As with all of the Bible’s natural language, the spiritual meaning of “spending the night” varies depending on the context: Who is spending the night? Where are they spending it? Why are they spending it there?
In some cases, Swedenborg says, the phrase simply indicates a state of rest. This may be especially true when there is a sense of being welcomed and protected.
In other cases, though, it indicates a more troubled state, one of separation from the Lord, of temptation and of judgment. In general, Swedenborg says nighttime represents a state of obscurity – a state in which we are removed from the love and wisdom represented by the warmth and light of the sun. That removal leaves us vulnerable to temptation, and with our evils thus exposed we can come into a state of judgment.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2335
2335. ‘For we will spend the night in the street’ means that He was willing, so to speak, to judge from truth. This becomes clear from the meaning of ‘the street’ and from the meaning of ‘spending thenight’. ‘Street’ is mentioned in various places in the Word, and in the internal sense has a similar meaning to ‘a way’, namely, truth; for a street is a way within a city, as will be clear from the places quoted in the next paragraph. That here ‘speeding the night’ is judging may become clear from the meaning of ‘the night’. It has been shown above in 2323 that ‘the evening’ means the penultimate state of the Church when faith is starting to be no more. It also means the visitation which takes place prior to judgement. From this it is evident that night which follows is the last state when faith is no more, and also when judgement takes place. From this it is plain that in the internal sense ‘speeding the night in the street’ means judging from truth.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 3109
3109. Verses 23-25 And he said, Whose daughter are you? Tell me now, is there at your father’s house a place for us to spend the night? And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milkah, whom she bore to Nahor. And she said to him, There is both straw and also much fodder with us, and a place to spend the night.
‘He said, Whose daughter are you?’ means further investigation concerning innocence. ‘Tell me now, is there at your father’s house a place for us to spend the night?’ means investigation concerning the good of charity. ‘And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milkah, whom she bore to Nahor’ means here, as previously, the whole origin of it. ‘And she said to him’ means perception. ‘There is both straw’ means factual truths. ‘And also much fodder with us’ means the goods that go with these. ‘And a place to spend the night’ means that state.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 3115
3115. ‘And a place to spend the night’ means that state. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a place’ as a state, dealt with in 2625, 2837, and from the meaning of ‘spending the night’ as abiding or having a resting-place, dealt with in 2330.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 3693
3693. ‘And spent the night there because the sun had gone down’ means life enveloped in obscurity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the night’ as a state of shade, dealt with in 1712, so that ‘spending the night’ is living within that state; and from the meaning of ‘the sun going down’ as being in obscurity, for at sundown it is evening, which means obscurity’ see 3056.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 4213
4213. ‘And stayed the night in the mountain’ means serenity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘staying the night’ as having peace, dealt with in 3170, and so as serenity. It was also the practice for those who entered into a covenant to spend the night together in one place, because staying the night in one place meant that no enmity existed any longer. The meaning in the internal sense is the existence of serenity and peace, for those who have been joined together as regards good and truth experience serenity and peace.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 4261
4261. ‘He spent that night there’ means in that state of obscurity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘spending the night’ and also of ‘night’ as a state of obscurity, dealt with in 1712, 3693.