1216. 'According to their families' means according to their habits and customs, 'according to their tongues' means according to their individual beliefs, 'in their lands' means in general as regards such beliefs, and 'in their nations' in general as regards such habits and customs. This becomes clear from the meaning in the Word of each of these, namely family, tongue, land, and nation, for which see what has been stated above at verse 5.

In Genesis 24:2, this signifies the natural man in which everything serves the rational by enabling it to think objectively and to will justly. (Arcana Coelestia 3019)