4397. 'And he bought the portion of the field' means making the good that springs from that truth its own. This is clear from the meaning of 'buying' as making one's own, and from the meaning of 'the portion of the field' as good springing from that truth. For 'the field' means the Church as regards good and so means good itself, see 2971, 3196, 3317, 3500, 3508, 3766.

3196. 'And Isaac came out to meditate in the field' means a state of the Rational immersed in good. This is clear from the representation of 'Isaac' as the Divine Rational, often dealt with already, and from the meaning of 'meditating in the field' as its state when immersed in good. For 'meditating' is a state of the rational when this controls the mind. 'A field' however is doctrine and the things that constitute doctrine, 368, and so the things that constitute the Church as regards good, 2971. Consequently the expression of old 'meditating in the field' stands for thought immersed in good, which is the condition of an unmarried man (homo) with thoughts of a wife.