Metaphysical meaning of Naphtuhim (mbd)
Naphtuhim, naph'-tu.-him (Heb. fr. Egypt.)--they of Ptah; the opened; the hollow; the cavernous; the empty ones; the loosened; border people; bowmen.
A people who were descended from Mizraim, son of Ham (Gen. 10:13).
Meta. Empty thoughts, thoughts of lack (the hollow, the empty ones). Bowmen are archers, those who use bows and arrows. Shooting arrows signifies sending forth quick, darting thoughts. Mizraim, from whom the Naphtuhim were descended, represents the sense belief that the seemingly physical man is wholly material and is subject to all kinds of sorrows and errors that hinder him from receiving good. Naphtuhim, therefore, meaning bowmen, signifies the darting forth throughout the consciousness of the material ideas that spring from the Mizraim belief and lead to a consciousness of lack and of separateness from God. These must be denied and overcome, that the individual may get away from material to spiritual understanding and expression.
________________________
Preceding Entry: Naphtali
Following Entry: Narcissus
