3052. 'To the city of Nahor' means kindred matters of doctrine. This is clear from the meaning of 'a city' as doctrine, dealt with in 402, 2449, and from the representation of 'Nahor' as that which is kindred; for Nahor was Abram's brother, from whom Bethuel descended, and from him Rebekah. Facts and matters of doctrine are distinct and separate from each other in that matters of doctrine are formed out of facts. Matters of doctrine look to a use and are acquired through reflecting on facts. They are called kindred here because of their derivation from things that are Divine.

695. The form and the order however which the Lord imposes on the hells are such that all there are kept chained and fettered by their own desires and delusions in which their very life consists. That life, being the life of death, is converted into dreadful tortures, so great as to defy description. For the greatest delight of their lives consists in their being able to punish, torture, and torment one another, and to do so by methods quite unknown in the world. By those methods they know how to introduce painful sensations just as if they were in the body, and also dreadful and horrible delusions, as well as fears and phobias, and other similar tortures. In this the devilish crew find so much pleasure that if they were able to go on unceasingly inflicting more and more pain and torture, they would not rest content even then but would be fired to do so even more unceasingly still. The Lord however diverts their endeavours and alleviates torments.