1928. 'Near the spring on the road to Shur' means that this truth was an assemblage of things which come from facts. This is clear from the meaning of 'a spring', also from that of 'a road', as well as from the meaning of 'Shur'. 'A spring', as has been stated, means truth; 'a road' means that which leads to truth and which comes from truth, as shown already in 627; while 'Shur' means factual knowledge such as is still in the desert so to speak, that is, which has not yet acquired any life. Truths that come from facts are said to acquire life when they ally or associate themselves with truths into which the celestial element of love is flowing, the source of the actual life of truth. Real things, and thus truths, exist joined together in the way that communities in heaven are joined together, to which communities they also correspond; for interiorly man is a kind of miniature heaven. Real things, or truths, which do not exist joined together in accordance with the form which heavenly communities possess have not as yet acquired any life; for prior to this the celestial element of love from the Lord cannot fittingly flow in. They first receive life when a similar form exists on both sides, that is, when the miniature heaven in man is a corresponding image of the Grand [Man]. Prior to that nobody can be called a heaven-like man.

[2] The Lord, who from Himself was to govern the whole of heaven, imposed such order while He was in the world on the truths and goods present with His External Man, that is, with His Human Essence. But because He perceived that such order did not exist with His rational conceived first, as was stated above at verses 4 and 5, He thought about and perceived the reason why. This was that natural truths arising from facts did not as yet have any life in them, that is, that heavenly order had not been imposed on them. Furthermore truths of faith never possess any life unless a person is leading a charitable life, charity being that form from which all truths of faith flow, and that in which they inhere; and when they inhere in and flow from charity they possess life. It is in charity that life resides, never in truths devoid of charity.

[3] That 'Shur' means factual knowledge that as yet has not acquired life is clear from the meaning of this name. Shur was a desert not far from the Sea Suph, and so lay in the direction of Egypt, as is clear in Moses,

Moses made Israel journey from the Sea Suph, and they went out to the desert of Shur; from there they went three days in the desert, and did not find any water. Exodus 15:22.

That it lay in the direction of Egypt is again clear in Moses where the descendants of Ishmael are the subject,

They dwelt from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt. ¹ Genesis 25:18.

And in Samuel,

Saul defeated Amalek from Havilah as you come to Shur, which is opposite Egypt'. ¹ 1 Samuel 15:7.

And elsewhere in 1 Samuel,

David spread out against the Geshurites, and the Gizrites, and the Amalekites, who inhabited the land from of old, as you come to Shur and as far as the land of Egypt. 1 Samuel 27:8.

These quotations show that 'Shur' means primary factual knowledge, in particular such as is still in the desert, that is, not yet joined to all the rest in accordance with the form which heavenly communities possess, for 'Egypt' which it was opposite ² means knowledge in every sense, as shown already in 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462.

Fußnoten:

1461. 'And Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn' means instruction in cognitions from the Word. This is clear from the meaning of 'Egypt' and from the meaning of 'sojourning'. That 'Egypt' means knowledge comprised of cognitions, and 'sojourning' receiving instruction, will be seen in what follows shortly. That the Lord received instruction in childhood as anybody else does is clear from those places in Luke quoted previously at verse 9 in 1457, and also from what has been stated just above concerning the external man, who cannot possibly be made to correspond and accord with the internal man except by means of cognitions. The external man is seated in the body and the senses, and does not receive anything celestial or spiritual unless cognitions are implanted in it as in the soil. Celestial things are able to utilize these as their own recipient vessels, but those cognitions must be from the Word. Cognitions from the Word are such as lie open from the Lord Himself, for the Word itself comes from the Lord by way of heaven, and the Lord's life is present in every single detail of it, though this is not to be seen in the external form. From this it may become clear that in childhood the Lord wished to take in no other cognitions than those of the Word, which, as stated, was laid open to Him from Jehovah Himself, His Father, with whom He was to be united and become one. And that wish was even stronger for the reason that no statement occurs in the Word that does not inmostly have regard to Him and does not in the first place come from Him. For His Human Essence was purely an addition to His Divine Essence which existed from eternity.