5147. There was some of every kind of food for Pharaoh' means full of celestial good for nourishing the natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'food' as celestial good, dealt with below; and from the representation of 'Pharaoh' as the interior natural, dealt with in 5080, 5095, and also the natural in general, since the interior natural and the exterior natural make one when they correspond. And because food exists to provide nourishment, 'every kind of food for Pharaoh' means full of celestial good for nourishing the natural. It is said that this food was in the highest basket, meaning that the inmost degree of the will was full of celestial good. For good from the Lord flows in by way of the inmost degree in a person; and from there it passes degree by degree, so to speak down a flight of steps, to what is more exterior. For in relation to other degrees the inmost one exists in the most perfect state, and can therefore receive good from the Lord directly, in a way the lower ones cannot. If these were to receive good from the Lord directly, they would either obscure it or pervert it, since they are less perfect in comparison with the inmost degree.

[2] As regards the influx of celestial good from the Lord and the reception of it, it should be recognized that the will part of the human mind is the receiver of good and the understanding part is the receiver of truth. The understanding part cannot possibly receive truth so as to make this its own unless at the same time the will part receives good; and vice versa. For one flows as a result into the other and disposes that other to be receptive. All that constitutes the understanding may be compared to forms which are constantly varying, and all that constitutes the will may be compared to the harmonies resulting from those variations. Consequently truths may be compared to variations, and forms of good may be compared to the delights which those variations bring. And this being pre-eminently the case with truths and forms of good it is evident that one cannot exist without the other, as well as that one cannot be brought forth except by means of the other.

[3] The reason 'food' means celestial good is that angels' food consists in nothing else than forms of the good of love and charity, and that these serve to enliven angels and to rejuvenate them. Especially when they are expressed in action or practice do those forms of good cause angels to feel rejuvenated, for they are the desires they have; for it is a well known fact that when a person's desires are expressed in action he feels rejuvenated and enlivened. Those desires also nourish a person's spirit when material food supplies nourishment to his body, as may be recognized from the fact that when no delight is taken in food it is not very nutritious, but when delight is taken in it, it is nutritious. The delight taken in food is what opens the meatus or channels which serve to convey it into the blood, whereas the opposite closes them. Among angels those delights are forms of the good of love and charity, and from this one may deduce that these are spiritual kinds of food which correspond to earthly ones. Also, just as forms of good are meant by different kinds of food, so truths are meant by 'drink'.

[4] In the Word 'food' is mentioned in many places, yet someone unacquainted with the internal sense will inevitably suppose that in those places ordinary food is meant. In fact spiritual food is meant, as in Jeremiah,

All the people groan as they search for bread. They have given their desirable things for food to restore the soul. Lamentations 1:11.

In Isaiah,

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isaiah 55:1.

In Joel,

The day of Jehovah is near, and as destruction from the thunderbolt-hurler will it come. [s not the food cut off before our eyes, gladness and joy from the house of our God? The grains have rotted under their clods, the storehouses have been laid waste, the granaries have been destroyed, because the grain has failed. Joel 1:15-17.

In David,

Our storehouses are full, yielding food and still more food; our flocks are thousands, and ten thousands in our streets. There is no outcry in our streets. Blessed are the people for whom it is thus. Psalms 144:13-15.

In the same author,

They all look to You, that You may give them their food in due season. You give to them - they gather it up; You open Your hand - they are satisfied with good. Psalms 104:27-28.

[5] In these places celestial and spiritual food is meant in the internal sense when material food is referred to in the sense of the letter. From this one may see how the interior features of the Word and its exterior features correspond to one another, that is, how what belongs inwardly to its spirit and what belongs to its letter do so; so that while man understands those things according to the sense of the letter, the angels present with him understand the same things according to the spiritual sense. The Word has been written in such a way that it may serve not only the human race but heaven also, and for this reason all expressions are used to mean heavenly realities, and every matter described there is representative of these realities. This is so with the Word even to the tiniest jot.

[6] Furthermore the Lord Himself explicitly teaches that good is meant in the spiritual sense by 'food': In John,

Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. John 6:27.

In the same gospel,

My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. John 6:55.

'Flesh' means Divine Good, 3813, and 'blood' Divine Truth, 4735. And in the same gospel,

Jesus said to the disciples, I have food to eat of which you do not know. The disciples said to one another, Has anyone brought Him [anything] to eat? Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. John 4:33-34.

'Doing the will of the Father and finishing His work' means Divine Good when expressed in actions or practice, which in the genuine sense is 'food', as stated above.

3384. 'Isaac dwelt in Gerar' means the Lord's state as regards matters of faith in respect to the rational concepts which were to be allied. This is clear from the meaning of 'dwelling in Gerar' as possessing what are matters of faith, and so a state as regards those things, since 'dwelling in' means living, 1293, and 'Gerar' matters of faith, 1209, 2504, 3365; and from the representation of 'Isaac' as the Lord as regards the Divine Rational, dealt with in 1893, 2066, 2072, 2083, 2630. Their being matters of faith in respect to the rational concepts that were to be allied is clear from what comes before and after, for in the whole of this chapter those things are the subject, that is to say, rational concepts which, when enlightened from the Lord's Divine, are appearances of truth.

[2] That 'dwelling in' means one's being and life, and so one's state, is evident from very many places in the Word, as in David,

I will dwell in the house of Jehovah for the length of days. Psalms 23:6.

One thing have I asked from Jehovah, that will I seek: I may dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days of the my life. Psalms 27:4

He shall not dwell within My house who practices deceit. Psalms 101:7.

Here 'dwelling in the house of Jehovah' stands for one's being and life residing in good that stems from love, for this good is 'the house of Jehovah'. In Isaiah,

Those dwelling in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shone out. Isaiah 9:2.

'Those dwelling in the land of the shadow of death' stands for the state of those who have no knowledge of good and truth. In the same prophet,

Babel will not be dwelt in for ever. Isaiah 13:20.

This stands for the state of condemnation of those meant by 'Babel'.

[3] In the same prophet,

O Jehovah God of Israel, dwelling among the cherubim. Isaiah 37:16.

O Shepherd of Israel, dwelling among the cherubim, shine forth. Psalms 80:1.

'Dwelling among the cherubim' means the Lord at work in a providential state, in which He prevents anyone's access to the sacred things of love and faith unless that person has been prepared for it by the Lord, 308. In David,

In peace I both lie down and sleep, for You, O Jehovah, alone make me dwell in safety. Psalms 4:8.

'Making a person dwell in safety' stands for a state of peace. In Jeremiah,

You who dwell on many waters, great in treasures, your end has come, the measure of your gain. Jeremiah 51:13.

This refers to Babel. 'Dwelling on many waters' stands for possessing cognitions concerning truth.

[4] In Daniel,

God Himself reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. Daniel 2:22.

'Dwelling' stands for having its being. In the same prophet,

The beast of the field had shade under that tree, and in its branches dwelt the birds of the air. Daniel 4:12.

And in Ezekiel,

Under its branches every wild beast of the field brought forth, and in its shadow dwelt all great nations. Ezekiel 31:6.

'Dwelling' stands for one's being and life. In Hosea,

Threshing-floor and winepress will not feed them, and new wine will be deceptive to her. They will not dwell in Jehovah's land, but Ephraim will return to Egypt. Hosea 9:2-3.

'Not dwelling in Jehovah's land' stands for not being in a state where the good of love is present, and so for not being in the Lord's kingdom.