1177. 'He was a mighty man in the land' means that this kind of religion in the Church became more prevalent. This becomes clear from what follows next. The fact that 'the land' is the Church has been shown already in 620, 636, 662, and elsewhere.

620. That 'the earth' ¹ means that set of people dealt with already is clear from what has been shown concerning the meaning of 'the earth' ¹ and 'the ground'. 'The land' is a term which is used very often in the Word, and means the land where the Lord's true Church is, such as the land of Canaan. 'The land' may also mean where the Church is not, such as the land of Egypt, and the lands of the heathen nations, and so stands for the nation which inhabits the land. And since it stands for the nation, it also stands for any such individual who is there. It is called 'a land', for example, the land of Canaan, on account of heavenly love, and 'the lands of the heathen nations' are so called on account of loves that are foul. It is called 'ground' however on account of the faith sown in it. For, as has been shown, a land includes the ground, and the ground includes the field, just as love includes faith, and faith includes the cognitions of faith that are sown in it. Here 'the earth' ¹ stands for the people among whom heavenly love and the Church perished utterly. It is from the subject that one may know what is attributed to it.

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