“Man” is a tricky word to discuss, because the Hebrew of the Old Testament uses six different words that are generally translated as “man,” with shades of meaning that are difficult to express in English. Swedenborg, meanwhile, use two different words in the original Latin: “vir,” which is a singular male person, and “homo,” which usually has a meaning akin to “mankind” or “humanity” – but is sometimes used for a singular male person as well.
When used in the sense of “human” or “mankind,” the meaning of “man” is based on the fact that the Lord is the perfect, divine human, and is in a way the archetype for our humanity. The Lord is, in his essence, love itself – perfect, infinite, divine love, which is the source of all life. So in the ultimate sense, “man” represents the Lord’s love and goodness. In less exalted uses, it represents the love and goodness that exists in churches, societies and individual people. That’s because the love we have, as individuals and collectively, is a reflection of the Lord’s love, and our humanity is a reflection of the Lord’s humanity.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 477
- ‘Man’ is the Most Ancient Church. This has been stated and shown quite often already, for in the highest sense the Lord Himself alone is Man. From this the celestial Church, being the likeness of Him, is referred to as ‘Man’, and then from this the spiritual Church is so called because it was an image of Him. But in a general sense everyone is called man who has human understanding, for a person is man, one person more so than the next, by virtue of his understanding. Nevertheless one person ought to be distinguished from the next according to faith inherent in love to the Lord.
[2] The Most Ancient Church, and every true Church, and so people who belong to the Church, that is, who do so by virtue of love to the Lord and of faith in Him, are pre-eminently called ‘Man’. This is clear from the Word, as in Ezekiel,
I will cause, man to multiply upon you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. I will cause man and beast to multiply upon you so that they multiply and are fruitful, and I will resettle you* to be as in your ancient times, and I will do more good than in your early days. I will cause man to walk upon you, even My people Israel. Ezek. 36:10-12.
Here the Most Ancient Church is meant by ‘earliest times’, the Ancient Churches by ‘early days’, and the Primitive Church, or Church among gentiles, by ‘the house of Israel’ and ‘the people of Israel’, all of which Churches are called Man.
[3] In Moses,
Remember the days of old, understand the years of generation after generation. When the Most High gave to the nations an inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, He fixed the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel. Deut. 32:7, 8.
Here the Most Ancient Church is meant by ‘the days of old’ and the Ancient Churches by ‘generation after generation’. Those people are called ‘sons of man’ whose faith was in the Lord, which faith is ‘the number of the sons of Israel’. A regenerate person is called ‘man’ in Jeremiah,
I looked to the earth, and behold, a void and an emptiness, and at the heavens, and they had no light. I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air’ had flown away. Jer 4:23, 25.
Here ‘earth’ stands for the external man, ‘heaven’ for the internal man; ‘man’ stands for a love of good, and ‘the birds of the air’** for an understanding of truth.
[4] In the same prophet,
Behold, the days are coming when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. Jer. 31:27.
Here ‘man’ stands for the internal man, ‘beast’ for the external man. In Isaiah,
Turn yourselves away from the man in whose nostrils there is breath,** for of what account is he? Isa. 2:22.
‘Man’ stands for the member of the Church. In the same prophet,
Jehovah will remove man far away, and there will be many forsaken places in the midst of the land. Isa. 6:12.
This refers to the vastation of man, so that good and truth are no more. In the same prophet,
The inhabitants of the land will be scorched and few men (homo) left. Isa. 14:6.
Here ‘men’ (homo) stands for people who have faith. In the same prophet,
The highways have been laid waste, the wayfarer has ceased. He has made the covenant worthless, despised cities, had no regard for man; the land mourns and languishes. Isa. 33:8, 9.
This stands for the man who in Hebrew is Enosh. In the same prophet,
I will make a man (homo) more precious than pure gold, and a man (homo) than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will jolt heaven, and the earth will be shaken out of its place. Isa. 13:12, 13.
