2927. 'Abraham rose up and bowed' means the Lord's joy at being received so kindly. This is clear from the meaning of 'rising up' as implying some kind of raising up, dealt with in 2401, 2785 - gladness and joy raise the mind up, and therefore the phrase 'he rose up' is used here; from the representation of 'Abraham' as the Lord, often dealt with already; and from the meaning of 'bowing' as feeling joy, bowing being a movement of the body expressing both humiliation and joy. The fact that an expression of joy at being received kindly is meant here is evident from what comes before and after the words 'Abraham rose up and bowed down'.

533. Since nothing further is mentioned about Lamech apart from the fact that be beget sons and daughters, who are the conceptions and births of such a Church, there is no need to pause any longer over him. What these births, or sons and daughters, were, becomes clear from the Church, for the character of a Church determines that of its offspring. Both those Churches called Methuselah and Lamech breathed their last just before the flood.