‘Laban said to him, Surely you are my bone and my flesh’ means joined together as regards truths and as regards goods. This is clear from the meaning of ‘you are my bone and my flesh’ as a being joined together. The ancients were accustomed to speak of people who belonged to the same house, or to the same family, or who were related in some other way, as ‘my bone and my flesh’, see 157. This is why those words mean a being joined together. The reason it is as regards truths and as regards goods is that all spiritual joining together is effected by them, and all natural joining together has reference to them. Furthermore by ‘bone and flesh’ is meant a person’s proprium – ‘bone’ the understanding side of the proprium, ‘flesh’ the will side of it. ‘Bone’ accordingly means the proprium as regards truth since truth belongs to the understanding, while ‘flesh’ means the proprium as regards good since good belongs to the will, see 148, 149.
[2] As regards the proprium in general there are two kinds, the first being the hellish proprium, the second the heavenly. The hellish proprium is acquired by a person from hell, the heavenly from heaven, that is, from the Lord through heaven. For all evil and all falsity from evil enter in from hell, and all good and all truth from good do so from the Lord. People know this from the doctrine of faith, but scarcely one in a million believes it. Consequently a person appropriates – that is, makes his own – evil entering in from hell; but good entering in from the Lord does not move him and cannot therefore be said to have a place in him. The reason why a person does not believe that evil enters in from hell and good from the Lord is that he is governed by self-love, a love which carries such unbelief with it and which goes so far as to be highly indignant when that person is told that everything comes into him from somewhere else. This then is why a person’s entire proprium is nothing but evil, see 210, 215, 694, 731, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 1047. But the belief that evil is from hell and good from the Lord exists with him when he is not governed by self-love but by love towards the neighbour and love to the Lord; for this love carries such belief with it. So it is that a person receives from the Lord the heavenly proprium referred to in 155, 164, 731, 1023, 1044, 1937, 1947, 2882, 2883, 2891.
[3] In both senses this proprium is meant by ‘bone and flesh’. Consequently ‘bones’ in the Word means truth and in the contrary sense falsity, and ‘flesh’ good and in the contrary sense evil. As regards truth being meant by ‘bones’, this may be seen from the following places: In Isaiah,
Jehovah will guide you all the time, and will satisfy your soul in arid places, and will render your bones free, so that you are like a watered garden. Isa. 58:11.
‘Rendering bones free’ stands for bringing life to the understanding side of the proprium, that is, enlightening it with intelligence. Hence the statement ‘so that you are like a watered garden’ – ‘a garden’ meaning intelligence, see 100, 108, 1588. In the same prophet,
Then you will see, and your heart will be joyful, and your bones will flourish like the grass. Isa. 66:14.
‘Bones flourishing like the grass’ has a similar meaning.
[4] In Jeremiah,
[Her] Nazirites were brighter than snow, they were whiter than milk. Their bodies* were ruddier than gem stones, polished like sapphire.** Their form is darker than black; they are not recognized in the streets; their skin has stuck to their bone; it has dried up; it has become like wood. Lam. 4:7, 8.
‘Nazirite’ stands for a celestial man, 3301. ‘Brighter than snow and whiter than milk’ stands for his possession of celestial truth. And because this truth derives from the love of good, it is said that ‘their bodies were ruddier than gem stones’. ‘Brightness’ and ‘whiteness’ have reference to truth, 3301, ‘ruddiness’ to good, 3300, ‘gem stones’ to truths stemming from good, 114. ‘Their skin stuck to their bone’ describes a changed state as regards the celestial things of love, which is to say, that there was no flesh on the bones, that is, there was no longer any good, for in that case all truth comes to be like skin which sticks to the bone, dries up, and becomes like wood.
[5] In Ezekiel,
Tell a parable against the house of rebellion, and say to them, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Put on the pot, put it on, and also pour water into it; gather the pieces of it into it – every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with the choice of the bones by taking the choice of the flock, and let there be a hearth of bones under it. Let the bones also be cooked in the midst of it. Ezek. 24:3-5, 10.
