Arcana Coelestia #7
7. The first state is the state which precedes, both the state existing from earliest childhood onwards and that existing immediately before regeneration; and it is called a void, emptiness, and thick darkness. And the first movement, which is the Lord's mercy, is 'the Spirit of God hovering over the face 1 of the waters'.
Footnotes:
1. literally, The faces
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In Exodus 3:12, this signifies a confirmation of the truth that the Divine proceeded from Himself. (Arcana Coelestia 6870)
(References: Arcana Coelestia 1039, Genesis 9:12, 9:13, 9:17)