3111. 'Tell me now, is there at your father's house a place for us to spend the night?' means investigation concerning the good of charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'tell me now, is there?' as investigation; from the meaning of 'house' as good, dealt with in 2048, 2233, 22331; from the meaning of 'father' here, that is to say, of Bethuel, as the good of charity, such as exists with the more upright gentiles, dealt with in 2863 - the origin itself also of the affection for truth, which Rebekah represents, existing in such good; and from the meaning of 'a place to spend the night' as a state of abiding, dealt with below in 3115.

[2] The reason why investigation concerning the origin of the affection for truth as regards innocence and as regards the good of charity is described in the internal sense is that truth which is to be introduced into and joined to good does not have its first origin in any other source, as becomes clear from all with whom truth is received and wedded to good. Inside the Church, no matter how much those who do not possess any innocence or charity towards the neighbour know the truth and confess it with their lips, they in no way acknowledge it in their hearts. And outside the Church, in the case of gentiles who are called to the truth of faith or who receive instruction in it in the next life, only those receive it who possess innocence and lead charitable lives one with another. In fact innocence and charity constitute the ground in which the seeds of truth are able to take root and spring up.

A "house" is essentially a container -- for a person, a family, several families or even a large group with shared interests (think of the term "houses of worship.") In the Bible, a "house" is also a container, but for spiritual things rather than natural things. In various uses a "house" can represent part of the mind, the whole mind, a whole person or even a church. The other nuance to the word "house" is that it is generally used in regards to our affections and desires rather than our thoughts and principles. This makes sense; we tend to engage our thoughts and rationality when we are out in the world doing our work, but when we are inside our houses we are driven most by love for our families and the desire to be good to those we love. So "house" tends to represent the things we want and care about -- which are ultimately the things that define us.