2970. 'Which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre' means the nature and extent of regeneration. This is clear from the meaning of 'Machpelah' as regeneration by means of the truth of faith, and from the meaning of 'Mamre' as the nature and extent of it. When the word 'cave' is combined with the name Machpelah - that is, when the expression 'the cave of Machpelah' is used - faith enveloped in obscurity is meant by it, 2935. But when Machpelah is mentioned by itself, and then followed by the phrase 'the field and the cave', regeneration is meant, for 'the field and the cave' means the good and truth of faith by means of which regeneration is accomplished. Furthermore Machpelah was a plot of land in which also there was a grave, which means regeneration, 2916. But 'Mamre', being Hebron, as stated below in verse 19, or 'in Hebron', as stated in Genesis 13:18, here means nothing else than the particular kind of a thing and the measure in which this exists. In this case the kind of regeneration and the measure of it is meant when 'Mamre' is linked with 'Machpelah'; the kind of Church and the degree to which it exists when 'Mamre' is linked with 'Hebron'; and the kind of perception and the measure of the same when 'Mamre' is linked with 'the oak-groves', as in 1616. Thus Mamre merely defines the state of the thing, for it was a place where Abraham dwelt, Genesis 13:18, and where Isaac dwelt and to which Jacob came, Genesis 35:27.

2916. That 'give me possession of a grave among you' means that they were able to be regenerated is clear from the meaning of 'a grave'. In the internal sense of the Word 'a grave' means life, which is heaven, and in the contrary sense death, which is hell. The reason it means life or heaven is that angels, who possess the internal sense of the Word, have no other concept of a grave, because they have no other concept of death. Consequently instead of a grave they perceive nothing else than the continuation of life, and so resurrection. For man rises again as to the spirit and is buried as to the body, see 1854. Now because 'burial' means resurrection, it also means regeneration, since regeneration is the primary resurrection of man, for when regenerated he dies as regards his former self and rises again as regards the new. It is through regeneration that from being a dead man he becomes a living man, and it is from this that the meaning of 'a grave' is derived in the internal sense. When the idea of a grave presents itself the idea of regeneration comes to mind with angels, as is also evident from what has been told about young children in 2299.

[2] The reason 'a grave' in the contrary sense means death or hell is that the evil do not rise again to life but to death. When therefore the evil are referred to and a grave is mentioned, no other idea comes to mind with angels than that of hell; and this also is the reason why hell in the Word is called the grave.

[3] That 'a grave' means resurrection and also regeneration is evident in Ezekiel,

Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people, and I will bring you to the land of Israel, and you will know that I am Jehovah when I open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people. And I will put My spirit within you and you will live, and I will place you on your own land. Ezekiel 37:12-14.

Here the prophet refers to bones that have been made to live, and in the internal sense to regeneration. Its being a reference to regeneration is quite evident, for it is said, 'when I will put My spirit within you and you will live, and I will place you on your own land'. Here 'graves' stands for the former self and its evils and falsities, while the opening of them and the coming up from them means being regenerated. Thus the idea of a grave perishes and so to speak is discarded when the idea of regeneration or new life enters instead.

[4] The description in Matthew 27:52-53, about graves being opened and many bodies of the saints who were sleeping being raised, coming out of their graves after the Lord's resurrection, entering the holy city, and appearing to many, embodies the same idea, that is to say, a resurrection taking place as a result of the Lord's resurrection, and in the inner sense every individual resurrection. The Lord's raising of Lazarus from the dead, John 11:1 and following verses, likewise embodies the re-establishment of the Church from among gentiles; for all the miracles that the Lord performed, because they were Divine, embodied the states of His Church. Something similar is also meant by the man who, having been cast into the grave of Elisha, came to life again on touching the prophet's bones, 2 Kings 13:20-21, for Elisha represented the Lord.

[5] As 'burial' meant resurrection in general and every individual resurrection, the ancients were therefore particularly concerned about their burials and about the places where they were to be buried - Abraham, for example, was to be buried in Hebron in the land of Canaan, as were Isaac and Jacob, together with their wives, Genesis 47:29-31; 49:30-32; Joseph's bones were to be carried up out of Egypt into the land of Canaan, Genesis 50:25; Exodus 13:19; Joshua 24:32; David and subsequent kings were to be buried in Zion, 1 Kings 2:10; 11:43; 14:31; 15:8, 24; 22:50; 2 Kings 8:24; 12:21; 14:20; 15:7, 38; 16:20, the reason being that the land of Canaan and also Zion represented and meant the Lord's kingdom, while burial meant resurrection. But it may become clear to anyone that the place itself does not contribute anything towards resurrection.

[6] The truth that 'burial' means resurrection to life is also evident from other representatives, such as the requirement that the wicked were not to be lamented or buried, but cast aside, Jeremiah 8:2; 14:16; 16:4, 6; 20:6; 22:19; 25:33; 2 Kings 9:10; Revelation 11:9; and that the wicked buried already were to be cast out of their graves, Jeremiah 8:1-2; 2 Kings 23:16-18. But as regards 'a grave' in the contrary sense meaning death or hell, see Isaiah 14:19-21; Ezekiel 32:21-23, 25-26; Psalms 88:4-5, 10-11; Numbers 19:16, 18-19.