3189. 'And her maids' means subsidiary affections. This is clear from the meaning of 'a girl' ¹ when Rebekah is called such, as an affection that has innocence within it, dealt with in 3067, 3110; but when those who followed Rebekah to serve her are called 'maids', subsidiary affections are meant. Every affection appears to be a simple or single entity, but in fact it contains countless details within itself, see 3078. All these details are affections grouped together and existing in a form beyond comprehension. They also stand in positions subordinate one to another, for there are some that direct and others that obey. The communities of heaven assume a similar form, indeed heaven as a whole does so; for they are ordered by the Lord according to the Divine form which exists in Himself. The Lord's spiritual kingdom assumes its form in accordance with the ordered arrangement of affections in His Divine Human. This arrangement is the subject in the internal sense of this chapter and of those that follow. But very few of these details are able to be explained intelligibly, being suited to the perception of angels.

Poznámky pod čarou:

Evening, a time when the light and heat are fading away, represents a state in which a person -- or a community of people -- is turning away from the Lord, with little desire left to be good and little knowledge left regarding what good is. Evening is often a time of judgment.

In Genesis 19:1, the evening signifies the visitation that comes before judgment. (Arcana Coelestia 2318)

In Genesis 30:16, this signifies the good or truth in a state of good, but in the obscurity that is characteristic of the natural. (Arcana Coelestia 3949)