3276. 'And he breathed his last and died' means the end of the representation portrayed by means of Ishmael. This also is clear from what has been stated above in 3253, where the same words occur and the internal sense is the same. And 'he was gathered to his peoples' means that these things involving Ishmael [were completed], as is likewise clear from what has been stated above, in 3255.

3253. 'And Abraham breathed his last and died' means the end of the representation portrayed by means of Abraham. This is clear from the meaning of 'breathing one's last and dying' as finishing or coming to an end, 494, here the end of the representation. For the whole of Abraham's life as described in the Word does not have to do with Abraham, except in the historical sense, but with the Lord and His kingdom. Consequently when he is spoken of as breathing his last and dying nothing else can be meant in the Word, that is, in its genuine sense, than that the state representative of the Lord which was portrayed by Abraham reaches its end.