‘The pot’ stands for violence offered to good and truth, which is why it is called ‘the city of bloodshed’ in verse 6. ‘The pieces’, ‘the good piece, the thigh and the shoulder’ gathered into it are pieces of flesh, which are items of good. ‘The choice of the bones’ with which the pot was filled stands for truths, ‘the hearth of bones’ for the affection for truth. ‘Let the bones be cooked in the midst of it’ stands for violence offered to them. Anyone may see that this parable conceals arcana that are Divine, and also that these can in no way be known unless one knows what is meant in the internal sense by ‘a pot’, by ‘pieces, the thigh and the shoulder’, by ‘the choice of the bones’, by ‘a hearth of bones’, and by ‘cooking’. In Micah,
Is it not for you to know judgement – you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear their skin from upon them and their flesh from upon their bones; who have eaten the flesh of My people and flayed their skin from upon them and broken their bones in pieces, and divided them as into a pot and like flesh into the middle of the cauldron? Micah 3:1-3.
Here the meaning is similar.
[6] In Ezekiel,
He brought me out in the Spirit of Jehovah and set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones. He said to me, Will these bones live? He said to me, Prophesy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovih to these bones, Behold, I am bringing spirit into you that you may live. I will lay sinews upon you and cause flesh to come over you and cover you with skin, and I will put spirit within you so that you may live. I prophesied, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and behold, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above, but there was no spirit in them. And spirit entered into them, and they were alive again and stood upon their feet. Ezek. 37:1 and following verses.
This refers in general to the re-establishment of the Church among gentiles, and in particular to the regeneration of the individual. ‘Dry bones’ stands for the understanding side of the proprium, which is lifeless until it receives the life of good from the Lord. The latter life is what quickens it or brings life to it. The flesh which the Lord causes to come up over the bones is the will side of the proprium, which is called the heavenly proprium, and so means good. ‘Spirit’ means the Lord’s life, and when this flows into a person’s good which he seems to himself to will and perform from his proprium, the good is in that case made alive, and from that good the truth also; and out of the dry bones a human being is made.
[7] In David,
All my bones have been disconnected; my heart has become like wax. I can count all my bones. They have divided my garments among them, and for my clothing have cast lots. Ps. 22:14, 17, 18.
This refers to the Lord’s temptations as regards Divine Truths, which, being the Lord’s own, are consequently called ‘my bones’, and as regards Divine Good, which, being the Lord’s own, is consequently called ‘my heart’. For ‘heart’ means good, see 3313, 3635. And because ‘bones’ means those truths, ‘counting’ them is wishing to get rid of them by means of reasonings and falsities. This is also the reason for the statement immediately following about their dividing garments and casting lots for clothing, for ‘garments’ also means truths, though a more external variety, 297, 1073, 2576. ‘Dividing garments and casting lots for clothing’ has the same meaning as it does also in Matthew 27:35. In the same author,
Let my soul exult in Jehovah, let it be glad in His salvation. Let all my bones say, Who is like You? Ps. 35:9, 10.
‘Bones’ in the spiritual sense clearly means the understanding side of the proprium. In the same author,
You shall cause me to hear joy and gladness; the bones You have broken will be exultant. Ps. 51:8.
‘The bones which You have broken will be exultant’ stands for a re-creation by means of truths following temptations.
[8] Because ‘bone’ meant the understanding side of the proprium, or the proprium as regards truth, and in the highest sense meant Divine Truth, which was the Lord’s Proprium, it was therefore required at the Passover not to break any bone of the paschal lamb. This is referred to in Moses as follows,
It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not bring any of the flesh outside the house; and you shall not break a bone in it. Exod. 12:46.
And elsewhere in Moses,
They shall not leave any of it until morning, and they shall not break a bone of it. Num. 9:12.
‘Not breaking a bone’ stands in the highest sense for not offering violence to Divine truth, and in the representative sense for not offering violence to the truth connected with any good at all, for the nature of good and the form it takes depend on truths, and truth is the mainstay of good, as the bones are of the flesh.
