4440. 'And his sons were with his cattle in the field' means that his descendants dwelt in their own semblance of religion. This is clear from the meaning of 'his sons' as descendants; from the meaning of 'cattle' as external truths, dealt with in 1435, ¹ 4391; and from the meaning of 'the field' as the Church, dealt with in 2971, 3766. Consequently 'his sons were with his cattle in the field' means that they dwelt in their own semblance of religion; for the kind of Church that existed with them must be called a semblance of religion since it involves external worship devoid of internal.

Poznámky pod čarou:

3766. 'In the field' means provided for the Churches. This is clear from the meaning of 'the field' as the Church as regards good, dealt with in 2971. In the Word the Church is meant by the expressions 'land', 'ground', and 'the field', though each has a different shade of meaning. The reason 'the field' means the Church is that like a field it receives the seeds of goodness and truth; for the Church has the Word, the source of those seeds. This also is why everything included in the field means some aspect of the Church, such as that which is sown, that which is harvested, standing grain, wheat, barley, and everything else. And each of these too has a different shade of meaning.