Chaldea was a land lying along the Euphrates river near its mouth, south of Babylon, part of what is now southern Iraq. It was a land of the Lord's second great church, the Ancient Church, which at its height had a wealth of knoweldge through its own sacred scriptures and the correspondences of nature. But as this church declined Chaldea came to represent people who use truths for evil purposes and thus profane and falsify them. Abram was born in Chaldea because of the greatness it had represented, but had to leave because of what it had become.

1324. That 'Jehovah scattered them over the face ¹ of the whole earth' means that they were not acknowledged is clear from what has been stated already at verse 4 where the same words occur.

[1324a] That 'they left off building the city' means that such doctrine was not received is clear from the meaning of 'a city' as doctrine, as shown already in 402, and also from what has been stated above at verses 4-5, about building a city and a tower. These considerations show that such doctrine or worship which inwardly contains love of self, that is, worship of self, was not allowed with this Ancient Church, and the reason is given in the very next verse.

Фусноте: