28. Verse 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas; and God saw that it was good.

It is very common in the Word for 'waters' to mean cognitions and facts, and consequently for 'seas' to mean a gathering together of them, as in Isaiah,

The earth will be full of the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters covering the sea. Isaiah 11:9.

And in the same prophet, with reference to a lack of cognitions and facts,

The waters will dry up from the sea, the river will be parched and dry, and the streams will diminish. Isaiah 19:5-6.

In Haggai, with reference to a new Church,

I will shake the heavens and the earth, and the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory. Haggai 2:6-7.

And with reference to someone who is to be regenerated, in Zechariah,

There will be one day - it is known to Jehovah - not day and not night, for at evening time there will be light; and on that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, part of them to the eastern sea, and part of them to the western sea. Zechariah 14:7-8.

In David where the person is described who, having been vastated, is to be regenerated, and to worship the Lord, Jehovah does not despise His bound ones. Heaven and earth will praise Him, the seas and everything that creeps in them! Psalms 69:33-34.

That 'the earth' means that which receives is seen in Zechariah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens, and founds the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. Zechariah 12:1.

2179. 'Abraham ran to the herd' means natural good. This is clear from the meaning of 'oxen' and 'young bulls' which are members of 'the herd', dealt with in the next paragraph. That beasts which were members of the herd and those which were members of the flock mean such things as reside with man becomes clear from what has been shown in Volume One, in 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 719, 776, in addition to which, see what has been stated in 1823 about the beasts used in sacrifices. It may come as a surprise to everyone that the creatures mentioned in the Word, and also those offered in the sacrifices, meant goods and truths, or what amount to the same, celestial and spiritual things; but let the origin of this surprising fact be stated briefly.

[2] In the world of spirits various representatives manifest themselves. On many occasions animals too manifest themselves before the eyes of spirits, such as horses wearing varying decorative trappings, oxen, sheep, lambs, and different kinds of other animals; and sometimes animals such as have never been seen on earth but are purely representative. Such animals seen also by the prophets and mentioned in the Word had the same origin. Animals which appear in that world are representative of affections for good and truth, and also of affections for evil and falsity. Good spirits have full knowledge of what those animals mean, and also when they see them, they gather what it is that angels are discussing with one another, for when the conversation of those angels passes down into the world of spirits it sometimes manifests itself in this manner. For example, when horses appear, the spirits know that the angels are talking about matters of the understanding; when oxen and young bulls appear, that they are talking about natural goods; when sheep appear, about rational goods and about integrity; when lambs appear, about still more interior goods and about innocence; and so on.

[3] Because the members of the Most Ancient Church had communication with spirits and angels, constantly having visions and also dreams such as the prophets had, they consequently formed a concept of what any beast meant the moment they saw it. This was how representatives and meaningful signs originated. These remained in existence for a long time after those most ancient times, and at length were so venerated because of their antiquity that writers employed mere representatives. Indeed books that were not written in that style were not very highly regarded, nor if written within the Church considered to be holy. For the same and also other hidden reasons, which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be given elsewhere, the books of the Word too were written in that style.