670. That 'living creature' ¹ means things of the understanding, and 'all flesh' those of the will, becomes clear from what has been stated already, and also from what follows. In the Word 'living creature' means all animal life in general, as in Genesis 1:10, 21, 24; 2:19. Here however, because the phrase 'all flesh' is added immediately after, it means things which belong to the understanding, for the reason given already, that the regeneration of the member of this Church had to begin in the things of the understanding. This also is why in the next verse 'birds' are mentioned first, which mean things of the understanding or the rational, and 'beasts', which are those of the will, second. 'Flesh' in particular means bodily-mindedness which is a feature of the will.

Footnotes:

7284. 'And Moses was a son of eighty years' means the state and essential nature of the law from God. This is clear from the representation of 'Moses' as the law from God, dealt with in 6771, 6827; and from the meaning of 'eighty years as the state and essential nature of the law from God, that is to say, among those who belonged to the spiritual Church, at the first time of visitation. What is meant specifically by 'eighty' cannot be stated because it entails the entire state and nature of the law from God among them at that time. 'Eighty' can mean a state of temptations, see 1963, and when it does so it entails the same meaning as forty. But because it is also the product of ten multiplied by eight, the meaning of eighty must be sought from these numbers as well. For what is meant by ten, see 576, 1906, 1988, 2284, 3107, 4638; and for what is meant by eight, 2044, 2866. In general all numbers serve to mean spiritual realities, and more particularly the states and essential nature of those realities, see 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 4495, 4670, 5265, 5191, 5335, 5708, 6175.