{"id":11632,"date":"2016-04-24T17:47:43","date_gmt":"2016-04-24T21:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/?page_id=11632"},"modified":"2016-04-24T17:47:43","modified_gmt":"2016-04-24T21:47:43","slug":"walk","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/bible-keywords\/walk\/","title":{"rendered":"Walk"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>To walk in the Bible<\/a> represents living, and usually means living according to the true things<\/a> taught to us by the Lord<\/a> — to \u201cwalk in his ways.\u201d\u00a0Swedenborg<\/a>\u00a0also says that when the Lord is pictured walking, it means life<\/a> itself.<\/p>\n

This meaning makes sense as sort of poetic language on its face, and makes more sense considering that the ancient Hebrews were primarily nomadic, and to some extent lived by walking.<\/p>\n

\n

Passages from Swedenborg<\/b><\/p>\n

Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 519<\/b><\/p>\n

519. At that time there were people who formulated doctrine out of what had been matters of perception in the Most Ancient Church and in the Churches that came after it, and this doctrine was to serve as a yardstick by which people could recognize what good and truth were. Such people were called ‘Enoch’, and this is meant by these words, ‘and Enoch\u00a0walked\u00a0with God’. They also applied this name to that doctrine of theirs, for this indeed was meant by the name Enoch, which is ‘instructing’. The matter is also clear from the meaning of the expression\u00a0walking’ and from the fact that he is said to have\u00a0walked, not with Jehovah, but ‘with God’. ‘Walking\u00a0with God’ is teaching and living according to the doctrine of faith, whereas ‘walking\u00a0with Jehovah’ is leading a life of love. ‘Walking’ is a customary expression to mean living, as in the phrases\u00a0walking\u00a0in the law,walking\u00a0in statutes,\u00a0walking\u00a0in the truth. Strictly speaking,walking\u00a0has regard to the path of truth, and therefore of faith or the doctrine of faith. From the places that are quoted below it becomes to some extent clear what ‘walking’ means in the Word.<\/p>\n

[2] In Micah,<\/p>\n

He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does Jehovah require of you but to carry out judgement and the love of mercy, and to humble yourself by\u00a0walking\u00a0with your God? Micah 6:8.<\/p>\n

Here too ‘walking\u00a0with God’ means living according to the requirements set out here. But although the expression ‘with God’ is used here the preposition employed is different from the one used in reference to Enoch, which really means ‘from with God’, and so is a phrase which is ambiguous.* In David,<\/p>\n

You have delivered my feet from stumbling, that I may\u00a0walkbefore God in the light of the living. Ps. 56:13.<\/p>\n

Here ‘walking\u00a0before God’ is\u00a0walking\u00a0in the truth of faith, which is ‘the light of the living’. Similarly in Isaiah,<\/p>\n

The people\u00a0walking\u00a0in darkness see a great light. Isa. 9:2.<\/p>\n

In Moses the Lord says,<\/p>\n

I will\u00a0walk\u00a0in your midst and be your God, and you will be My people. Lev. 26:11.<\/p>\n

This stood for the requirement that they should live according to the teaching of the law.<\/p>\n

In Jeremiah,<\/p>\n

They will spread them** before the sun and the moon and all the hosts of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served, and which they have\u00a0walked\u00a0after, and which they have sought. Jer. 8:2<\/p>\n

A clear distinction is made here between the things that belong to love and those that belong to faith. Those that belong to love are referred to by ‘loving and serving’, those that belong to faith by ‘walking\u00a0and seeking after’. For in the Prophets careful attention is paid to the use of words; one word is nowhere used in place of another In the Word ‘walking\u00a0with Jehovah’ or ‘before Jehovah’ means leading a life of love.<\/p>\n

AApocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 167<\/b><\/p>\n

167.”‘And they shall\u00a0walk\u00a0with Me in white, for they are worthy.'” This symbolically means that they will live with the Lord in His spiritual kingdom, because they are governed by truths from Him.
\nThis is the meaning of these words because to\u00a0walk\u00a0in the Word symbolically means to live, and to\u00a0walk\u00a0with God symbolically means to live from Him, and because to be in white means, symbolically, to be guided by truths. For the color white in the Word is predicated of truths, because it takes its origin from the light of the sun, while red is predicated of goods, because it takes its origin from the sun’s fire, and blackness is predicated of falsities, because it takes its origin from the darkness of hell.
\nPeople who are governed by truths from the Lord, being conjoined with Him, are called worthy, for all worth in the spiritual world comes from conjunction with the Lord.
\nIt is apparent from this that “they shall\u00a0walk\u00a0with Me in white, for they are worthy,” means, symbolically, that they will live with the Lord, because they are governed by truths from Him.
\nWe say that they will live with the Lord in His spiritual kingdom because the whole of heaven has been distinguished into two kingdoms-the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom-and in the celestial kingdom live people who are governed by the goodness of love from the Lord, while in the spiritual kingdom live those who are governed by the truths of wisdom from the Lord. The latter are also said to\u00a0walk\u00a0with the Lord in white. Moreover, they are dressed in white garments.
\n[2] That to\u00a0walk\u00a0means, symbolically, to live, and to\u00a0walk\u00a0with God means to live with Him because it is to live from Him, is clear from the following passages:<\/p>\n

