4836. 'And Onan knew that the seed would not be his' means a loathing and hatred. This is clear from the representation of 'Onan' as evil, dealt with in 4823, 4824; and because 'not providing seed for a brother', or not performing the duty of a brother-in-law, means having no desire for the good and truth of the Church or the continuation of it, 4834, the words used here mean a loathing and hatred, for evil is nothing else than loathing and hatred directed against the good and truth of the Church.

In general, mothers in the Bible represent the Lord's church on earth. In some cases "mother" more specifically refers to the truth of the church, the true teachings the church has about the Lord and about life. This makes sense if you think about it. Mothers are the vehicles through which new people are created; the church (in a broad sense) is the vehicle through which new ideas about the Lord and new good actions are created. And just as a mother is filled with love -- for her children and husband -- so also is the church filled with love, both for its ideas and uses and also for the Lord.