1960. That 'Hagar bore Abram a son' means the rational man born from that coming together and conception is clear from the representation and meaning of 'Hagar', 'Abram', and 'son'. 'Hagar' means the life which is present in the affection for knowledge and which belongs to the exterior man, as stated above in 1895, 1896; 'Abram' means the Lord's Internal Man, 1893, 1950; and 'a son' means truth, and so the truth which this rational possessed, 264, 489, 491, 533, 1147. Consequently the words 'Hagar bore for Abram' mean the rational man born from that conception and coming together. This is the sense into which the sense of the letter is converted when it comes to or resides with angels.

1896. 'Her name was Hagar' means the life of the exterior or natural man. This becomes clear from what has been stated already, and also from the meaning of Hagar' as a foreign woman or one living in foreign parts. 'Foreigners' represented people who were to receive instruction, and living in foreign parts represented instruction, and also rules of life, as shown already in 1463. When it is stated in the Word what a person's name is, as here, that 'her name was Hagar', it means that the name embodies something to which attention should be paid, for 'calling by name' is knowing a person's character, as shown already in 144, 145, 340. Not one particle exists in the Word without a reason and without meaning some real thing in the internal sense.