3367. 'Jehovah appeared to him, and said' means thought coming from the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of 'appearing', when said of the Lord who is Jehovah, as the Divine itself which was within Him. The fact that Jehovah was within the Lord, and that the Lord Himself was Jehovah, has been shown in many places already, see 1343, 1725, 1729, 1733, 1736, 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1902, 1921, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2156, 2329, 2447, 2921, 3023, 3035, 3061; and that to the extent the Lord had united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence He spoke to Jehovah as though to Himself, 1745, 1999. Thus 'Jehovah's appearing to him' in the internal sense means coming from the Divine. The fact that it was thought doing so is clear from the meaning of 'saying' as perceiving and also thinking, as has been shown quite often.

1728. 'And he was a priest' means the holiness of love. This is clear from the meaning of 'a priest' in the Word. Two special ways in which the Lord is characterized are as King and as Priest. A king or the office of king means holy truth, and a priest or the office of priest means holy good. The former is the Divine Spiritual, the latter the Divine Celestial. As King the Lord governs every single thing in the universe from Divine Truth; but as Priest He does so from Divine Good. Divine Truth is the order itself of His kingdom existing everywhere, all the laws of which are truths, or eternal verities. Divine Good is the very essential of order, every aspect of which is an expression of mercy. Both of these - Divine Good and Divine Truth - are attributed to the Lord. If solely Divine Truth were His, no mortal man could be saved, for truths condemn everyone to hell. But Divine Good, which is the essence of mercy, raises people up from hell towards heaven. Divine Truth and Divine Good are what kings and priests in the Jewish Church represented; and Melchizedek as king of Salem and priest to God Most High represented them too.