3440. 'And I will bless you, and will cause your seed to multiply' means the increase of good and truth from there. This is clear from the meaning of 'blessing you' as an increase of good, dealt with in 3406, and from the meaning of 'your seed multiplying' as an increase of truth, dealt with in 43, 55, 913, 983, 2846, 2847 - 'seed' meaning truth, in reference to which 'multiplying' is used, see 1025, 1447, 1610, 2848, 3038, 3373, 3380. One reason why even from the literal sense of the Word an increase of good and truth takes place with man is that within that sense also every single thing is Divine, as stated just above in 3439. And another reason is that in many places in the literal sense the internal sense is openly revealed, for example in the Old Testament, in the Prophets, where the Lord's future coming to be the salvation of the human race is stated; where it is stated that to love God and to love the neighbour constitute all the Law and all the Prophets; or where it is stated that hatred is murder, for anyone who harbours hatred is committing murder moment by moment, insofar as his hatred is willful and is the delight of his life. These are examples of where the internal sense can be seen within the literal sense; and there are many others besides these.

984. 'Filling the earth' means residing with the external man. This is clear from the meaning of 'the earth' as the external man, dealt with several times already. In the case of someone who is regenerate the goods of charity and the truths of faith have been implanted in his conscience. And because they have been implanted by means of faith - that is, through hearing the Word - they lodge first of all in his memory, which belongs to the external man. Once he has been regenerated and the internal man is active, fruitfulness and multiplication follow too; goods that stem from charity reveal themselves in affections that belong to the external man, while truths of faith do so in his memory, where they grow and multiply in both places. Any regenerate person may know the character of this multiplying, for things of a confirmatory nature are coming in all the time, both from the Word and from the rational man, as well as from known facts, to confirm him more and more. It is the outcome of charity, with the Lord alone working by means of that charity.