3375. 'And I will fulfil the oath which I swore to Abraham your father' means confirmation. This is clear from the meaning of 'an oath' or 'swearing' as confirmation, dealt with in 2842. Here it does not say that the covenant made with Abraham is to be fulfilled but that 'the oath' will be. The reason for this is that 'a covenant' has reference to what is celestial, which is good, whereas 'an oath' has reference to what is spiritual, namely truths, see 3037; and truths are the subject here. For the same reason also in verse 31 below it is not said of Isaac that he made a covenant with Abimelech but that 'he swore to him, a man to his brother', whereas in Genesis 21:32 it is said of Abraham that he and Abimelech 'made a covenant'; see Psalms 105:9. By the confirmation here which is meant by 'an oath' is understood the Lord's being joined to those who are in His kingdom, for an oath is the confirmation of a covenant, and by 'a covenant' is meant being joined together, 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021.

1996. 'I will make My covenant between Me and you' means the union of the Internal Man, which was Jehovah, with the Interior Man. This is clear from the meaning of 'a covenant' as a joining together, for as often as a covenant between Jehovah and man is mentioned in the Word, nothing else is meant in the internal sense by a covenant than the Lord's being joined to man. The covenants made so many times between Jehovah and the descendants of Jacob had no other representation. As this point has been confirmed in Volume One, in 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, it would be superfluous to do so again here. The Lord's Internal Man was Jehovah because He was conceived from Him, while the Interior Man is represented here by Abram. Consequently 'the covenant between Me and you' means the union of the Internal Man, or Jehovah, with the Interior Man, and so with the Lord's Human Essence.