Food in the Bible, according to Swedenborg, generally relates to the desire for good, and drink generally relates to ideas of what is true. It makes sense then, that being hungry represents a sort of lack of inspiration — when you want to be good, but don’t really feel a desire to do the things you should — and that thirst represents a lack of knowledge coupled with a desire to learn what is true about life, the Lord, and what we are called to do and be.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 8568
8568. ‘And the people thirsted there for water’ means an increase in the desire for truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘thirsting’ as craving and desiring, and as having reference to truth just as ‘hungering’ has reference to good; and from the meaning of ‘water’ as the truth of faith, dealt with above in 8562. The fact that ‘thirsting’ is craving and desiring – desiring truth, meant by ‘water’ – is plainly evident from a large number of places in the Word, such as in Amos,
Behold, the days are going to come, in which I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah. And they will wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; and they will run to and fro to seek the Word of Jehovah, and will not find it. On that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint for thirst. Amos 8:11-13.
The desire to know the truth is described here by ‘thirsting’. The desire for truth is meant by ‘I will not send a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah’ and by ‘they will run to and fro to seek the Word of Jehovah’. The lack of truth and a resulting deprivation of spiritual life is described by ‘on that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint for thirst’, ‘the beautiful virgins’ being those with affections for good, and ‘the young men’ those with affections for truth.
[2] In Isaiah,
Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy [and] eat! Come and buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isa. 55:1.
‘Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters’ plainly stands for one desiring the truths of faith. ‘Buying wine and milk without price’ stands for acquiring from the Lord, thus for nothing, the good and truth of faith. For the meaning of ‘the waters’ as the truth of faith, see above in 8562; for ‘wine’ as the good of faith, 6377; and also ‘milk’, 2184. Anyone may see that ‘going to the waters and buying wine and milk’ is not used to mean the acquisition of wine and milk, but the kinds of things that belong to heaven and the Church.
[3] The like occurs in John,
To him who thirsts I will give from the spring of the water of life for nothing. Rev. 21:6.
‘The spring of the water of life’ stands for the truth and good of faith. ‘The thirsting one’ stands for one desiring them from affection for them, as accords with the Lord’s words in John,
Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but he who drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up into eternal life. John 4:13, 14.
‘Water’ here plainly stands for the truth of faith obtained from the Word, and so from the Lord; and ‘not thirsting’ stands for his being never again in want of truth.
[4] Something similar appears elsewhere in John,
Jesus said, I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. John 6:35.
And in the same gospel,
Jesus cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water. John 7:37, 38.
‘Thirsting stands for desiring truth, ‘drinking for receiving instruction, and ‘rivers of living water’ for Divine Truth that flows from the Lord alone.
[5] In Isaiah,
To the thirsty bring water, O inhabitants of the land of Tema; meet with his bread the fugitive. Isa. 21:14.
‘To the thirsty bring water’ stands for giving instruction in truths to one desiring them, and so refreshing the life of his soul. In the same prophet,
The fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy, and to utter error against Jehovah; to empty the soul of the hungry one, and to cause the drink of the thirsting one to fail. Isa 32:6.
‘The hungry one’ stands for one desiring good, and ‘one thirstingfor drink’ for one desiring truth.
[6] In the same prophet,
The poor and the needy are seeking water, but there is none; their tongue is parched with thirst. I will open streams on the sloping heights, and I will place springs in the midst of valleys; I will make the wilderness into a pool of water, and the dry land into wellsprings of water. Isa. 41:17, 18.
It is perfectly clear to anyone that ‘seeking water’ is seeking truth, that
‘being parched with thirst’ is being deprived of spiritual life owing to the
lack of truth, and that ‘streams, springs, a pool, and wellsprings of water’
are the truths of faith in which they are to receive instruction.
In the same prophet,
Say, Jehovah has redeemed His servant Jacob. At that time they will not thirst; in waste places He will lead them. He will make water flow for them from the rock; and He will cleave the rock so that water flows out. Isa. 48:20, 21.
‘They will not thirst’ stands for their having no lack of truths; here ‘water’
plainly stands for the truths of faith.
[7] In the same prophet,
They will not hunger, nor will they thirst, nor will heat or the sun strike them; for the One having mercy on them will lead them, so that also by the wellsprings of water He will lead them. Isa. 49:10.
