4875. 'Your cord' means through truth, that is to say, truth accompanying the token of consent. This is clear from the meaning of 'a cord' as truth. The reason 'a cord' means truth is that it is one of the items associated with 'garments', and 'garments' in general means truths, for the reason that as garments clothe the flesh, so truths clothe good, 297, 2132, 2576, 4545, 4763. Among the ancients therefore whatever clothing they wore meant some specific or individual truth. Consequently a tunic had one meaning, a chlamys another, and a toga another; also coverings for the head, such as a turban and a mitre, had one meaning, coverings for the thighs and feet, such as breeches, stockings, and so on, had another meaning. But 'a cord' meant outermost or lowest truth, for it was made from threads twisted together, by which the final demarcation of that kind of truth was meant. This kind of truth is again meant by 'a cord' in Moses,

Every open vessel on which there is no covering [or] cord [to fasten it] is unclean. Numbers 19:15.

By this was meant that nothing should exist without having an outer limit, for that which does not have an outer limit is 'open'. Furthermore outermost truths serve as the outer limit and terminus of interior truths.

2818. 'To slay his son' means until whatever originated in the merely human was dead. This becomes clear from the internal sense of these words, for they mean the Lord's severest and inmost temptations, in the last of which, that of the Cross, it is clear that the merely human also died. This could not be represented by 'Abraham's son' or Isaac because the sacrificing of sons was an abomination. Yet that death of the human was represented so far as this could be represented; that is to say, it was represented in the attempt to sacrifice Isaac but not in any actual sacrificing of him. From this it may become clear that these words about Abraham taking the knife to slay his son mean until all that was merely human was dead.

[2] The Lord's future coming into the world and His suffering of death had been known since most ancient times. The existence of that knowledge then may be recognized plainly from the custom prevalent among the gentiles of sacrificing their own children, which they did in the belief that by so doing they made atonement and satisfied God. They would never have made this abominable custom their major religious activity unless they had received from the ancients knowledge of a future coming of the Son of God, of whom, so they believed, a sacrifice would be made. The children of Jacob too inclined to this abominable practice, as also did Abraham, for nobody is tempted except through that to which he has an inclination. The fact that the children of Jacob had those inclinations is clear in the Prophets. But to prevent them plunging into that abominable practice the introduction of burnt offerings and sacrifices was permitted, 922, 1128, 1241, 1343, 2180.