The first reference to ‘a man’ here is Enosh, but the second is Adam.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 1894
- That ‘Sarai’ is truth allied to good has been stated and shown already in 1468 and elsewhere; and that ‘Abram’ is the Lord’s Internal Man, which is Jehovah, has likewise been stated and shown. The reason why the Lord’s Internal Man, which is Jehovah, is called Man is that nobody is Man except Jehovah alone, for in its genuine sense Man means that Being (Esse) from which man derives his being. Being (Esse) itself – from which man derives his being – is Divine, and is consequently celestial and spiritual. Without that Divine celestial and spiritual there is nothing truly human in man, only something animal-like such as exists in beasts. It is by virtue of Jehovah’s or the Lord’s Being (Esse) that every man is ‘man’, and by virtue also of His Being that he is called ‘man’. The celestial which makes him man consists in his love of the Lord and his love of the neighbour; and so he is man because he is an image of the Lord and because he has that celestial character from the Lord. Otherwise he is a wild beast.
[2] As regards Jehovah or the Lord being the only Man and that it is by virtue of Him that men are called ‘men’, also that one is more so man than another, see 49, 288, 477, 565. This matter becomes additionally clear from the fact that Jehovah or the Lord manifested Himself as Man to the patriarchs of the Most Ancient Church, subsequently to Abraham as well, and also to the prophets. This too was why the Lord was pleased, when no man remained on earth any more, that is, when nothing celestial or spiritual was left to mankind any more, to take on human nature by being born as any other, and to make that human nature Divine. In this respect also He is the only Man. In addition to this the whole of heaven presents before the Lord the image of a human being, because it is a presentation of Himself, and as a consequence heaven is called the Grand Man, chiefly from the fact that in heaven the Lord is the All in all.
AC 4287
[4] The arcanum that ‘contending with God and with men’ means being tempted over truths and over goods is one that is not open to view in the letter. It is clear to anyone, and will also be evident from the explanation given below, that it was not God with whom Jacob contended, for it cannot be said of anyone that he contends with God and prevails. But the internal sense teaches what ‘God’ and ‘men’ mean here – that ‘God’ means truth, and ‘men’ good. The reason for this is that ‘God’ in the internal sense means truth, and therefore whenever truth is dealt with the name God is used, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, whereas the term ‘man’ is used to mean good. And ‘man’ means good because the Lord is the only Man and anyone else is called such by virtue of Him, 49, 288, 565, 1894. A further reason is that by virtue of Him heaven is man and is called the Grand Man, 684, 1276, 3624-3649, 3741-3750. And this also was why the Most Ancient Church which was governed by celestial good was referred to as Man, 478.
[5] Therefore whenever good is dealt with in the Word, ‘man’ (homo) means good, as in Isaiah,
I will make the male person (vir homo) more rare than gold, and man (homo) than the gold of Ophir. Isa 13:12.
In the same prophet,
The inhabitants of the land will be scorched and few male persons (vir homo) left. Isa. 24:6.
‘Male persons’ stands for spiritual good or the good of truth. ‘Man’ stands for good. In the same prophet, The highways have been laid waste, the wayfarer has ceased. He has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities, he has no regard for the male person (vir homo). Isa. 33:8.
In Jeremiah,
I looked to the earth, and behold, that which is void and empty, and towards the heavens, and they had no light I looked, and behold, there was no man; and all the birds of the air had flown away. Jer. 4:23, 25.
In the same prophet, behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. Jer. 31:27.
In Ezekiel,
Your merchants [traded] in the souls of men and vessels of bronze, giving these for your merchandise. Ezek. 27:13.
In the same prophet, You, O my flock, the flock of My pasture, you are men; I am your God. Ezek 34:31.
In the same prophet, They will be cities laid waste, filled with the flock of mankind. Ezek. 36:38.
In these places ‘man’ (homo) stands for people who are governed by good, and so stands for good, since good is what causes anyone to be ‘man’. Truth however which is grounded in good is referred to in the Word as ‘a male person’ (vir homo) and also as ‘the son of man’.
