2965. 'Which he had spoken of in the ears of the sons of Heth' means according to the propensity of those who belonged to the new Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'speaking in the ears' and of 'the sons of Heth'. 'Speaking' in the internal sense means both perceiving (see 2619) and 'willing' (see 2626), while 'the ears' means obedience, 2542. Consequently 'speaking in the ears of' means according to their propensity, for propensity is the ability to receive and then to obey what someone perceives and wills. And the meaning of 'the sons of Heth' as those who belonged to the new spiritual Church is dealt with above in 2913. The consideration that the member of the Church is reformed, that is, has the truth of faith implanted in him, and that this is joined to good that is the good of charity, will be discussed further on in this verse, in 2967.

2048. That 'he who is born in the houses means celestial people, and 'he who is the purchase of silver' spiritual people, and so those who are inside the Church, is clear from the meaning of 'him born in the house' as those inside the house. In the Word 'a house' means that which is celestial because this is inmost. Consequently 'the house of God' means in the universal sense the Lord's kingdom, in a less universal sense the Church, and in a particular sense the individual himself in whom the Lord's kingdom or Church exists. When a person is called 'a house' it means the celestial side of faith with him, but when he is called 'a temple' it means the truth of faith with him. So 'he who is born in the house' here means celestial people. That 'the purchase of silver' or one bought with silver means spiritual people however is clear from the meaning of 'silver' as truth, and so the spiritual side of faith, dealt with in Volume One, in 1551.

[2] The expression celestial is used of those who are governed by love to the Lord, and because the Most Ancient Church which existed before the Flood was governed by that love it was a celestial Church. The expression spiritual is used of those who are governed by love towards the neighbour and so by the truth of faith. This was the character of the Ancient Church that existed after the Flood. The difference between celestial people and spiritual has been dealt with many times in Volume One. Anyone may see that there are heavenly arcana here, that is to say, in the requirement to circumcise those born in the house and those bought with silver, also sons who were foreigners, and in the fact that those persons are mentioned repeatedly, for example, in verses 13, 23, 27, that follow. These arcana are not apparent however except from the internal sense, that is to say, that those born in the house and those bought with silver mean celestial people and spiritual, and so those inside the Church - while 'the son who is a foreigner and not of your seed' means those outside the Church.