3239. 'She bore to him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah' represents general divisions of the Lord's spiritual kingdom in heaven and on earth. This is less clear from the Word since none of these names is mentioned anywhere else, except Midian, who is dealt with further on. The meaning becomes sufficiently clear however from the consideration that, without exception, all the persons named in the Word each have some representation, as with all those mentioned so far from the beginning of Genesis and onwards. In the internal sense of the Word the names both of persons and of kingdoms, and also of regions and cities, mean real things - see 768, 1224, 1264, 1876, 1888, and many times elsewhere, where this matter in particular is confirmed from the Word. The reason why the rest of these names apart from Midian are not mentioned elsewhere in the Word is that they are the names of 'the sons of the east' who are referred to in various places in the Word and who in general mean members of the Lord's spiritual kingdom, as will be seen below at verse 6 of this chapter.

[2] It is clear that these sons of Abraham by Keturah have this representation from the consideration that Abraham and Keturah represent the Lord's Divine Spiritual; that is to say, 'Abraham' represents the Lord's Divine Spiritual Good, 'Keturah' His Divine Spiritual Truth joined to that Good, dealt with just above in 3235, 3236. And because Abraham and Keturah represent the Lord's Divine Spiritual, their sons therefore represent general divisions of the kingdom which originates in the Lord's Divine Spiritual. The expression 'general divisions' is used because the Lord's kingdom is represented by 'the land' which is divided up among those to whom it is given to possess as an inheritance, as the land of Canaan was given to the children of Israel. There are in general twelve divisions, for twelve means all things of charity and of faith derived from this which constitute the Lord's kingdom, dealt with below at verse 16. Six, thus half that number, is mentioned here; but half of a number embodies the same as the whole number, for provided that which it embraces is similar, multiplying and dividing does not vary the essential character of the thing itself.

3235. 'Abraham took another wife' means a further state which the Lord, whom Abraham represents, passed through - for 'Abraham and Sarah' represented the Lord as regards the Divine Celestial, 'Abraham and Keturah' the Lord as regards the Divine Spiritual. This is clear from what has been stated and shown so far about Abraham and his wife Sarah, and from what is recorded here about Abraham and Keturah. But as it is said that Abraham here represents a further state which the Lord passed through, and that Abraham and Sarah represented the Lord as regards the Divine Celestial, whereas Abraham and Keturah did so as regards the Divine Spiritual, one needs to know what is meant by the Divine Celestial and by the Divine Spiritual. The Divine Celestial and the Divine Spiritual have to do with those people who receive the Lord's Divine, for the Lord is seen by everyone according to the character of the recipient, as becomes clear from what has been stated in 1838, 1861, and is quite evident from the fact that the Lord appears to celestial people in one way but to spiritual in another. For He appears as the sun to those who are celestial, but as the moon to those who are spiritual, 1529-1531, 1838. The Lord appears to celestial people as the sun because in them celestial love, which is love to the Lord, is present, but to spiritual people as the moon because in these spiritual love, which is charity towards the neighbour, is present. The difference is like that between the light of the sun during the daytime and the light of the moon at night, and also between the warmth of both which causes things in the ground to grow. These are what were meant in Genesis 1 by the words,

And God made the two great Lights, the greater Light to have dominion over the day, and the lesser Light to have dominion over the night. Genesis 1:16.

[2] The Lord's kingdom is in general celestial and spiritual, that is, it consists of those who are celestial and of those who are spiritual. And because the Lord's Divine appears to those who are celestial as being celestial, but to those who are spiritual as being spiritual, it is therefore said that Abraham and Sarah represented the Lord as regards the Divine Celestial, but Abraham and Keturah as regards the Divine Spiritual. But as scarcely anyone knows what the celestial is or what the spiritual, and who they are who are celestial or spiritual, please see what has been stated and shown about them already in the following places:

What the celestial is and what the spiritual, 1155, 1577, 1824, 2048, 2184, 2227, 2507.

Who celestial people are and who spiritual, 2088, 2669, 2708, 2715.

The celestial man is a likeness of the Lord and does good from love, whereas the spiritual man is an image of the Lord and does it from faith, 50-52, 1013.

Those who are celestial perceive truth from good and never indulge in reasoning about it, 202, 337, 607, 895, 1121, 2715.

With the celestial man good is implanted in the will part of his mind, but with the spiritual man in the understanding part, within which, in the case of those who are spiritual, a new will is created, 863, 875, 895, 897, 927, 1023, 1043, 1044, 2256.

From good itself those who are celestial see things without limit, but those who are spiritual, because they reason whether a thing is so, cannot reach even the furthest limit to which the light that the celestial have spreads, 2718.

Compared with those who are celestial those who are spiritual dwell in obscurity, 1043, 2708, 2715.

The Lord came into the world to save those who are spiritual, 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834.