3762. 'And went to the land of the sons of the east' means a raising up towards truths that relate to love. This is clear from the meaning of 'the land of the sons of the east'. For Aram or Syria was called 'the land of the sons of the east', as is evident from the fact that it was the land to which Jacob went, see also 3249. In general, 'Syria' means cognitions of good, as shown in 1232, 1234, but specifically 'Aram Naharaim' or Syria of the [Two] Rivers means cognitions of truth, in 3051, 3664. Here however it is not said that he went to Aram or Syria but 'to the land of the sons of the east', so as to mean that which is the subject in the whole of this chapter, namely an ascent towards truths that relate to love. The expression 'truths that relate to love' is used to describe those truths which in other places have been called celestial truths, for they are cognitions concerning charity towards the neighbour and concerning love to the Lord. In the highest sense, where the Lord is the subject, they are truths that relate to Divine love.

[2] These truths, that is to say, those concerning charity towards the neighbour and concerning love to the Lord, must first be learned before a person can be regenerated, and must also be acknowledged and believed. And insofar as those truths are acknowledged and believed, and are endowed with life, that person is also regenerated and those truths are implanted in his natural, where they exist as in their own soil. They are first implanted there through the instruction received from parents and teachers, then from the Word of the Lord, and after that from personal reflection on them. But all of this does no more than to deposit those truths in the person's natural memory and so to place them among the cognitions there. They are still not acknowledged, believed, and received unless life is led in accordance with them, in which case the person enters into an affection for them; and insofar as he enters into an affection for them because his life accords with them, those truths are implanted in his natural as their own soil. Things that are not so implanted do indeed remain with that person, but only in his memory as some item of knowledge or historical fact which does no more than enable him to talk about such things, to further his reputation by means of them, and in so doing to grow in wealth and position. When this is the case truths have not been implanted within him.

[3] As regards the meaning of 'the land of the sons of the east' as truths relating to love, and so as cognitions of truth leading the way to good, this may be seen from the meaning of 'sons' as truths, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, and from the meaning of 'the east' as love, dealt with in 101, 1250, 3249. Their land is the soil in which they exist. For 'the sons of the east' are those who possess cognitions concerning truth and good and therefore the truths that relate to love. This may be seen further from other places in the Word, as in the first Book of Kings,

The wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of the Egyptians. 1 Kings 4:30.

Here 'the wisdom of the sons of the east' means interior cognitions concerning truth and good, and so means people who possess them. 'The wisdom of the Egyptians' however means knowledge of the same things as they exist in a lower degree -'the Egyptians' meaning factual knowledge in general, see 1164, 1165, 1462.

[4] In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, Arise, go up against Kedar; lay waste the sons of the east. They will take their tents and flocks, their curtains and all their vessels, and will take their camels. Jeremiah 49:28-29.

Here 'the sons of the east' is used to mean those who possess cognitions concerning good and truth. This is clear from the fact that 'they will take their tents and flocks, also their curtains and all their vessels, as well as their camels'. For 'tents' means holy forms of good, 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 3312; 'flocks' the goods that flow from charity, 343, 2566; 'curtains' holy truths, 2576, 3478; 'vessels' the truths of faith, and facts, 3068, 3079; 'camels' factual knowledge in general, 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145. Thus 'the sons of the east' means those who possess these, that is, cognitions concerning what is good and what is true.

[5] The wise men from the east who came to Jesus when He was born belonged to those people called the sons of the east. This becomes clear from the fact of their awareness that the Lord was to be born, and that they knew of His Coming from the star which appeared to them in the east. These matters are described in Matthew as follows,

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, behold wise men from the east came into Jerusalem, saying, Where is He born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him. Matthew 2:1-2.

The fact that such a prophecy existed from of old among the sons of the east, who were from Syria, is clear from Balaam's prophecy concerning the Lord's Coming, in Moses,

I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near. A star will arise out of Jacob and a sceptre will rise up out of Israel. Numbers 24:17.

The fact that Balaam was from the land of the sons of the east, that is, from Syria, is evident from the following in Moses,

Balaam uttered his declaration and said, From Syria has Balak, the king of Moab, brought me, from the mountains of the east. Numbers 23:7.

The wise men who came to Jesus when He was born are called the magi, but this expression was used for wise men at that time, as is clear from many places, such as Genesis 41:8; Exodus 7:11; Daniel 2:27; 4:6-7; 1 Kings 4:30; and in various places in the Prophets.

[6] 'The sons of the east' in the contrary sense means cognitions concerning evil and falsity, and so means those who possess these. This is clear in Isaiah,

The envy of Ephraim will depart, and the enemies of Judah will be cut off. They will fly down onto the shoulder of the Philistines towards the sea, and together they will plunder the sons of the east. Isaiah 11:13-14.

In Ezekiel, when prophesying against the sons of Ammon,

Behold, I have handed you over to the sons of the east as an inheritance, and they will station their ranks among you. Ezekiel 25:4, 10.

In the Book of Judges,

When Israel put in seed, Midian came up and Amalek, and the sons of the east; and they came up upon them. Judges 6:3.

'Midian' stands for those under the influence of falsity because the good of life does not exist with them, 3242; 'Amalek' for those under the influence of falsities with which they assail truths, 1679; 'the sons of the east' for those who possess cognitions that support what is false.

