3447. 'Abimelech went to him from Gerar' means the doctrine of faith which has regard to rational concepts. This is clear from the representation of 'Abimelech' as the doctrine of faith which has regard to rational concepts, dealt with in 2504, 2509, 2510, 3391, 3393, 3398, and from the meaning of 'Gerar' as faith, dealt with in 1209, 2504, 3365, 3384, 3385. For what doctrine having regard to rational concepts is, see 3368. From here to verse 33 the subject has to do with those among whom the literal sense of the Word and from this matters of doctrine concerning faith exist, and with the agreement of those matters of doctrine, insofar as they are drawn from the literal sense, with the internal sense; for 'Abimelech, and Ahuzzath his companion, and Phicol the commander of his army' represent those matters of doctrine. They are those who make faith the essential thing, and who, though they do not reject charity, rank it below faith, and so rate doctrine above life. Almost all our Churches today are like this, with the exception of that which exists in Christian Gentilism where people are allowed to venerate saints and images of them.

[2] As within every Church that is the Lord's some people are internal and others are external - the internal being those whose affection is for good, the external those whose affection is for truth - so it is also with those who are represented here by Abimelech, his companion, and the commander of his army. Those who are internal have been dealt with already in Chapter 21:22-33, where it is said of Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army that they came to Abraham and made a covenant with him in Beersheba, see 2719, 2720. But those who are external are dealt with here.

3393. 'And Abimelech called Isaac and said' means the Lord's perception from doctrine. This is clear from the representation of 'Abimelech' as doctrine which has regard to rational concepts, dealt with in 2504, 2509, 2510, 2533, 3391; from the representation of 'Isaac' as the Lord's Divine Rational, dealt with above; and from the meaning of 'laying' as perceiving, dealt with in 1898, 1919, 2080, 2862. And because 'Abimelech' means that doctrine, in which the Divine was now perceived, 3392, Abimelech also represents the Lord in regard to that doctrine. For every single thing in the Word refers in the highest sense to the Lord. Indeed the Lord is doctrine itself, that is, the Word, not only as to the highest sense there, but also as to the internal sense, and even as to the literal sense.

[2] For the literal sense is the representative of, and carries all that is meant in the internal sense, and the internal sense in turn is representative of and carries all that is meant in the highest sense In the Word every representative or meaningful sign is in essence that which is represented or meant by it, and for that reason is the Lord's Divine. For a representative is nothing else than an image of the one who is being represented, and the image holds within itself the one who is presented. This may be seen from a person's speech and also from his gestures; that is to say, his speech and gestures are merely images of the things that are going on inwardly in that person's thought and will, so that speech and gestures are the thought and will expressed in outward form. Take away thought and will from them and you would be left with something wholly lifeless, and so with nothing human at all. From this one may see the true nature of the Word - that it is Divine, even in the letter.