3019. 'Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house' means the ordering and influx of the Lord into His Natural, meant by 'the servant, the oldest of the house'. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' here as commanding since it is a servant to whom Abraham's words are addressed; and since the subject is the re-arranging by the Divine of the things that exist in the natural man, ordering and influx are meant. For everything that is done in the natural or external man is an ordering by the rational or internal, and is effected by means of influx. The use of the expression 'the servant, the oldest of the house' to mean the natural, or the natural man, may be seen from the meaning of 'a servant' as that which is lower and serves what is higher, or what amounts to the same, that which is exterior and serves what is interior, see 2541, 2567. All things that belong to the natural man, as facts of every kind do, are nothing else than a body of servants, for they serve the rational by enabling it to be thoroughly fair in what it thinks and righteous in what it wills. That 'the oldest of the house' is the natural man becomes clear from what follows below.

1486. 'And [he had] flocks and herds, and asses and menservants, and maidservants and she-asses, and camels' means all things in general which constitute factual knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of all of these in the Word. But what each one means specifically would take far too long to show, that is, to show what is meant by flocks and herds, what by asses and menservants, what by maidservants and she-asses, and what by camels. Each has its own particular meaning, but in general they mean all the things constituting the knowledge that is comprised of cognitions and all those constituting factual knowledge. Regarded in themselves facts are 'asses and menservants'; the pleasures that go with them are 'maidservants and she-asses'; 'camels' are general things of service; 'flocks and herds' are possessions. This applies throughout the Word. All things whatever residing with the external man are nothing else than a body of servants, that is, they exist to serve the internal man. This is how it is with all facts, which belong solely to the external man; for these are acquired from earthly and worldly things by means of sensory impressions so that they might serve the interior or rational man; and that this interior man might serve the spiritual man, the spiritual man the celestial man, and the celestial man the Lord. Thus these exist in subordination to one another as things that are exterior beneath those that are interior; and thus also every single thing exists subordinate to the Lord. Facts therefore are the ultimate and outermost things, in which in their order interior things are inclosed; and because facts are ultimate and outermost things, these more than all other things must be things of service. Anyone may recognize what it is that facts are able to serve if he reflects or asks himself the question, What is their use? When he reflects in this way on the use they serve he may also apprehend the nature of the use. Every fact must exist for the sake of a use, and this is its service.

[1486a] Verse 17 And Jehovah struck Pharaoh with great plagues, and his house, because of Sarai, ¹ Abram's wife.

'Jehovah struck Pharaoh with great plagues' means that facts were destroyed. 'And his house' means which He had gathered together. 'Because of Sarai, ¹ Abram's wife' means because of the truth that was to be allied to the celestial.

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