3795. 'For she was a shepherdess' or one who feeds the flock means that the affection for interior truth contained in the Word is that which teaches. This is clear from the meaning of 'a shepherd' or one who feeds the flock ¹ as one who leads and teaches, dealt with in 343, and from the representation of Rachel, to whom 'she' refers here, as the affection for interior truth, dealt with just above in 3793. The reason why interior truth is said to come from the Word is that it was the well to which Rachel came with the flock - 'a well' meaning the Word, see 3765. What is more, it is the affection for interior truth that teaches, for it is by virtue of that affection that the Church is the Church and a shepherd or pastor is a pastor. The reason 'a shepherd' and one who feeds the flock means in the Word those who lead and teach is that 'the flock' means those who are led and taught, and therefore means Churches and also the doctrines which a Church teaches, 3767, 3768, 3783. The fact that shepherd or pastor and flock have these meanings is very well known in the Christian world, for these are the terms used for those who teach and those who learn. It is therefore superfluous to confirm these points from the Word.

Notas de rodapé:

8238. 'And Israel saw the great hand which Jehovah displayed among the Egyptians' means acknowledgement of the Lord's almighty power. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing' as understanding, acknowledging, and possessing faith, dealt with in 897, 2150, 2325, 2807, 3796, 3863, 3869, 4403-4421, 5400, 6805; from the meaning of 'a hand' that is 'great', 'strong', 'powerful', or 'lofty' - when speaking of Jehovah, that is, the Lord - as almighty power, dealt with in 878, 7188, 7189, 7518, 8050, 8069, 8153; and from the representation of 'the Egyptians' as those lost in damnation, at this point those in hell.

2324. 'And Lot was sitting in the gateway of Sodom' means those people with whom the good of charity exists but whose worship is external - people represented by 'Lot' here - who are among and yet separate from the evil, which is meant by his 'sitting in the gateway of Sodom'. This becomes clear from the representation of 'Lot', and from the meaning of 'a gateway' and also of 'Sodom':

From the representation of Lot: When Lot and Abraham were together he represented the Lord's sensory perception, and so His External, as shown in Volume One, in 1428, 1434, 1547. But now that he has separated from Abraham he ceases to represent the Lord any longer and instead represents those who are with the Lord, namely the external member of the Church - those with whom the good of charity exists but whose worship is external.

[2] Indeed in the present chapter Lot represents the external member of the Church, or what amounts to the same, the nature of the external Church, not only as it is at the outset, but also as it is in its development, and as it is at the latter end too. The latter end of that Church is what is meant by Moab and the son of Ammon, as will be clear, in the Lord's Divine mercy, from the sequence of events described in what follows. In the Word it is common for one person to represent many consecutive states, which are described as consecutive actions in his life.

From the meaning of 'a gateway': A gateway is the place through which people enter or leave a city, and therefore 'sitting in the gateway' here means being indeed among and yet separate from the evil, as is normally the case with members of the Church with whom good that stems from charity exists. Though they are together with the evil they are nevertheless separate from them, not as regards civil society but as regards spiritual life.

'Sodom' means evil in general, or what amounts to the same, the evil, especially those inside the Church, as has been stated above, in 2322.