909. 'Birds' means things of his understanding and 'beasts' those of his will, [both of] which belong to the internal man; and 'every creeping thing that creeps over the earth' means corresponding things of a like nature residing with his external man. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'a bird', dealt with already in 40, 776, and of 'a beast' in 45, 46, 142, 143, 246. That 'creeping thing that creeps over the earth' means corresponding things residing with the external man is clear from this. Indeed 'creeping thing that creeps' here stands in relation both to 'birds', or things of the understanding, and to 'beasts', or those of the will. The most ancient people used to call the sensory powers and the appetites of the body 'creeping things that creep' because they are indeed just like reptiles that creep along the ground. They also likened the human body to the earth or to the ground. Indeed they actually called it the earth or the ground, as in the present verse where nothing other than the external man is meant by 'the earth'.

143. Nowadays it may seem strange that 'beasts' and 'animals' in ancient times meant affections and similar things residing with man. But because people had heavenly ideas then, and because such things are also represented in the world of spirits by animals - by such animals in fact as resemble those affections - this alone is what they therefore understood when they spoke in this fashion. And this alone is what is meant in the Word whenever beasts are mentioned in general or in particular. The whole prophetical section of the Word is full of things such as these, and therefore anyone who does not know the particular meaning of any beast cannot possibly understand what the Word contains in the internal sense. But as slated already, there are two kinds of beasts - evil ones, because they are harmful, and good ones, because they are harmless. Good beasts, such as sheep, lambs, and doves, mean good affections. Here, because the subject is the celestial man, or the celestial-spiritual man, the same applies. The fact that 'beasts' in general means affections has been confirmed from several places in the Word quoted already in 45, 46. So there is no need of further confirmation.