2769. 'And He said to him, Abraham' means the Lord's perception from Divine Truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' - in the historical parts of the Word - as perceiving, dealt with in 1898, 1919, 2080, 2619, and from the representation of 'Abraham' as the Lord. This perception sprang from Divine Truth, as may be seen from the consideration that the name GOD is used, not JEHOVAH. For in the Word when truth is the subject the name God occurs, but when good is the subject the name Jehovah, see 2586. This explains why the name God is used in the present verse and in those that follow as far as verse 11, in that temptation is the subject in those verses, and why Jehovah is used in verse 11 and those that follow, in that deliverance is the subject in these verses. For it is from truth that all temptation and condemnation come about, but from good that all deliverance and salvation are effected. Truth condemns but good saves, see 1685, 2258, 2335.

2619. 'As He had spoken' means as He had thought. This is clear from the meaning of 'speaking' as thinking, dealt with in 2271, 2287. Perception, which is meant by 'Jehovah said', flowed from the Divine celestial, but thought, which is meant by 'Jehovah spoke', flowed from the Divine celestial by way of the Divine spiritual. This explains why in the sense of the letter there occurs an apparent repetition, namely 'as He had said' and 'as He had spoken'. But what perceiving from the Divine celestial is, and what thinking from the Divine celestial by way of the Divine spiritual, does not come within the range of even the most enlightened capacity to understand by means of the things which belong to the light of the world. This shows how infinite everything else [in the Word] must be. The fact that thought stems from perception, see 1919, 2515. With man the position is that good is the source from which he perceives, but truth the means by which he thinks. Good exists in love and its affections, and for that reason is the source of perception, whereas truth exists in faith, and for that reason faith goes with thought. The former is meant in historical parts of the Word by 'saying', but the latter by 'speaking'. When only the expression 'saying' is used however, it sometimes means perceiving and sometimes thinking, because 'saying' includes both.