Arcana Coelestia #2179
2179. 'Abraham ran to the herd' means natural good. This is clear from the meaning of 'oxen' and 'young bulls' which are members of 'the herd', dealt with in the next paragraph. That beasts which were members of the herd and those which were members of the flock mean such things as reside with man becomes clear from what has been shown in Volume One, in 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 719, 776, in addition to which, see what has been stated in 1823 about the beasts used in sacrifices. It may come as a surprise to everyone that the creatures mentioned in the Word, and also those offered in the sacrifices, meant goods and truths, or what amount to the same, celestial and spiritual things; but let the origin of this surprising fact be stated briefly.
[2] In the world of spirits various representatives manifest themselves. On many occasions animals too manifest themselves before the eyes of spirits, such as horses wearing varying decorative trappings, oxen, sheep, lambs, and different kinds of other animals; and sometimes animals such as have never been seen on earth but are purely representative. Such animals seen also by the prophets and mentioned in the Word had the same origin. Animals which appear in that world are representative of affections for good and truth, and also of affections for evil and falsity. Good spirits have full knowledge of what those animals mean, and also when they see them, they gather what it is that angels are discussing with one another, for when the conversation of those angels passes down into the world of spirits it sometimes manifests itself in this manner. For example, when horses appear, the spirits know that the angels are talking about matters of the understanding; when oxen and young bulls appear, that they are talking about natural goods; when sheep appear, about rational goods and about integrity; when lambs appear, about still more interior goods and about innocence; and so on.
[3] Because the members of the Most Ancient Church had communication with spirits and angels, constantly having visions and also dreams such as the prophets had, they consequently formed a concept of what any beast meant the moment they saw it. This was how representatives and meaningful signs originated. These remained in existence for a long time after those most ancient times, and at length were so venerated because of their antiquity that writers employed mere representatives. Indeed books that were not written in that style were not very highly regarded, nor if written within the Church considered to be holy. For the same and also other hidden reasons, which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be given elsewhere, the books of the Word too were written in that style.
Genesis 1
1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2
Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God's Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
3
God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
4
God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness.
5
God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." There was evening and there was morning, one day.
6
God said, "Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."
7
God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.
8
God called the expanse "sky." There was evening and there was morning, a second day.
9
God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;" and it was so.
10
God called the dry land "earth," and the gathering together of the waters he called "seas." God saw that it was good.
11
God said, "Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, on the earth;" and it was so.
12
The earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with its seed in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
13
There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
14
God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;
15
and let them be for lights in the expanse of sky to give light on the earth;" and it was so.
16
God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars.
17
God set them in the expanse of sky to give light to the earth,
18
and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.
19
There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
20
God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of sky."
21
God created the large sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.
22
God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."
23
There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
24
God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;" and it was so.
25
God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.
26
God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27
God created man in his own image. In God's image he created him; male and female he created them.
28
God blessed them. God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
29
God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.
30
To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;" and it was so.
31
God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
