4206. 'May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor judge between us' means the Divine flowing into both, that is to say, into the good existing with those inside the Church, and into the good with those outside it. This is clear from the meaning of 'the God of Abraham' as the Lord's Divine regarding those inside the Church, and from the meaning of 'the God of Nahor' as the Lord's Divine regarding those outside the Church; and from this it is evident that these two expressions mean the Divine flowing into both kinds of good. The reasons why 'the God of Abraham' means the Lord's Divine regarding those inside the Church is that 'Abraham' represents the Lord's Divine, and consequently that which comes directly from the Lord, 3245, 3778. Those therefore who are inside the Church are meant in particular by 'Abraham's children', John 8:39. And the reason why 'the God of Nahor' means the Lord's Divine regarding those outside the Church is that 'Nahor' represents the Church consisting of gentiles, and 'his children' those among them who dwell in a brotherly relationship with one another, 2863, 2864, 2868, 3052, 3778. So also at this point, 'Laban' who was Nahor's son represents good that is 'out of line', such as gentiles receive from the Lord.

[2] The reason why such variations involving the Lord are represented is not that those variations exist within the Lord but that His Divine is received variously by men. It is like the life present in man. This life flows into and activates the various sensory and motor organs of the body, and the various members and viscera. At every point variety presents itself, for the eye sees in one way, the ear hears in another, and the tongue discerns in yet another; also the arm and hand have one kind of movement, the lower limbs and feet another; then again the lungs act in one way, the heart in another; also the liver in one way, the stomach in another; and so on. Yet it is one single life that activates them all so variously; not that the life itself acts in different ways but because it is received in different ways. Indeed it is the form that each organ takes that determines how it acts.

2051. That 'he must be circumcised' ¹ means that they, namely those inside the Church meant by him 'born in the house' and him 'bought with silver', must completely remove from themselves self-love and love of the world is clear from the representation of 'circumcision' as purification from self-love and love of the world, dealt with above in 2039. Here the requirement for them to be circumcised is repeated in the command 'he must be circumcised ¹ ' which expresses the necessity for them to be purified completely from those loves. And because it means those who are inside the Church no reference is made here to sons who are foreigners, for the latter, as shown above in 2049, mean those outside the Church.

[2] From this repetition of what has been stated in the previous verse concerning those 'born in the house' and those 'bought with silver', anyone may see that there is a Divine arcanum that is not evident from the sense of the letter. The arcanum is that purification from those foul loves is absolutely vital inside the Church, for the reason also that people inside the Church are capable of rendering sacred things unclean, something that those outside the Church, that is, gentiles, cannot do. For this reason those inside the Church stand in greater danger of condemnation. What is more, those inside the Church are capable of formulating and adopting false assumptions that are contrary to truths of faith themselves, whereas those outside the Church cannot do so because they have no knowledge of those truths. Thus those inside the Church are capable of profaning sacred truths, but not those outside. For more on these matters, see Volume One, in 1059, 1327, 1328.

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