5237. 'A servant of the chief of the attendants' means in which there was truth that served that which came first and foremost in explanations. This is clear from the use of 'a servant' to refer to truth, dealt with in 2567, 3409; and from the meaning of 'the chief of the attendants' as things which come first and foremost in explanations, dealt with in 4790, 4966, 5084. And since truth is of service to explanations - to explanations of the Word - 'a servant of the chief of the attendants' here means truth that is of service.

3408. 'And he had acquired flocks, and had acquired herds' means as regards interior good and as regards exterior good, that is, as regards rational good and as regards natural good. This is clear from the meaning of 'a flock' as interior or rational good, dealt with in 343, 2566, and from the meaning of 'a herd' as exterior or natural good, dealt with in 2566. The natural good meant by 'a herd' is not the good that a person is born with but that which he acquires by means of cognitions of truth that are linked to an affection for good. The natural good that a person is born with is in itself no more than something animal-like, for it also exists with living creatures. But the natural good that is acquired, or that the Lord confers on a person, holds that which is spiritual within it, so that it is spiritual good within natural. This kind of good is human natural good itself, whereas the other kind - that which one is born with - notwithstanding its seeming to be good, is not necessarily good. Indeed it may be evil, for it is able to receive falsities too into itself and to believe that what is evil is good. Such natural good exists with nations who in life and faith are the most wicked of all.