1950. His hand against all. That this signifies that it will wage war upon whatever is not true, and that “the hand of all against him” signifies that falsities will fight back, is evident from the fact that by “Ishmael,” as before said, is signified rational truth separated from good; and when it is said of this truth that “its hand is against all, and the hand of all against it,” it is evident that such is the signification of these words. It was stated above that by Abram is represented the Lord’s internal man, or what is the same, His Divine celestial and spiritual; by Isaac the Lord’s interior man, or His Divine rational; and by Jacob the Lord’s exterior man, or His Divine natural. The words before us treat of the rational as it would be if not united to the internal, that is, to the Divine celestial and spiritual. Because this rational had its nature from the life of affection of memory-knowledges, that is, from Hagar the Egyptian, Sarai’s handmaid, and because this life pertained to the external man, which had an hereditary nature from the Lord’s mother that was to be fought against and expelled, therefore the rational is here described such as it would be if devoid of rational good. But after the Lord had humbled, that is, had afflicted and subjugated that hereditary nature by means of the combats of temptations and by victories, and had vivified His rational itself with Divine good, it then became “Isaac,” that is, it is represented by Isaac; Ishmael, together with Hagar his mother, being cast out of the house.

[2] All the genuine rational consists of good and truth, that is, of the celestial and the spiritual. Good, or the celestial, is its very soul or life; truth, or the spiritual, is what receives its life from this. Without life from celestial good, the rational is such as is here described, that is, it fights against all, and all fight against it. Rational good never fights, however it is assailed; because it is mild and gentle, patient and yielding; for its character is that of love and mercy. Yet although it does not fight, it conquers all, nor does it ever think about combat, or glory on account of victory; and this because it is Divine, and is safe of itself. For no evil can attack good; it cannot even continue to exist in the sphere where good is, for when this merely approaches, evil withdraws and falls back of itself; for evil is infernal, and good is heavenly. Very similar is the case with the celestial spiritual, that is, with truth from a celestial origin, or with truth which is from good, for this truth is truth that is formed by good, so that it may be called the form of good.

[3] But truth separated from good, which is here represented by Ishmael and is described in this verse, is altogether different, being like a wild-ass, and fighting against all, and all against it; in fact it thinks of and breathes scarcely anything but combats; its general delectation, or reigning affection, is to conquer, and when it conquers it glories in the victory; on which account it is described as an “onager,” or mule of the wilderness, that is, the wild-ass, which cannot be with others. Such a life is a life of truth without good, yea, a life of faith without charity, and therefore when a man is being regenerated, this is indeed effected by means of the truth of faith, but still at the same time by means of a life of charity, which the Lord insinuates in accordance with the increments of the truth of faith.

1928. By the fountain in the way to Shur. That this signifies that that truth was from those things which proceed from memory-knowledges, is evident from the signification of a “fountain,” also of a “way,” and likewise of “Shur.” A “fountain,” as before said, signifies truth. A “way” signifies that which leads to truth and which proceeds from truth (as before shown, n. 627 t “Shur” signifies such memory-knowledge as is still as it were in the wilderness, that is, which has not yet attained to life. Truths that come from memory-knowledges are said to attain to life, when they join or associate themselves with the truths into which flows the celestial of love, for the very life of truth comes thence. There are conjunctions of actual things, thus of truths, like those of the societies in heaven, to which also they correspond; for a man as to his interiors is a kind of little heaven. The actual things, or truths, that have not been conjoined in accordance with the form of the heavenly societies, have not yet attained to life; for before this the celestial of love from the Lord cannot flow in with adaptation. They first receive life when the form is similar on both sides, or when the man’s little heaven is a correspondent image of the Grand Heaven; previous to this, no one can be called a heavenly man.

[2] The Lord, who was to govern the universal heaven from Himself, did when in the world reduce the truths and goods in His external man, or in His Human Essence, into such order; but as He perceived that His rational that was first conceived was not of this character (as said above, verses 4 and 5), He thought out the cause, and perceived that the natural truths that sprung from memory-knowledges had not as yet attained to life, that is, were not as yet reduced into that heavenly order. And besides, the truths of faith have no life at all, unless the man lives in charity, for all the truths of faith flow from charity and are in charity; and when they are in charity and from charity, then they have life. In charity there is life, but never in truths apart from charity.

[3] That “Shur” signifies memory-knowledge that has not yet attained to life, is evident from its meaning, for Shur was a wilderness not far from the Red Sea, thus toward Egypt, as is evident in Moses:

Moses made Israel to journey from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water (Exodus 15:22).

That it was toward Egypt is evident also in Moses, where the posterity of Ishmael are spoken of:

They dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is toward the faces of Egypt (Genesis 25:18).

Also in Samuel:

Saul smote Amalek from Havilah, as thou comest to Shur, that is toward the faces of Egypt (1 Samuel 15:7).

And again:

David made a raid against the Geshurite, and the Gizrite, and the Amalekite, for they were the inhabitants of the land who were of old, as thou goest to Shur, even to the land of Egypt (1 Samuel 27:8).

From these passages it may be seen that by “Shur” is signified the first memory-knowledge, and in fact such as is still in the wilderness, or that is not as yet conjoined with the rest in accordance with the order of heavenly association; for by “Egypt,” before which it was, is signified memory-knowledge in every sense as before shown, n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462).