He\u00a0walked\u00a0with Me in peace and rectitude…. (Malachi 2:6)<\/p>\n

You have delivered my feet from stumbling, that I may\u00a0walkbefore God in the light of the living. (Psalm 56:13)<\/p>\n

…David…kept My commandments and…walked\u00a0after Me with all his heart…. (1 Kings 14:8)<\/p>\n

Remember…, O Jehovah…, how I have\u00a0walked\u00a0before You in truth…. (Isaiah 38:3)<\/p>\n

If you…walk\u00a0contrary to Me…, and…do not obey (My voice)…, I also will\u00a0walk\u00a0contrary to you…. (Leviticus 26:23, 24, 27, 28)<\/p>\n

They would not\u00a0walk\u00a0in the ways (of Jehovah). (Isaiah 42:24; cf. Deuteronomy 11:22, 19:9, 26:17)<\/p>\n

…all people\u00a0walk…in the name of (their) god, but we will\u00a0walkin the name of Jehovah…. (Micah 4:5)<\/p>\n

A little while longer the light is with you.\u00a0Walk\u00a0while you have the light…. …believe in the light…. (John 12:35, 36; cf. 8:12)<\/p>\n

…the scribes asked…, “Why do Your disciples not\u00a0walkaccording to the tradition of the elders…?” (Mark 7:5)<\/p>\n

Walking\u00a0is also said of Jehovah, that He\u00a0walks\u00a0among people, which is to say that He lives in them and together with them:<\/p>\n

I will make My dwelling among you, and…I will\u00a0walk\u00a0among you and be your God…. (Leviticus 26:11, 12)<\/p>\n

It is apparent from this what is meant by the statement,<\/p>\n

These things says He…who\u00a0walks\u00a0in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. (Revelation 2:1)<\/p>\n

Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 8420<\/b><\/p>\n

8420. ‘Whether they\u00a0walk\u00a0in My law or not’ means, whether they can lead a life of truth and good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘walking’ as living, dealt with in 519, 1794; and from the meaning of ‘law’ as the Word, dealt with in 2606, 3382, 6752. And since the Word is meant, so is Divine Truth, 7463, and thus also teachings about what is good and true, so that ‘walking\u00a0in the law of Jehovah’ means leading a life of truth and good as teachings about them demand. Everyone knows that ‘walking\u00a0in the law’ means living as the law demands, for the expression is part of everyday language. From this it may be seen that [the activity] ‘walking’ means living, and also that the actual word ‘walking’, like so many other words, carries the very meaning it possesses in the spiritual sense. This is attributable solely to the influx of the spiritual world into ideas composing thought, and then into words; for without that influx would anyone ever talk of\u00a0walking\u00a0instead of living – of\u00a0walking\u00a0in the law, in the statutes, in the commandments, or in the fear of God? The same applies to ‘going’, that it means living, referred to just above in 8417, and also to travelling, advancing, and sojourning. The reason why these words mean living is that the spiritual world is not one of spatial dimensions but of states of life instead, 2625, 2684, 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381.<\/p>\n

AE 97<\/b><\/p>\n

That to\u00a0walk\u00a0signifies to live, and, when said of the Lord, life itself, is from appearances in the spiritual world, where all\u00a0walk\u00a0according to their life, the evil in those ways that lead to hell, but the good in those ways only that lead to heaven; therefore all spirits are known there from the ways wherein they\u00a0walk. Ways are really seen, but by the evil only the ways that lead to hell, and by the good only the ways that lead to heaven; by this means every one is brought to his own society; it is from this circumstance that to\u00a0walk\u00a0signifies to live. (Concerning these ways, and concerning\u00a0walking\u00a0therein in the spiritual world, see what is said in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 195, 479, 534, 590; and in the small work, The Last Judgment, n. 48.)<\/p>\n