AC 7120
There are two words in the original language meaning a person; one is adam and the other is enosh. A person called adam means a member of the celestial Church, while a person called enosh means a member of the spiritual Church.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 7424
- ‘And there were lice on man and on beast’ means that evils rose up from those things – interior and exterior evils attached to wicked desires. This is clear from the meaning of ‘lice’ as evils, dealt with in 7419; from the meaning of ‘man’ as good, dealt with in 4287, 5302, and so in the contrary sense as evil; and from the meaning of ‘beast’ as the affection for good, and in the contrary sense as the affection for evil, which is evil or wicked desire, dealt with in 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 719, 776, 2179, 2180, 3218, 3519, 5198. But when the expression ‘man and beast’ is used, man’ means interior good, and in the contrary sense interior evil, while ‘beast’ means exterior good, and in the contrary sense exterior evil. The reason why ‘man’ means interior good or interior evil is that a person is truly human by virtue of his internal man and the nature of this, not by virtue of his external man; for without the internal the external man is not truly human. If the external man too is to be truly human it must be completely subject to the internal, so completely that it does not act by itself, only from the internal. The reason why ‘beast’ means exterior good and in the contrary sense exterior evil is that beasts do not have an internal side to them like that present in a human being. With them the internal side is merged into the external, so completely that it makes one with it, and at the same looks downwards or towards the ground without any uplifting towards more internal things.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 7523
- ‘And there will be on man and on beast’ means the products of interior and exterior evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘man’ as the affection for good, and in the contrary sense as the desire for evil; and ‘beast’ is similar in meaning. But when ‘man’ and ‘beast’ are mentioned together, ‘man means interior affection or desire and ‘beast’ exterior; regarding both, see 7424. Interior good or else interior evil, which is meant by ‘man’, is that connected with intentions or ends in view, for intentions or ends in view are at a person’s core, whereas exterior good or else exterior evil, which is meant by ‘beast’, is that connected with thought and consequently, if nothing stands in the way, with action. Exterior good is meant by ‘beast’ because a person is in respect of his external or natural man no different from a beast; for he is endowed with similar desires and also cravings, as well as appetites and senses. And interior good is meant by ‘man because it is in respect of his internal or spiritual man that a person is a human being, on which internal level he is endowed with affections for what is good and true such as exist with the angels in heaven, and because he controls his natural or animal man, which is ‘a beast’, by means of that internal man. Regarding the meaning of ‘beast’ as the affection for good and in the contrary sense the desire for evil, see 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 719, 776, 2179, 2180, 3218, 3519, 5198.
[2] These things are what are meant by ‘man and beast’ in the following places too: In Jeremiah,
My anger and My wrath have been poured out on this place, on man and on beast. Jer. 7:20
In the same prophet,
I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great pestilence. Jer. 21:6.
In the same prophet,
It will make her land a desolation, so that none may dwell in it; both man and beast have scattered themselves, they have gone away. Jer. 50:3.
In Ezekiel,
When a land has sinned against Me by committing great transgression, I will cut off from it man and beast. Ezek. 14:13, 19, 21.
In the same prophet,
I will stretch out My hand over Edom, and cut off from it man and beast, and make it a waste. Ezek. 25:13.
In Zephaniah,
I will consume man and beast, I will consume the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from the surface of the earth. Zeph. 1:3.
[3] ‘Man and beast’ stands for interior and exterior good in the following places: In Jeremiah,
I have made the earth, man and beast, by My great strength. Jer. 27:5.
In the same prophet,
Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. Jer. 31:17.
In the same prophet,
A desolation will the earth be, so that man and beast are not there. Jer. 32:43.
In the same prophet,
In the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that have been devastated, there is no man and inhabitant, and there is no beast. Jer. 33:10; 51:62.
In David,
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God, Your judgements a great deep; You preserve man and beast, O Jehovah. Ps. 36:6.
It was because ‘man and beast’ meant such things that the firstborn of the Egyptians died, not only of men but also of beasts, Exod. 12:29, and that the firstborn were consecrated [to Jehovah], not only of men but also of beasts, Num. 18:15, and also that the king of Nineveh, following sacred religious practice, commanded that not only man but also beast should fast and also be clothed in sackcloth, Jonah 3:7-8.