[9] The fact that the Word, which is Divine truth itself, gives life to the dead was represented by the revival and the standing on his feet of the man who, having been cast into the grave of Elisha, touched his bones, 2 Kings 13:21. Elisha represented the Lord as regards Divine truth or the Word, see 2762.
‘Bones’ in the contrary sense means falsity which springs from the proprium, as is evident from the following places: In Jeremiah,
At that time they will bring the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem out of their tombs, and they will spread them before the sun and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served. Jer. 8:1, 2.
In Ezekiel,
I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. Ezek. 6:5.
In Moses,
God who brought him out of Egypt has as it were the strength of a unicorn. He will eat up the nations, his enemies, and will break their bones, and smash their weapons. Num. 24:8.
In the second Book of Kings,
King Josiah broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of people. He took the bones out of the graves and burned them on the altar to render it unclean. He sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned the bones of people on them. 2 Kings 23:14, 16, 20.
In Moses,
The soul which has touched on the surface of the field anyone slain with the sword, or one dead, or a human bone, or a sepulchre, will be unclean for seven days. Num. 19:16, 18.
[10] Since ‘bones’ means falsities, and ‘sepulchres’ evils containing them, and since hypocrisy is evil which on the outside looks like good but is inwardly rotten from things that are false and unholy, the Lord therefore says the following in Matthew,
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you make yourselves like white-washed sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and of all uncleanness. So too do you outwardly appear just to men (homo) but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Matt. 23:27, 28.
From all these quotations it is now evident that ‘bones’ means the understanding side of the proprium either as regards truth or else as regards falsity.
* lit. bones
** lit. sapphire their polishing
Arcana Coelestia 157.
Because ‘bone from bones and flesh from flesh’ meant the proprium belonging to the external man which contained the internal man, all who could be called one’ s own were in ancient times called ‘bone from bones and flesh from flesh’, whether they came from the same house or from the same family, or had some other family connection, as Laban said of Jacob,
Surely you are my bone and my flesh. Gen. 29:14.
Referring to his mother’s brothers and to ‘the family of the house of his mother’s father’ Abimelech said,
Remember that I am your bone and your flesh. Judg. 9:1-3.
Also the tribes of Israel, in reference to themselves, told David,
Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. 2 Sam. 5:1.
Arcana Coelestia 8005.
‘And you shall not break a bone of it’ means that factual knowledge of truth must also remain intact. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a bone’ as what is last and lowest, serving as a foundation for more internal things to rest on and as a support to prevent them from falling apart. This last and lowest support in spiritual things is factual knowledge; for all spiritual truths and forms of good flow down in accordance with order towards lower levels, coming to rest finally in factual knowledge, in which a person can then catch sight of them. As for the meaning of ‘you shall not break’ – that such knowledge must remain intact – this is self-evident. Factual knowledge is said to remain intact when it lets into itself nothing but truths that are in accord with its good; for factual knowledge is the general receptacle of them. Furthermore items of knowledge are like the bones in a person’s body. If they do not remain intact or properly arranged, as when they are dislocated or are bent out of shape, the form of the body is consequently altered, and that altered form conditions its movements. Factual knowledge of truth may be equated with matters of doctrine.
Apocalype Explained 659
[14] That this is meant by going forth out of the tombs or sepulchres is still more evident in Ezekiel:
“Behold I will open your sepulchres, and cause you to come up out of your sepulchres, O my people, and bring you upon the land of Israel, that ye may know that I am Jehovah, when I shall have opened your sepulchres, and have caused you to come up out of your sepulchres, O my people, and shall have put my spirit in you that ye may live, and have placed you upon your own land” (xxxvii. 12-14).
The subject here treated of is the dry bones seen by the prophet upon the faces of the valley, upon which sinews appeared to be stretched, and flesh came upon them, and they were covered with skin; and when the spirit of God was sent into them, they lived again and stood upon their feet. That those bones mean the whole house of Israel, is plainly declared in these words: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel, behold they say, Our bones are dried up, our hope is perished; as for us we are cut off” (verse 11). The house of Israel is likened to dry bones, because they were in falsities and evils, which have no life, because of their non-correspondence with heaven as to sinews, flesh, and skin; for bones signify truths in the ultimate of order, upon which spiritual truths are based, but dry bones signify falsities from evil. It is therefore evident that by opening the sepulchres, and causing the people to come up out of the sepulchres, is signified to raise up out of falsities from evil, thus from the dead, and to impart truths from good, thus life, and this life is the spirit of God from which they lived again. This then is the meaning of causing the people to come up out of the sepulchres; the church to be formed out of these is signified by the land of Israel, upon which they shall be brought, and upon which they shall be placed.
