3198. 'And lifted up his eyes and sew' means directing the attention. This is clear from the meaning of 'lifting up the eyes' as thinking, dealt with in 2789, 2829; here it means directing the attention since it is said that 'he lifted up his eyes and saw' and this has reference to Rational Good to which truth from the Natural had not yet been joined.

Hands in the Bible represent power, the force with which things are put into action. To be specific, they represent the power of spiritual good -- which is the love of others and serving others -- expressed through spiritual truth -- which is an understanding and knowledge of what it is to love and serve others. This is in contrast to the feet, which represent power on the natural level, and a “rod,” which represents the power of the hand passed down into external or natural ideas. In a few cases in the Bible, hands also represent communication and a drawing together. This is true when people lift their hands to heaven or to Jehovah, and also when the Lord touches children or touches people to heal them.