Plants in the Bible generally represent facts, knowledge that can be gleaned from the world. Plants that can serve animals as food represent facts that have the potential to be put to use, ones that can lead to something good. A pasture, then, is an area that offers a great deal of this sort of useful, life-building knowledge. "Pasture" is often used as a verb in the Bible as well; to pasture animals means teaching people facts that can help them do what is good in life.

4958. The reason 'hungering' means being led by affection to desire good is that in the internal sense 'bread' means the good of love and charity, while food in general means good, 2165, 2177, 3478, 4211, 4217, 4735. The reason 'thirsting' means being led by affection to desire truth is that wine and also water mean the truth of faith - wine, 1071, 1798, water, 2702. 'A stranger' means one who wishes to receive instruction, see 1463, 4444; and one who is 'naked' means a person who acknowledges that no good or truth at all exists within him, one who is 'sick' a person who acknowledges that evil is present within him, and one who is 'bound' or 'in prison' a person who acknowledges that falsity is present, as is evident from many places in the Word where such names are used.