4854. 'He and his companion Hirah the Adullamite' means that falsity was present with it still. This is clear from the representation of 'Hirah the Adullamite' as falsity, dealt with above in 4816, 4817. When therefore the expression 'his companion' is used, the attachment of falsity to that Church is meant, that is, that falsity was present with it still.

1224. From these considerations it is clear what these names mean in the internal sense, namely that the Ancient Church, which was an internal Church, was endowed with wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, and cognitions of truth and good. Such things are contained in the internal sense even though merely names occur from which nothing is seen in the literal sense, apart from these being just so many origins, or fathers of nations, and so nothing of a doctrinal nature is seen, still less anything spiritual and celestial. The same applies in the Prophets where lists of names are sometimes given which in the internal sense mean real things following one after another in a lovely order.

1198. 'From whom they came forth' means that cognitions, as these exist with them, are facts. This is clear from what has been stated. These are not said to have been 'begotten' by those who belonged to Egypt but to have 'gone forth', for they are not such as use natural and factual knowledge to reason about spiritual and celestial things and in so doing fabricate for themselves doctrinal teachings, as do those described before. Instead they learn cognitions of faith from another source, but have no other end in view to knowing and retaining these in the memory than they have with other things in which they have no interest beyond merely knowing them, and only then for the reason that by so knowing they may be promoted to positions of importance, and for other like reasons. So different is knowledge of cognitions of faith from knowledge of natural things that the two have scarcely anything in common. This explains why they are not said to have been 'bore' but to have 'gone forth' from them. Such being the character of 'Philistines' they inevitably pervert cognitions of faith by means of reasonings from them, and as a consequence fabricate false doctrines for themselves. They belong therefore among those who are barely able to be regenerated and to receive charity, both because they are uncircumcised at heart and because the false assumptions and consequently the life of their understanding hinder and prevent.