3368. 'Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I tell you' means not resorting to facts but to rational concepts which, when enlightened from the Divine, are appearances of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'Egypt' as facts, dealt with in 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, and from the meaning of 'the land' here as rational concepts which, when enlightened from the Divine, are appearances of truth. 'The land' meant here is in fact Gerar, where Abimelech the king of the Philistines was, and 'Gerar' means faith, 'Abimelech' the doctrine of faith that has regard to rational concepts, and 'the king of the Philistines' matters of doctrine, see 3364, 3365. 'The land' therefore, that is to say, Gerar where Abimelech was, has no other meaning in the internal sense. For 'the land' or 'the earth' varies in meaning, see 620, 636, 1066, since it means the character of the nation whose land it is said to be, 1262, though in the proper sense it means the Church, 3355; and as it means the Church it also means the things that belong to the Church, that is, the things which with anyone constitute the Church. Consequently it means the matters of doctrine concerning charity and faith, and so also the rational concepts which, when enlightened from the Divine, are appearances of truth; for these appearances are the truths of the Church, and so its matters of doctrine, see above in 3364, 3365.

[2] Whether you speak of rational concepts enlightened from the Divine, or of appearances of truth, or of celestial and spiritual truths as these exist in the Lord's kingdom in the heavens, or in heaven, and as they exist in the Lord's kingdom on earth, or in the Church, it amounts to the same. The same are also called matters of doctrine, but this is so because of the truths they hold within them. The rational, both in angels and in men, has its being and is called rational from appearances of truth that have been enlightened from the Divine. Devoid of those appearances the rational has no existence, so that rational concepts are appearances. The reason it is said here that he was not to go down to Egypt, that is, not to resort to facts, is that facts have been dealt with already, in that Abraham's sojourning in Egypt represented the Lord's instruction in facts during childhood; see 1502.

[3] The implications of the arcanum that he was not to go down into Egypt but was to sojourn in the land of Gerar, that is, He was not to have regard to facts but to rational concepts, are that all appearances of truth that hold the Divine within them belong to the rational, so much so that rational truths and appearances of truth are one and the same, whereas facts belong to the natural, so much so that natural truths and factual truths are one and the same. Rational truths, or appearances of the truth, cannot possibly exist or manifest themselves except from an influx of the Divine into the rational, and by way of rational concepts into the facts that belong to the natural. That which is produced at that time in the rational is seen in the natural as an image produced by many objects reflected simultaneously in a mirror. This is how they present themselves to men and to angels also, though with angels the presentation of rational concepts in the natural is not very manifest, as it is with those in the world of spirits and the spiritual-natural realm, who therefore have representatives of truth.

[4] It is similar with men, with every one, for as stated already anyone who is governed by good is a miniature heaven, or what amounts to the same, an image of heaven as a whole. And because Divine Truth is unable to flow directly into the facts that are present in the natural man, but only - as has been stated - by way of rational concepts it is therefore said here, Do not go down to Egypt, but dwell in the land of Gerar. But as no clear idea of these matters is possible unless one knows the nature of influx, and also the nature of ideas, therefore they are in the Lord's Divine mercy to be dealt with at the ends of chapters, where experiences to do with influx will be described.

1502. From these considerations it is now evident that Abram's sojourning in Egypt represents and means nothing else than the Lord, in particular His instruction during childhood. This is also confirmed by what is stated in Hosea,

Out of Egypt I called My son. Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:15.

And further still from what is said in Moses,

The dwelling of the sons of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it happened at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, on that very day it happened that all the hosts of Jehovah went out of the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:40-41.

Those four hundred and thirty years were measured not from the time that Jacob entered Egypt but from Abram's sojourning in Egypt. Thus 'My son out of Egypt' in Hosea 11:1 means, in the internal sense, the Lord. The matter gains further confirmation from the fact that 'Egypt' in the Word means nothing other than knowledge, as shown in 1164, 1165, 1462.

[2] And that these arcana are contained in this section may become additionally clear from the fact that similar things are said of Abram when he sojourned in Philistia, namely that he called his wife his sister, Genesis 20:1-end, and also of Isaac, who, when he too sojourned in Philistia, called his wife his sister, Genesis 26:6-13. These actions would never have been recorded in the Word, and set in almost identical circumstances, unless these arcana had been lying hidden within. Furthermore this is the Word of the Lord which cannot possibly have any life unless there is an internal sense which has regard to Him.

[3] The arcana which lie hidden in this section, and in those regarding Abram and Isaac in Philistia, have to do with the way in which the Lord's Human Essence was joined to His Divine Essence, or what amounts to the same, how the Lord became Jehovah as regards His Human Essence also. They also have to do with the fact that His initiation, which is the subject in this chapter, began in childhood. Besides all this these descriptions also embody more arcana than anyone can possibly believe, and those that can be mentioned are so few as to be scarcely anything at all. In addition to the very deep arcana concerning the Lord, they also embody arcana concerning the instruction and regeneration of a person so that he may become celestial, as well as his instruction and regeneration so that he may become spiritual; and not only concerning the individual in particular but also concerning the Church in general. The descriptions here also embody arcana regarding the instruction of young children in heaven. In short they have to do with all who become images and likenesses of the Lord. These arcana are not at all clearly visible in the sense of the letter, the reason being that historical details engulf and obscure them; but they are clearly visible in the internal sense.