6449. Verses 29-33 And he commanded them and said to them, I am being gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers, at the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave which is in the field of Machpelah, which faces Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a grave. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. The buying of the field and of the cave that was in it was from the sons of Heth. And Jacob finished commanding his sons, and he gathered up his feet towards the bed, and expired, and was gathered to his peoples.

'And he commanded them and said to them' means an introduction. 'I am being gathered to my people' means that [spiritual good] will come to exist within the forms of good and the truths of the natural which spring from that good. 'Bury me with my fathers' means that interior things and what is inmost will exist there too. 'At the cave' means where obscurity exists. 'Which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite' means which however can be made into clear light. 'In the cave which is in the field of Machpelah' means in that obscurity. 'Which faces Mamre' means the extent and nature of it. 'In the land of Canaan' means where the Church is. 'Which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite' means redemption. 'As a possession for a grave' means regeneration. 'There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah' means that all the interior things are present in order within good and truth in the natural. 'The buying of the field and of the cave that was in it was from the sons of Heth' means the redemption of those who receive truth, and through truth receive good. 'And Jacob finished commanding his sons' means the accomplishment of the introduction. 'And he gathered up his feet towards the bed' means that [spiritual good] turned itself - its lower things in which interior ones are present - towards the good and truth of the lower natural. 'And expired' means new life there. 'And was gathered to his peoples' means that [spiritual good] was within the forms of good and the truths of the natural that sprang from itself.

5733. 'Fill the men's pouches with food' means into the natural, bringing the good of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'pouch' as the exterior natural, dealt with in 5497, and from the meaning of 'food' as the good of truth, dealt with in 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 5487, 5582, 5588, 5655. From these meanings it is evident that 'he commanded the one who was over his house, Fill the men's pouches with food' means an influx from itself into the natural, bringing the good of truth. Since the expressions 'the good of truth' and 'the truth of good' occur rather often, the difference between the two should be stated. Anyone unacquainted with what the celestial Church is when compared with the spiritual Church cannot possibly know the difference. The truth of good is a characteristic of the celestial Church, the good of truth a characteristic of the spiritual Church. With members of the celestial Church good was implanted in the will part of the mind, the proper place for good to be seated. From that good - that is, through that good received from the Lord - they had a perception of truth; that is why the truth of good resided with them. But with members of the spiritual Church good is implanted in the understanding part of the mind, by means of truth; for all truth belongs in the understanding. They are led by means of truth towards good, for good consists for these people in putting truth into practice, which is why the good of truth resides with them. This is the situation, properly speaking, with those two Churches; but the truth of good is also attributed to those who belong to the spiritual Church, even though they are not properly speaking in possession of it, for reasons which will be discussed elsewhere.