3365. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines, unto Gerar. That this signifies the doctrinal things of faith, is evident from the representation of Isaac, as being the Lord as to the Divine rational (see above, n. 1893, 2066, 2072, 2083, 2630; and that “Isaac” is the Lord’s Divine rational as to Divine good, n. 3012, 3194, 3210; and also as to Divine truth, which is represented by the marriage of Isaac with Rebekah, n. 3012, 3013, 3077); thus by Isaac is here represented the Lord as to Divine truth conjoined with the Divine good of the rational; for Rebekah was with Isaac, and was called “sister;” from the representation of Abimelech, as being the doctrine of faith that looks to rational things (n. 2504, 2509, 2510, 2530); and from the signification of the “king of the Philistines,” as being doctrinal things (that in the internal sense a “king” denotes the truth which is of doctrine, may be seen above, n. 1672, 2015, 2069; and that the “Philistines” signify the memory-knowledge of knowledges, which also is that of doctrinal things, n. 1197, 1198); and from the signification of “Gerar,” as being faith (n. 1209, 2504).

This shows what is signified by Isaac’s going to Abimelech king of the Philistines, unto Gerar, namely, that from the Lord comes the doctrine of faith that looks to rational things; or what is the same, the doctrinal things of faith. All those things are called doctrinal which are of doctrine, and which insofar as they can be received and acknowledged in heaven by angels, and on earth by men, are said to look to rational things, for it is the rational that receives and acknowledges them. But the rational is such that it cannot possibly apprehend Divine things, for it is finite, and the finite cannot apprehend what is of the infinite; and consequently truths Divine from the Lord are presented before the rational by means of appearances. Hence it is that doctrinal things are nothing but appearances of truth Divine, that is, nothing but celestial and spiritual vessels, within which is what is Divine; and because the Divine, that is, the Lord, is in them, they affect us, whence comes the conjunction of the Lord with angels and men.

1198. That they “went forth” signifies that with them knowledges are mere memory-knowledges is evident from what has been stated. They are not said to have been “begotten” by those who were of Egypt, but to have “gone forth” from them, because they are not such as reason from natural memory-knowledges concerning spiritual and celestial things, and thereby frame doctrinals for themselves-like those treated of before-but they are such as learn the knowledges of faith from others, and know and retain them in the memory, with no other end in view than such as they have in learning other things which they care nothing about except merely to know them, and except for the reason that they may thereby be advanced to honors, or some other such reason. So distinct is this mere memory-knowledge of the knowledges of faith from the memory-knowledge of natural things, that they have scarcely anything in common; and therefore it is said, not that they were “born,” but that they “went forth” from them. Such being the character of the “Philistines,” they cannot but pervert even the knowledges of faith by reasonings from them, and thence form for themselves false doctrinals; and therefore they are among those who can with difficulty be regenerated and receive charity, both because they are uncircumcised in heart, and because principles of falsity, and consequently the life of their understanding, prevent and oppose.