3048. 'The servant took ten camels from his master's camels, and went' means [Divine] general facts in the natural man. This is clear from the meaning of 'the servant' here as the natural man, dealt with above in 3019, 3020; from the meaning of 'ten' as remnants, which are the goods and truths stored away in a person by the Lord, see 468, 530, 560, 561, 660, 661, 1050, 1906, 2284 (though when 'ten' or remnants is used in reference to the Lord, the Divine things that the Lord acquired to Himself are meant, 1738, 1906); and from the meaning of 'camels' as general facts which, being Divine or things acquired by the Lord, are said to be 'ten' in number, and also to be 'camels from his master's camels'. The words 'he went' mean the introduction which was effected by means of those facts, which is dealt with in this chapter. The whole subject is the process by which truth was joined to good in the Lord's Divine Rational, the first thing to be described in this line of thought being the nature of the process of introduction, referred to in 3012, 3013. The present verse describes how the Lord separated those things in the natural man that came from Himself, that is, that were Divine, from those that came from the mother. Those that came from Himself, or were Divine, are the things through which the introduction was effected, and they are meant here by 'the ten camels from his master's camels'. This explains why much reference is made in subsequent verses to camels, such as that he made the camels kneel down outside the city, verse 11; that Rebekah also gave the camels a drink, verses 14, 19-20; that they were led into the house, and given straw and fodder, verses 31-32; and further on, that Rebekah and her maids rode on the camels, verse 61; and that Isaac saw the camels coming, and that when Rebekah saw Isaac she dropped down from the camel, verses 63-64. The reason they are mentioned so many times lies in the internal sense in which they mean the general facts that are present in the natural man and from which comes the affection for truth that had to be introduced to the affection for good within the rational, this being effected in the ordinary way, as shown above. For the rational as regards truth cannot possibly be born and perfected without facts and cognitions.

[2] That 'camels' means general facts is clear from other places in the Word where they are mentioned, as in Isaiah,

A prophecy of the beasts of the south. In the land of distress and anguish are the young lion and the old lion from them, the viper and the flying fiery-serpent. They carry their wealth on the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures on the backs of camels, to a people that do not profit them. And Egypt's help will be in vain and to no advantage. Isaiah 30:6-7.

'The beasts of the south' stands for those who possess cognitions or the light of cognitions but lead evil lives. 'Carrying their wealth on the shoulders of young asses' stands for the cognitions which belong to their rational, 'a young ass' being rational truth, see 2781. 'Their treasures on the backs of camels' stands for the cognitions which belong to their natural, 'the backs of camels' being the natural, 'camels' themselves the general facts there, 'treasures' the cognitions which they consider to be precious. The words 'Egypt's help will be in vain and to no advantage' mean that to them knowledge is of no use, 'Egypt' being knowledge, see 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 2588 (end). It is evident that camels are not meant by 'camels' here because it is said that the young lion and the old lion carry their treasures on the backs of camels. Anyone may see that some arcanum of the Church is meant by this description.

[3] In the same prophet,

The prophecy of the wilderness of the sea. Thus said the Lord, Go, set a watchman to point out what he sees. And he saw a chariot, a pair of horsemen, a chariot of asses, a chariot of camels, and he listened diligently. He answered and said, Fallen, fallen has Babel. Isaiah 21:1, 6-7, 9.

'The wilderness of the sea' stands for the hollowness of knowledge that serves no use. 'A chariot of asses' stands for a mass of specific facts, 'a chariot of camels' for a mass of general facts which are present in the natural man. It is the hollow reasonings found with people meant by Babel which are described in this fashion.

[4] In the same prophet,

Your heart will enlarge itself because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, the wealth of the nations will come to you. A multitude of camels will cover you, dromedaries of Midian and Ephah, all those from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will spread abroad the praises of Jehovah. Isaiah 60:5-6.

This refers to the Lord, and to the Divine celestial and spiritual things within His natural. 'The abundance of the sea' stands for a vast quantity of natural truth, 'the wealth of the nations' for a vast quantity of natural good. 'A multitude of camels' stands for general facts in abundance, 'gold and frankincense' for goods and truths which are 'the praises of Jehovah'. 'From Sheba' is from the celestial things of love and faith, see 113, 117, 1171. The queen of Sheba's coming to Solomon in Jerusalem with vast amounts of wealth, with camels carrying spices, and very much gold, and precious stones, 1 Kings 10:1-2, represented the wisdom and intelligence which came to the Lord, who in the internal sense of these verses is meant by Solomon. 'Camels carrying spices, gold, and precious stores' means matters of wisdom and intelligence in the natural man.

[5] In Jeremiah,

To Arabia and to the kingdoms of Hazor which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel smote: Arise and go up to Arabia, and lay waste the sons of the east. They will take their tents, their curtains, and all their vessels, and they will bear their camels away from them. Their camels will become booty, and the multitude of their flocks booty, and I will scatter them to every wind. Jeremiah 49:28-29, 32.

Here 'Arabia' and 'the kingdoms of Hazor', used in the contrary sense, stand for people who possess cognitions of celestial and spiritual things but whose only use for them is to be considered wise and intelligent in their own eyes and in those of the world. 'The camels that will be borne away from them to become booty and that will be scattered to every wind' means in general the factual knowledge of those people and their cognitions of good and truth, which will begin to be removed from these people in this life through their belief in things of a contrary nature, and in the next life removed altogether.

[6] In Zechariah,

The plague with which Jehovah will smite all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: It will be a plague of the horse, the mule, the camel, and the ass, and every beast. Zechariah 14:12, 15.

'A plague of the horse, the mule, the camel, the ass' stands for the removal of the powers of the understanding which follow one another in the same consecutive order, from rational concepts to natural images. What a horse is, see 2761, 2762; a mule, 2781; an ass, 2781. 'Camels' stands for general facts in the natural man. The pestilence in Egypt 'on the cattle in the field, on the horses, on the asses, on the camels, on the herd, and on the flock', Exodus 9:2-3, had a similar meaning.

From all these places it becomes clear that 'camels' in the internal sense of the Word means general facts which belong to the natural man. General facts are those which include within themselves many particular ones, while these include within themselves those that are specific. All these constitute in general the understanding part of the natural man.