6777. 'And filled the troughs' means that from there they enriched teachings about charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'filling from the well' as enriching from there, that is, from the Word; and from the meaning of 'the trough' as teachings about charity. The reason why 'the trough' or water-holder means teachings about charity is that it is a runnel made of wood into which water from a well is drawn to water flocks; for in the internal sense that which is made of wood means the good of charity, 3720,'drawing' means gaining instruction, 3058, 3071, 'the water' that is drawn means the truth of faith, 2702, 3058, 4976, 5668, 'the well' from which it is drawn means the Word, 2702, 3424, 6774, and 'watering flocks' means giving instruction in good from the Word, 3772. All this shows that 'the trough' is the teaching about charity.

2559. 'It happened, when God caused me to depart from my father's house' means when He left behind factual knowledge and the appearances that arise from this, together with their delights, meant here by 'father's house'. This is clear from the meaning of 'departing' as leaving behind, and from the meaning of 'house' as good, 2233, here the good that consists in the delight received from the appearances that go with factual knowledge and rational concepts, for all delight appears as good. The reason 'father's house' here means the delights received from factual knowledge and rational concepts, and therefore from the appearances that go with these, is that they are spoken of in reference to Abraham when he departed from his father's house, for at that time, together with his father's house, Abraham worshipped other gods; see 1356, 1992. This explains why the verb in the clause God caused me to depart is plural. This clause, as is also in keeping with the original language, could be rendered, the gods caused me to wander, but because the Lord is represented by Abraham it must be rendered, 'God caused me to depart'. Now it is because the factual knowledge that existed initially with the Lord, and also the rational concepts formed from that knowledge, were human - steeped as they were in what had been inherited from the mother - and so were not purely Divine, that they are represented by 'Abraham's' first state. But how far representations go, see 665, 1097 (end), 1361, 1992.