110. Verses 11-12 The name of the first is the Pishon; this encompasses the whole land of Havillah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium is there and the shoham stone.

The first river or 'the Pishon' means intelligence which comprises faith deriving from love. 'The land of Havillah' means the mind; 'gold' that which is good; 'bdellium and shoham' that which is true. The reason gold is mentioned twice is that it means the good that belongs to love, and the good that belongs to faith deriving from love. And the reason bdellium and shoham are mentioned is that the first means the truth that belongs to love, and the second the truth that belongs to faith deriving from love. Such is the nature of the celestial man.

The Lord is called "Jehovah" in the Bible when the text is referring to his essence, which is love itself. He is called "God" when the text is referring to the expression of that love -- which is called Divine Truth. References to other gods, both positive and negative, reflect that meaning. In positive cases -- such as when angels and people are called gods, or when the Lord is referred to as the God of gods -- those gods represent true ideas that come to us from the Lord. In negative cases -- such as when the people of Israel repeatedly adopt the gods of their neighbors -- those gods represent false and twisted thinking that attacks what is good and true.