6541. 'And the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing-floor of Atad' means a discernment of the grief by the good of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing as discerning, dealt with in 2150, 3764, 4727, 5400; from the meaning of 'inhabitant' as good, dealt with in 2268, 2451, 2712, 3613; from the meaning of 'the land', here the land of Canaan in which the Canaanites were inhabitants, as the Church, dealt with in 1413, 1437, 1607, 1866, 3038, 3481, 3705; from the meaning of 'the mourning' as grief, dealt with immediately above in 6539, 6540; and from the meaning of 'the threshing-floor of Atad' as the initial state, which is one of introduction, dealt with in 6537, 6538. From all this it is evident that 'the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing-floor of Atad' means a discernment of the grief by the good of the Church.

3613. 'And stay with him for a few days' means in that which was subsequent. This is clear from the meaning of 'staying' as being similar to dwelling, and so as living, dealt with in 1293, 2268, 2451, 2712, 3384 - though 'staying' has reference to the life of truth when accompanied by good, and 'dwelling' to the life of good when accompanied by truth; and from the meaning of 'days' as periods of time and states, dealt with in 23, 487, 488, 493, 2788, 3462. So it is the life belonging to periods of time and states that follow, to what is subsequent therefore, that is meant here by staying with him for a few days. This subsequent stage, or Jacob's staying with Laban, is dealt with in the chapters that follow.