3552. 'Rise up now; sit, and eat from my venison' means truth belonging to the affection for that kind of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'rising up' as that which implies some raising up, dealt with in 2401, 2785, 2912, 2927, 3171, from the meaning of 'sitting' as that which implies some measure of quietness, from the meaning of 'eating' as making one's own, dealt with in 2187, 3168, and from the meaning of 'venison' as truth acquired from good, dealt with in 3501. Here therefore it is the affection for that kind of good from which truth is acquired that is meant; for the things meant in the internal sense by 'rising up', by 'sitting', and by 'eating' have to do with affection, and therefore the one word affection is used for all three.

In general, mothers in the Bible represent the Lord's church on earth. In some cases "mother" more specifically refers to the truth of the church, the true teachings the church has about the Lord and about life. This makes sense if you think about it. Mothers are the vehicles through which new people are created; the church (in a broad sense) is the vehicle through which new ideas about the Lord and new good actions are created. And just as a mother is filled with love -- for her children and husband -- so also is the church filled with love, both for its ideas and uses and also for the Lord.