3019. 'Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house' means the ordering and influx of the Lord into His Natural, meant by 'the servant, the oldest of the house'. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' here as commanding since it is a servant to whom Abraham's words are addressed; and since the subject is the re-arranging by the Divine of the things that exist in the natural man, ordering and influx are meant. For everything that is done in the natural or external man is an ordering by the rational or internal, and is effected by means of influx. The use of the expression 'the servant, the oldest of the house' to mean the natural, or the natural man, may be seen from the meaning of 'a servant' as that which is lower and serves what is higher, or what amounts to the same, that which is exterior and serves what is interior, see 2541, 2567. All things that belong to the natural man, as facts of every kind do, are nothing else than a body of servants, for they serve the rational by enabling it to be thoroughly fair in what it thinks and righteous in what it wills. That 'the oldest of the house' is the natural man becomes clear from what follows below.

In Genesis 4:22 and 12:13, this signifies intellectual truth. (Arcana Coelestia 1475)

In Genesis 24:30 and 24:59, this signifies the affection of truth. (Arcana Coelestia 3133, 3182)

In Genesis 24:60, this signifies a desire for truth. (Arcana Coelestia 3186)

In Genesis 30:8, this signifies temptation resulting in victory. (Arcana Coelestia 3927)

In Exodus 2:4, this signifies rational truth. (Arcana Coelestia 6727)

The Lord calls people who are in truth from the good of charity from Him 'sisters' in Matthew 12:50. 'Sister' denotes intellectual truth and 'wife' celestial truth.

(Mga Sanggunian: Apocalypse Explained 746; Matthew 12)