Animals in the Bible generally refer to spiritual activity, the things we actually do on a spiritual level. "Cattle," as typically used in the Bible, mean a collection of domesticated animals owned by one person or group (including other animals along with cows). It makes sense, then, that cattle would represent the spiritual activities we "own" and have "domesticated."

What are the good things we like to see in ourselves and encourage? What true ideas do we keep in mind, ponder, and use in our decision-making? These can come in great varieties and from many different sources, just as a variety of animals could be part of "cattle," but the key is that we own them, care for them and use them.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 415, 3786, 4105, 4106, 4391, 4440)

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.

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