56. Verse 29 And God said, Behold, I give you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face ¹ of the whole earth, and every tree in which there is fruit, the tree producing seed will be for you for food. A celestial man takes delight in none but celestial things, and because these suit his life they are called celestial food. A spiritual man takes delight in spiritual things, and because they suit his life they are called spiritual food. The same applies to a natural man and natural things, and because they suit his life they too are called food, and are chiefly facts. Here, since the subject is the spiritual man, his spiritual food is described by representatives, that is to say, spiritual food is represented by 'the plant yielding seed' and by 'the tree in which there is fruit', which in general are called 'the tree producing seed'. His natural food is described in the next verse.

Footnotes:

7201. 'Therefore say to the children of Israel' means that the law of God will enable those who belong to the Lord's spiritual kingdom to discern. This is clear from the representation of Moses, the one who is told to 'say to the children of Israel', as the law of God, dealt with in 6723, 6752; from the meaning of 'saying' as discerning, dealt with in 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2080, 2506, 2515, 2619, as enabling to discern, since the command 'say' has reference to the law of God; and from the representation of 'the children of Israel' as those who belong to the Lord's spiritual kingdom, dealt with in 6426, 6677.