3236. 'Abraham' here represents the Lord as regards Divine Spiritual Good, and his wife as regards Divine Truth allied to that Good. This becomes clear from what has been stated already about husbands and wives (maritus and uxor) - that 'the husband' represents good, and 'the wife' truth, as Abraham and Sarah did previously, 1468, 1901, 2063, 2065, 2172, 2173, 2198, 2904, and as Isaac and Rebekah did in the chapter before this, 3077. The reason why 'the husband' represents good and 'the wife' truth is that the Church is compared to a marriage, and also is a marriage of good and truth. Good is what the husband represents because this is primary, while truth is what the wife represents because that is secondary. This also is why in the Word the Lord is called bridegroom, man, and husband, while the Church is called bride, woman, and wife.

[2] What spiritual good is and spiritual truth allied to that good becomes clear from the places referred to immediately above in 3235. With the spiritual man good is in general that which is called the good of faith, which is nothing else than charity towards the neighbour. But to be charity it must come from the new will which the Lord confers on the spiritual man. Spiritual truth allied to that good is what is called the truth of faith, which initially does nothing else than see charity as the end in view for which it exists, and later on as the source of its own existence. To be the truth of faith, or to be faith, it must in the case of the spiritual man come from a new understanding which the Lord confers on him, and which must receive its light from the new will.

801. This description of these people before the Flood shows the nature of the style used by the most ancient people, and consequently of the prophetical style. From here down to the end of this chapter these people are described, in the present verses as regards their persuasions, and in verse 23 that follows as regards their desires. That is, they are described as regards the state of the things of their understanding, and after that as regards the state of those of their will. Although the proper things of the understanding and of the will did not exist in them, the things in them that were the reverse of these must nevertheless be called things of the understanding and will. Though in no sense things of the understanding, persuasions of falsity must be called such because they are matters of thought and reasoning; and the same applies to desires which are in no sense things of the will. Those people are described, as I say, first of all as regards their persuasions of falsity, and after that as regards their desires. This is the reason why verse 23 which follows repeats, though in a different order, the things referred to in this verse 21.

[2] Such also is the prophetical style, the reason being that there are two kinds of life with man - the first belonging to things of the understanding, the second to those of the will - which are very distinct and separate from each other. Man is composed of both, and although they are separated in man nowadays, they still flow one into the other and for the most part unite. The fact that they unite, and how they do so, could be established and illustrated in many ways. Since man is therefore composed of these two parts - understanding and will - and one flows into the other, the Word when describing man describes each part separately, which is the reason for repetitions; otherwise the description would be defective. As with the will and understanding here, so with everything else. It is their subjects that make things exactly what they are. Being the product of their subjects, they are attributes of those subjects. Things separated from their subject, that is, from their substance, are not anything. This is the reason why when the Word describes something it does so as regards both areas. In this way the description of everything is made complete.