{"id":13048,"date":"2019-10-20T20:53:18","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T00:53:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/?page_id=13048"},"modified":"2019-10-20T20:53:18","modified_gmt":"2019-10-21T00:53:18","slug":"land","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/bible-keywords\/land\/","title":{"rendered":"Land"},"content":{"rendered":"

The word “land” in the Bible<\/a> is typically used in connection with a nation of people: The Land of Canaan, the Land of Egypt, the Land of the Midianites, etc. So it is, like “earth”<\/a> or “ground,”<\/a> a container, but is the container for a nation rather than a container for seeds and plants. Since nations represent<\/a> various loves<\/a> (both evil<\/a> and good<\/a>), Swedenborg<\/a> says “land” thus represents a place where the love represented by a particular nation exists. When that is a good love, it can be looked as “where the church<\/a> exists,” which is a common reference in Swedenborg. And when the land is the Land of Canaan, it represents the highest love of the Lord — which is the love that exists in heaven<\/a>. So the Land of Canaan in a sense represents heaven itself.<\/p>\n

\n

Passages from Swedenborg<\/h4>\n

Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) 620<\/h4>\n

That ‘the earth’\u00a01<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0means that set of people dealt with already is clear from what has been shown concerning the meaning of ‘the earth’\u00a01<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and ‘the ground’. ‘The\u00a0land<\/span>‘ is a term which is used very often in the Word, and means the\u00a0land<\/span>\u00a0where the Lord’s true Church is, such as the\u00a0land<\/span>\u00a0of Canaan. ‘The\u00a0land<\/span>‘ may also mean where the Church is not, such as the\u00a0land<\/span>\u00a0of Egypt, and the lands of the heathen nations, and so stands for the nation which inhabits the\u00a0land<\/span>. And since it stands for the nation, it also stands for any such individual who is there. It is called ‘a\u00a0land<\/span>‘, for example, the\u00a0land<\/span>\u00a0of Canaan, on account of heavenly love, and ‘the lands of the heathen nations’ are so called on account of loves that are foul. It is called ‘ground’ however on account of the faith sown in it. For, as has been shown, a\u00a0land<\/span>\u00a0includes the ground, and the ground includes the field, just as love includes faith, and faith includes the cognitions of faith that are sown in it. Here ‘the earth’\u00a01<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0stands for the people among whom heavenly love and the Church perished utterly. It is from the subject that one may know what is attributed to it.<\/p>\n

Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) 8011.<\/h4>\n

‘And shall be as if a native of the\u00a0land<\/span>‘ means that he shall be received as one who is in possession of that truth and good and who has been purified from filthy kinds of love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a native of the\u00a0land<\/span>‘ as one who was born within the Church and is in possession of its truth and good, consequently one who has been purified from filthy kinds of love. The expression ‘a native of the\u00a0land<\/span>‘ is used because ‘the\u00a0land<\/span>‘ means the Church. For the meaning of ‘the\u00a0land<\/span>‘ in the Word as the Church, see\u00a0566<\/a>,\u00a0662<\/a>,\u00a01066<\/a>,\u00a01067<\/a>,\u00a01262<\/a>,\u00a01413<\/a>,\u00a01607<\/a>,\u00a01733<\/a>,\u00a01850<\/a>,\u00a02117<\/a>,\u00a02118<\/a>,\u00a02571<\/a>,\u00a02928<\/a>,\u00a03355<\/a>,\u00a04447<\/a>,\u00a04535<\/a>,\u00a05577<\/a>. And the reason why ‘the\u00a0land<\/span>‘ means the Church is that in the Word ‘the\u00a0land<\/span>‘ refers to the\u00a0land<\/span>\u00a0of Canaan, and ‘the\u00a0land<\/span>\u00a0of Canaan’ means the Lord’s kingdom and the Church,\u00a01413<\/a>,\u00a01477<\/a>,\u00a01585<\/a>,\u00a01607<\/a>,\u00a01866<\/a>,\u00a03038<\/a>,\u00a03481<\/a>,\u00a03686<\/a>,\u00a03705<\/a>,\u00a04116<\/a>,\u00a04240<\/a>,\u00a04447<\/a>,\u00a04454<\/a>,\u00a04516<\/a>,\u00a04517<\/a>,\u00a05136<\/a>,\u00a05757<\/a>,\u00a06516<\/a>. No\u00a0land<\/span>\u00a0that is mentioned in the Word is taken by angels to mean that\u00a0land<\/span>\u00a0but the nation inhabiting it. And in taking it to mean the nation they understand the character of that nation on the spiritual level, that is, in regard to things of the Church. It is well known that the idea of a nation’s character comes to mind when a\u00a0land<\/span>\u00a0is mentioned; for this is also what happens with a person, and especially with angels, who think in a spiritual manner about everything natural.<\/p>\n

(References:\u00a0Arcana Coelestia 1066-1067<\/a>,\u00a01437<\/a>,\u00a02117-2118<\/a>,\u00a04516-4517<\/a>;\u00a0Exodus 12:48<\/a>)<\/i><\/p>\n

8732. ‘And he went his way to his own\u00a0land<\/span>‘ means to the Divine Himself. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going to his own\u00a0land<\/span>‘ as to the former state, that is, to the Divine. Furthermore ‘land<\/span>‘ in the internal sense means the Church and also heaven, so that in the highest sense it means the Divine. As regards the meaning of ‘land<\/span>‘ in the internal sense as the Church, and so also the Lord’s kingdom in heaven, see\u00a0566<\/a>,\u00a0662<\/a>,\u00a01066<\/a>,\u00a01067<\/a>,\u00a01733<\/a>,\u00a01850<\/a>,\u00a02117<\/a>,\u00a02118<\/a>,\u00a02928<\/a>,\u00a03355<\/a>,\u00a04447<\/a>,\u00a04535<\/a>,\u00a05577<\/a>,\u00a08011<\/a>. But as regards the meaning of ‘land<\/span>‘ in the highest sense as the Divine, the explanation for this is that ‘Jethro’ represented Divine Good, thus the Divine Himself; and going back to the Divine cannot be expressed in the historical narrative of the literal sense in any other way than by the words, ‘going to his own\u00a0land<\/span>‘. For spiritual meanings in the Word adapt themselves to whatever is being represented; yet the meaning which belongs properly to a word still remains. This is so with the meaning of ‘land<\/span>‘. Its proper meaning is the Church, the reason for this being that those in heaven do not think of a\u00a0land<\/span>\u00a0when ‘land<\/span>‘ is referred to in the Word; rather they think of the spiritual state of the nation in that\u00a0land<\/span>\u00a0and so of religion as it exists there. When therefore a\u00a0land<\/span>\u00a0where the Church exists is referred to they think of the Church there; along with the Church they also think of the Lord’s kingdom, and consequently of heaven; and along with heaven they also think of the Divine there. But when the thing represented has all to do with some holy reality existing in the Church or in heaven, then that reality is to be understood by ‘land<\/span>‘ – such as love, charity, good, or faith. From this it is evident that the proper meaning of that word still remains. When for example good is meant, or love, or charity, its overall meaning as the Church still remains; for those virtues are the essential characteristics of the Church, and cause it to be the Church.<\/p>\n

(References:\u00a0Arcana Coelestia 1066-1067<\/a>,\u00a02117-2118<\/a>;\u00a0Exodus 18:27<\/a>)<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The word “land” in the Bible is typically used in connection with a nation of people: The Land of Canaan, the Land of Egypt, the Land of the Midianites, etc. So it is, like “earth” or “ground,” a container, but is the container for a nation rather than a container for seeds and plants. Since […]<\/p>\n

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