3795. 'For she was a shepherdess' or one who feeds the flock means that the affection for interior truth contained in the Word is that which teaches. This is clear from the meaning of 'a shepherd' or one who feeds the flock ¹ as one who leads and teaches, dealt with in 343, and from the representation of Rachel, to whom 'she' refers here, as the affection for interior truth, dealt with just above in 3793. The reason why interior truth is said to come from the Word is that it was the well to which Rachel came with the flock - 'a well' meaning the Word, see 3765. What is more, it is the affection for interior truth that teaches, for it is by virtue of that affection that the Church is the Church and a shepherd or pastor is a pastor. The reason 'a shepherd' and one who feeds the flock means in the Word those who lead and teach is that 'the flock' means those who are led and taught, and therefore means Churches and also the doctrines which a Church teaches, 3767, 3768, 3783. The fact that shepherd or pastor and flock have these meanings is very well known in the Christian world, for these are the terms used for those who teach and those who learn. It is therefore superfluous to confirm these points from the Word.

Fußnoten:

5130. 'But remember me' means the reception of faith. This is clear from the representation of 'Joseph', who says this about himself, as the Lord as regards the celestial within the natural, dealt with in 5086, 5087, 5106; and from the meaning of 'remember me' as the reception of faith, for remembering and being mindful of the Lord do not flow from anything other than faith. Consequently 'remember me' implies a desire to receive faith. As regards faith, anyone who receives and possesses faith is constantly mindful of the Lord. This is so even when he is thinking or talking about something other than Him, or else when he is carrying out his public, private, or family duties, though he is not directly conscious of his mindfulness of the Lord while he is carrying them out. Indeed that mindfulness of the Lord present in those who possess faith governs their whole being, but that which governs their whole being is not noticed by them except when they turn their thought specifically to that matter.

[2] This may be illustrated by many aspects of human character. One who is governed by some love, whatever this may be, is thinking constantly about things connected with that love. This is so even when other matters occupy his mind, conversation, or action. This is quite evident in the next life from the spiritual spheres which surround everyone individually. From those spheres alone one can detect what the faith is and what the love is that are present in all who are there, even though they may be thinking or talking about something completely different, 1048, 1053, 1316, 1504-1520, 2489, 4464. For that which governs a person's whole being produces the sphere surrounding him and reveals to others what his life is. From this one may see what is meant by the statement that one ought to be thinking constantly about the Lord, salvation, and life after death. All who possess faith that is grounded in charity do so, as a consequence of which they do not entertain evil thoughts regarding their neighbour, and that which is just and fair is present in every aspect of their thought, speech, and action; for that which governs the person's whole being enters every particular aspect of it, both leading it and controlling it. Indeed the Lord holds the mind to those concerns that are charitable and are therefore matters of faith, and in so doing He fits every single thing in the mind into its proper place. The sphere of faith grounded in charity is the sphere which reigns in heaven, for the Lord flows in with love, and by means of love with charity, and as a consequence with truths which are the truths of faith. This explains why those in heaven are said to be in the Lord. The subject in what follows next is the rebirth of the sensory power subject to the understanding part represented by 'the cupbearer'; and as the rebirth of this is the subject, so also is the reception of faith. Indeed sensory awareness, like the rational, is born again by means of faith, but by faith into which charity is flowing. Unless charity flows into faith and imparts life to it, faith cannot possibly exist throughout a person's whole being, for it is what a person loves that reigns in him, not what he merely knows and retains in his memory.