Arcana Coelestia 149
149. In the Word also ‘bones’ means the proprium, a proprium indeed given life by the Lord, as in Isaiah, Jehovah will satisfy your soul in arid places, and will render your bones free; and you will be like a watered garden. Isa. 58:11.
In the same prophet,
Then you will see, and your heart will be joyful, and your bones will flourish like the grass. Isa. 66:14.
In David,
All my bones will say, O Jehovah, who is like You? Ps. 35:10.
This is plainer still in Ezekiel where he describes the bones receiving flesh and having spirit put in them,
The hand of Jehovah set me down in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. And He said to me, Prophesy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the Word of Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovih to these bones, Behold, I am bringing spirit* into you and you will live. And I will lay sinews upon you and cause flesh to come over you and cover you with skin, and I will put spirit you, and you will live; and you will know that I am Jehovah. Ezek. 37:1, 4-6.
[2] Man’s proprium when viewed from heaven looks just like something bony, lifeless, and utterly misshapen, and so in itself something dead. But once it has received life from the Lord it appears as something having flesh. For man’s proprium is something altogether dead, though it has the appearance to him of being something; indeed it appears to be everything. Whatever is living within him comes from the Lord’s life; and if this were to leave him, he would fall down dead as a stone. For he is purely an organ of life, though the nature of the organ determines that of the life-affection. The Lord alone possesses Proprium. By His Proprium He has redeemed man and by His Proprium saves him. The Lord’s Proprium is Life, and from His Proprium man’s proprium, which in itself is dead, is given life. The Lord’s Proprium was also meant by His words in Luke,
A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see Me have. Luke 24:39, 40.
It was also meant by the requirement that no bone of the Paschal lamb be broken, Exod 12:46.
* or breath
Arcana Coelestia 10037
[3] In Jeremiah,
They will bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and they will spread them out before the sun and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served. They will not be gathered nor buried; they will be as dung on the face of the earth. Jer. 8:1, 2.
These words describe the condition of those who rendered the Church’s forms of good and its truths unholy. Their condition at that time was represented by the bringing of the bones out of their tombs. ‘The bones of the kings’ and ‘of the princes’ brought out of their tombs mean truths rendered unholy; ‘the bones of the priests’ and ‘of the prophets’ mean forms of good rendered unholy. ‘Being spread out before the sun and the moon, and all the host of heaven’ means being removed from all goodness and truth; ‘not being gathered and buried’ means not being raised up to life; and ‘being dung on the face of the earth’ means being nothing but that which is hellish.
Arcana Coelestia 6592
6592. ‘And you shall cause my bones to go up from here’ means that there will be a representative of the Church but not a Church which also exists on an internal level. This is clear from the representation of ‘Joseph’ as the internal of the Church, dealt with above in 6587; and since he represents the internal of the Church, that which is the most external or the outermost area of the Church, thus that which forms the representative part of it, is meant by his ‘bones’. For the representative acts which existed in the Ancient Church and which were also established among the descendants of Jacob constituted outermost forms within the Church; but the things those acts meant and represented were the inner realities of the Church. These – the inner realities – are meant by ‘the flesh’ which holds the spirit within it; but the outer forms are meant by ‘the bones’. From this one may see what the Church is like when it is concerned solely with outer forms, without their inner realities, namely like the bones forming the framework of a person’s body without the flesh. As regards the fact that no Church, only a representative of the Church existed among the Israelite and Jewish people, see 4281, 4288, 4307, 4500, 4680, 4844, 4847, 4903, 6704; and a representative of the Church was not established among them until they had been completely vastated internally, or else they would have rendered holy things profane, 4289.