485. Here 'Seth' is used to mean a different Church from that described as Seth in Genesis 4:25; see 435. The fact that Churches with variant doctrines are called by the same name is clear from those called Enoch and Lamech in verses 17, 18, of the previous chapter as being different from those similarly called Enoch and Lamech in verses 21, 30 of the present chapter.

Evening, a time when the light and heat are fading away, represents a state in which a person -- or a community of people -- is turning away from the Lord, with little desire left to be good and little knowledge left regarding what good is. Evening is often a time of judgment.

In Genesis 19:1, the evening signifies the visitation that comes before judgment. (Arcana Coelestia 2318)

In Genesis 30:16, this signifies the good or truth in a state of good, but in the obscurity that is characteristic of the natural. (Arcana Coelestia 3949)