2085. 'For his seed after him' means those who would have faith in the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'seed' as faith, dealt with already in 1025, 1447, 1610, 2034. 'Seed' here means those who have faith grounded in love, that is, who have love to the Lord, and who are therefore celestial people or those who belong to the celestial Church, for the seed descending from Isaac is the subject. Those however who have faith grounded in charity, that is, who have charity towards the neighbour, and who are therefore spiritual people or those who belong to the spiritual Church, are meant by 'Ishmael' who is the subject in the next verse. For the distinction between celestial people and spiritual, see above 2069, 2078, and also for the distinction between having love to the Lord and having charity towards the neighbour, 2023.

1447. That 'He said, To your seed will I give this land' means that celestial things would be granted to those who had faith in Him is clear from the meaning of 'land' and from the meaning of 'land'. That 'seed' means faith in the Lord has been shown already in 255, 256, and that 'land' means celestial things has also been shown above at verse 1 of this chapter, and in 620, 636, 662, 1066. In the sense of the fetter 'the seed of Abram' is used to mean descendants through Jacob, and 'land' the land of Canaan itself which was to be given to them as a possession, for the reason that they might represent the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord's kingdom and Church and that among them a representative Church might be established, and because the Lord was to be born in that land. But in the internal sense nothing else is meant by 'seed' then faith in the Lord, and by 'land' nothing else than celestial things, and here in particular that celestial things were to be granted to those who had faith in Him. What is meant by having faith in the Lord has been stated many times already.