‘They will not hunger’ stands for their having no lack of good, ‘they will
not thirst’ for their having no lack of truth. ‘Wellsprings of water’ stands
for cognitions of truth out of the Word.
[8] Something similar occurs in Moses,
Jehovah was leading you through a great and frightening wilderness, with
serpents, fiery snakes, and scorpions, and dry places where there was no water; and He brought water for you out of the rock of the crag. Deut. 8:15.
In Isaiah,
Behold, your God will come. At that time waters will break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the plain of the wilderness; and the dry place will become a pool and the thirsty ground wellsprings of water. Isa. 35:4, 6, 7.
‘Waters in the wilderness which will break forth’, ‘streams’, ‘a pool’, and
‘wellsprings of water’ plainly stand for the truths of faith and cognitions of those truths, which would be received from the Lord when He came into the world.
[9] In David,
O God, [You are] my God; in the morning I seek You. My soulthirsts for You; my flesh in a dry land longs for You, and I am weary without water. Ps. 63:1.
Here ‘thirsting’ has reference to truth, and ‘I am weary without water’ stands for the fact that there are no truths. ‘Thirst’ stands for a lack of truth and the resulting deprivation of spiritual life in Isaiah,
Therefore My people will go into exile because they have no knowledge, and their honourable men will be famished,* and their multitude parched with thirst. Isa. 5:13.
In the same prophet,
I make the rivers into a desert; their fish become putrid because there is no water, and they will die of thirst. Isa. 50:2.
[10] From all this one may now see what is meant in the present chapter by there was no water for the people to drink, verse 1; by their saying, Give us water and let us drink, verse 2; by the peoplethirsted there for water, verse 3; and by the declaration that water would come out of the rock, verse 6. All of this makes it clear that their grumbling because of the lack of water means temptation arising from a lack of truth. For when a person enters temptation because of a lack of truth he is gripped by an intense desire for it, and at the same time by despair of eternal salvation on account of this. These feelings are responsible for the grief at that time and for the complaining.
* lit. their glory will be men (homo) of famine
Apocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 956
956. And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirstscome. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. This symbolically means that anyone who has any knowledge of the Lord’s coming and of the New Heaven and New Church, thus of the Lord’s kingdom, let him pray for the Lord’s coming; and anyone who desires truths, let him pray for the Lord to come with light. And anyone who loves truths will then receive them from the Lord apart from any endeavors of his own.
“Let him who hears say, ‘Come!'” symbolically means that anyone who hears about the Lord’s coming and about the New Heaven and New Church, thus about the Lord’s kingdom, and so has some knowledge of these, should pray for the Lord to come. “Let him who thirsts say, ‘Come!'” symbolically means that anyone who longs for the Lord’s kingdom and truths at that time should pray for the Lord to come with light. “Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” symbolically means that whoever is moved by love to learn truths and assimilate them into himself will receive them from the Lord apart from any endeavors of his own. To desire symbolizes love, because whatever a person desires from the heart is something he loves, and whatever he loves is something he desires from the heart. The water of life symbolizes Divine truths obtained from the Lord through the Word (no. 932), and to obtain them freely means, symbolically, apart from any endeavors of his own.
Something similar to the symbolic meaning in this verse is that of the wish contained in the Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, as in heaven, so upon the earth” (no. 839). The Lord’s kingdom is the church that is united with heaven. So it is that we are now told, “Let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come.”
[2] That thirsting symbolizes a longing for truths is clear from the following:
…I will pour water on him who is thirsty…; I will pour My spirit on your offspring…. (Isaiah 44:3)
Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters….buy wine and milk without money…. (Isaiah 55:1)
…Jesus…cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me…, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37, 38)
My soul thirsts…for the living God. (Psalm 42:2)
O God, You are my God…; my soul thirsts for You; …I am weary, without water. (Psalm 63:1)
Blessed are those who…thirst for righteousness…. (Matthew 5:6)
To him who thirsts I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely. (Revelation 21:6)
The last symbolically means that to those who desire truths for some useful spiritual purpose, the Lord will give of Himself through the Word everything conducive to that useful purpose.
