7840. 'From the lambs and from the she-goats you shall take it' means the good of innocence, interior and exterior. This is clear from the meaning of 'a lamb' as the good of innocence, dealt with in 3994; and from the meaning of 'a she-goat' or of 'a kid' as the good of truth that has innocence within it, dealt with in 3995, 4005, 4006, 4871. For the meaning of 'a lamb' as the interior good of innocence, and of 'a kid' or 'a she-goat' as the exterior good of innocence, see 3519. What is meant by the good of innocence, interior and exterior, must be stated briefly. To be good, all good must have innocence within it. Without innocence good is devoid of its soul, so to speak. The reason for this is that the Lord flows in through innocence, and by means of it gives life to the good that exists with those who are being regenerated. The good that innocence gives life to is internal and external. Internal good resides with those who are called members of the internal Church, while external good resides with those who are members of the external Church. Members of the internal Church are those who have brought a specific quality to their good by means of interior truths such as belong to the internal sense of the Word, whereas members of the external Church are those who have brought a specific quality to their good by means of exterior truths such as belong to the literal sense of the Word. Members of the internal Church are those who are led to do good to the neighbour by an affection rising out of charity, whereas members of the external Church are led to do it by a sense of obedience. Every person who is being regenerated first becomes a member of the external Church, then later on a member of the internal Church. Those who belong to the internal Church excel in understanding and wisdom over those who belong to the external Church, and therefore also occupy a more internal position in heaven. From all this one may now see what the good of innocence, interior and exterior, is.

2179. 'Abraham ran to the herd' means natural good. This is clear from the meaning of 'oxen' and 'young bulls' which are members of 'the herd', dealt with in the next paragraph. That beasts which were members of the herd and those which were members of the flock mean such things as reside with man becomes clear from what has been shown in Volume One, in 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 719, 776, in addition to which, see what has been stated in 1823 about the beasts used in sacrifices. It may come as a surprise to everyone that the creatures mentioned in the Word, and also those offered in the sacrifices, meant goods and truths, or what amount to the same, celestial and spiritual things; but let the origin of this surprising fact be stated briefly.

[2] In the world of spirits various representatives manifest themselves. On many occasions animals too manifest themselves before the eyes of spirits, such as horses wearing varying decorative trappings, oxen, sheep, lambs, and different kinds of other animals; and sometimes animals such as have never been seen on earth but are purely representative. Such animals seen also by the prophets and mentioned in the Word had the same origin. Animals which appear in that world are representative of affections for good and truth, and also of affections for evil and falsity. Good spirits have full knowledge of what those animals mean, and also when they see them, they gather what it is that angels are discussing with one another, for when the conversation of those angels passes down into the world of spirits it sometimes manifests itself in this manner. For example, when horses appear, the spirits know that the angels are talking about matters of the understanding; when oxen and young bulls appear, that they are talking about natural goods; when sheep appear, about rational goods and about integrity; when lambs appear, about still more interior goods and about innocence; and so on.

[3] Because the members of the Most Ancient Church had communication with spirits and angels, constantly having visions and also dreams such as the prophets had, they consequently formed a concept of what any beast meant the moment they saw it. This was how representatives and meaningful signs originated. These remained in existence for a long time after those most ancient times, and at length were so venerated because of their antiquity that writers employed mere representatives. Indeed books that were not written in that style were not very highly regarded, nor if written within the Church considered to be holy. For the same and also other hidden reasons, which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be given elsewhere, the books of the Word too were written in that style.