3317. 'And Esau came from the field' means an urgent desire for the good of life. This is clear from the representation of 'Esau' as the good constituting the life of natural truth, dealt with in 3300, and from the meaning of 'coming from the field' as an urgent desire for good. For 'meditating in the field' is thought immersed in good, 3196, since 'the field' is the good which constitutes the Church, 2971.

3196. 'And Isaac came out to meditate in the field' means a state of the Rational immersed in good. This is clear from the representation of 'Isaac' as the Divine Rational, often dealt with already, and from the meaning of 'meditating in the field' as its state when immersed in good. For 'meditating' is a state of the rational when this controls the mind. 'A field' however is doctrine and the things that constitute doctrine, 368, and so the things that constitute the Church as regards good, 2971. Consequently the expression of old 'meditating in the field' stands for thought immersed in good, which is the condition of an unmarried man (homo) with thoughts of a wife.