[3] Thirst and thirsting also symbolize perishing from a lack of truth, as is clear from the following:
…my people will go into exile, because they have no acknowledgment…their multitude dried up with thirst. (Isaiah 5:13)
…the foolish person speaks foolishness, and his heart works iniquity…, and he causes the soul…of the thirsty for drink to fail. (Isaiah 32:6)
The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, their tongues fail for thirst. I, Jehovah, will hear them. (Isaiah 41:17)
Contend with your mother…, lest I strip her naked…and slay her with thirst. (Hosea 2:2, 3)
The prophet’s mother there is the church.
Behold, the days are coming…when I will send a hunger on the land, not a hunger for bread, nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah…. In that day the fair virgins and young men shall faint from thirst. (Amos 8:11, 13)
On the other hand, not thirsting symbolically means to have no lack of truth, in the following:
Jesus…said…, “Whoever drinks…of the water that I shall give him will not thirst to eternity.” (John 4:13-15)
Jesus said…, “…he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)
Jehovah has redeemed…Jacob. Then they will not thirst…. He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them. (Isaiah 48:20, 21)
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 480
480. They shall hunger no more neither thirst any more.- That this signifies that good and truth, and happiness thence, shall not fail them, is plain from the signification of hungering, which denotes a defect of good, therefore by not hungering is here denoted that there shall be no defect of good; and from the signification ofthirsting, as denoting a defect of truth, therefore by not thirsting is here denoted that there shall be no defect of truth. The reason why happiness is also signified by the same words, is that all happiness and blessing with the angels in heaven are from the good and truth which they receive from the Lord, and are according to their reception of these. That all heavenly happiness, or all heavenly joy, is in the affection for good and truth, consequently in the marriage of good and truth, in which the angels of heaven are, may be seen in Heaven and Hell (n. 395-414). They shall not hunger, signifies that good shall not fail them, because bread signifies the good of love; and to hunger is a term used of bread and food. And they shall not thirst, signifies that truth shall not fail them, because water and wine signify truth, and to thirst is a term used of water and wine. Hungering, therefore, and thirsting are frequently mentioned in the Word; they do not mean natural hunger andthirst, but spiritual hunger and thirst, and these are deprivation, defect, and ignorance of the knowledges of truth and good, and at the same time a desire for them. That these things are signified in the Word by hungering and thirsting, or by hunger and thirst, may be seen above (n. 386); where many passages in which these expressions occur are adduced and explained.
Apocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 889
889. “To him who thirsts I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely.” This symbolically means that to those who desire truths for some useful spiritual purpose, the Lord will give of Himself through the Word everything conducive to that useful purpose.
One who thirsts symbolizes someone who desires truth for some useful purpose, as will be seen next. The fountain of the water of life symbolizes the Lord and the Word (no. 384). To give freely means, symbolically, that it comes from the Lord, and not from any intelligence of the person’s own.
Thirsting symbolizes a desire for something for some useful spiritual purpose because one may thirst for or desire concepts of truth from the Word for some natural purpose and also for some spiritual purpose. People who do so for some natural purpose have a reputation for learning as their goal, and in consequence of their learning prestige, honor and material gain. Thus they have themselves and the world in view. But people who do so for some spiritual purpose have serving the neighbor as their goal, out of a love for the neighbor, and they consider the welfare of his soul, as well as their own. Thus they have the Lord, the neighbor, and salvation in view. Such people are given truth from the fountain of the water of life, that is, from the Lord through the Word, to the extent that it is conducive to that purpose. No others are given truth from that source. They read the Word, and either they do not see any doctrinal truth in it, or if they do, they turn it into falsity-not so much in speech when reading aloud from the Word, but in the idea of their thought concerning it.
Apocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 381
381. “They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore.” (7:16) This symbolically means that hereafter they will not lack goods and truths.
Not to hunger means, symbolically, to have no lack of goodness, and not to thirst means, symbolically, to have no lack of truth. For hungering is predicated of bread and food, while thirsting is predicated of wine and water; and bread and food symbolize goodness, while wine and water symbolize truth. (See no. 323 above.)
AC 4017
The reason why ‘coming to drink’ means the affection for truth is that it implies thirst, and ‘thirst’ in the Word means appetite and desire, and so the affection for knowing and taking in truth. It has this meaning because ‘water’ means truth in general. ‘Hunger’ however means appetite and desire, and so the affection for assimilating good. It does so because ‘bread’, which is used to denote food in general, 2165, means good. From this it is evident that these words mean affections for truth.