3257. 'At the cave of Machpelah' means resurrection as regards truth.

'At the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which faced Mamre' means as regards good; also meant, as previously, are those who are spiritual, who receive truth and good from the Lord's Divine Human and are saved.

'The field which Abraham bought from the sons of Heth' means the Lord's spiritual kingdom resulting from this.

'There Abraham was buried and Sarah his wife' means resurrection.

This may be seen from what has been stated and shown already about the meaning of all these statements in Chapter 23, in 2913, 2928, 2968-2971, 2975, 2980, and about the meaning of 'burying' in 2916, 2917.

2915. 'I am a stranger and an inhabitant among you' means their first state when, although the Lord was not known to them, He was nevertheless able to be with them. This is clear from the representation of 'Abraham' as the Lord, often dealt with already, and from the meaning of 'being a stranger among them' and 'being an inhabitant among them' as not being known but nevertheless being with them. It is evident from what comes before and after that this is the internal sense, for the subject is a new Church, and in this verse the first state of that Church. This state is such that first of all they do not know the Lord, yet because they lead good and charitable lives, and in public life they are just and fair, and in private life honourable and correct, they are the kind of people with whom the Lord is able to be present. For the Lord is present with man in good, and so in justice and fairness, and further still in honourableness and correctness (honourableness being the sum total of all the private virtues, correctness simply the form that honourableness takes). These are the kinds of good that follow one another consecutively, and are the levels with man on which the Lord bases conscience, and consequently intelligence and wisdom. People however with whom these qualities do not exist, that is to say, with whom they do not proceed from the heart or affection, cannot have anything of heaven planted within them. There is no level, nor any ground, thus nothing to receive them. And as they cannot have anything of heaven planted within them, neither can the Lord be present there. The Lord may be said to be present according to the good that is present, that is, according to the nature of that good. And the nature of this good is determined by the state of innocence, love and charity in which the truths of faith have been, or are able to be, implanted.