[2] That in the Word ways signify truths or falsities, and that towalk\u00a0signifies to live, is evident from several passages therein: a few only shall here be adduced by way of confirmation. Thus in Isaiah:<\/p>\n

We have sinned against Jehovah “nor would they\u00a0walk\u00a0in his ways, neither have they heard his law” (xlii. 24).<\/p>\n

And in Moses:<\/p>\n

“If ye shall keep all these commandments, by loving Jehovah your God, by\u00a0walking\u00a0in all his ways” (Deut. xi. 22).<\/p>\n

And again:<\/p>\n

“Thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, by loving Jehovah thy God, and\u00a0walking\u00a0in his ways all the days” (Deut. xix. 9; xxvi. 17).<\/p>\n

Again:<\/p>\n

“I will set my dwelling place in the midst of you, and I willwalk\u00a0in the midst of you, and I will be to you for a God” (Lev. xxvi. 11, 12).<\/p>\n

Again:<\/p>\n

“Jehovah thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, and therefore shall thy camp be holy” (Deut. xxiii. 14).<\/p>\n

And in Isaiah:<\/p>\n

“Remember now, Jehovah, that I have\u00a0walked\u00a0before thee in truth” (xxxviii. 3).<\/p>\n

Again:<\/p>\n

“Entering into peace,\u00a0walking\u00a0in uprightness” (lvii. 2).<\/p>\n

And in Malachi:<\/p>\n

“In peace and in uprightness hath he\u00a0walked\u00a0with me (ii. 6).<\/p>\n

And in David:<\/p>\n

“Thou hast delivered my feet from stumbling, that I may\u00a0walkbefore God in the light of the living” (Psalm lvi. 13).<\/p>\n

And in John:<\/p>\n

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not\u00a0walk\u00a0in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (viii. 12).<\/p>\n

In the same:<\/p>\n

“Yet a little while the light is with you;\u00a0walk\u00a0while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe in the light” (xii. 35, 36).<\/p>\n

And in Mark:<\/p>\n

“The Pharisees and Scribes asked him, Why\u00a0walk\u00a0not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders?” (vii. 5.)<\/p>\n

And in Moses:<\/p>\n

“If ye\u00a0walk\u00a0contrary to me, and will not hearken unto me, I will also\u00a0walk\u00a0contrary to you” (Lev. xxvi. 21, 23, 24, 27).<\/p>\n

And in Isaiah:<\/p>\n

“The people that\u00a0walk\u00a0in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow [of death], upon them hath the light shined” (ix. 2).<\/p>\n

And in Micah:<\/p>\n

“All people\u00a0walk\u00a0in the name of their god, and we will\u00a0walk\u00a0in the name of Jehovah our God” (iv. 5).<\/p>\n

And in Isaiah:<\/p>\n

“Who among you feareth Jehovah? who walketh in darkness, and hath no light?” (l. 10);<\/p>\n

besides many other passages, as in Jer. xxvi. 4; Ezek. v. 6; xx. 13, 16; Mic. iv 5; Zech. x. 12; Luke i. 6. From these passages it is evident that by\u00a0walking, in the spiritual sense, is signified to live; and because it signifies to live, therefore, when said of the Lord, as in this passage, life itself is signified; for the Lord is life itself, and all others are recipients of life from Him (as may be seen above, n. 82, 84).<\/p>\n

Apocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 706<\/b><\/p>\n

706. “Lest he\u00a0walk\u00a0naked and they see his shame.” This symbolically means, so as not to be associated with people who are without any truths, and have their hellish loves appear.
\nTo\u00a0walk\u00a0naked means, symbolically, to live without truths. The shame of nakedness or private parts symbolizes filthy loves, which are hellish loves. And because the text says, “Lest…they see his shame,” it symbolically means, so as not to have those loves appear.<\/p>\n

Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 9028<\/b><\/p>\n

9028. ‘If he rises up and\u00a0walks\u00a0outside on his staff’ means strength of life in that truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rising up’ as implying some kind of raising up, at this point of spiritual truth to agreement with factual truth; from the meaning of ‘walking’ as living, dealt with in 519, 1794, 8417, 8420; and from the meaning of ‘staff’ as strength. For ‘rod’ means the power that truth possesses, and so means strength, 4876, 4936, 6947, 7011, 7026; and ‘staff’ has a similar meaning, though it is used in reference to those who are not strong and well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To walk in the Bible represents living, and usually means living according to the true things taught to us by the Lord — to \u201cwalk in his ways.\u201d\u00a0Swedenborg\u00a0also says that when the Lord is pictured walking, it means life itself. This meaning makes sense as sort of poetic language on its face, and makes more […]<\/p>\n

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