2463. 'And he dwelt in a cave - he' means good enveloped in falsity. This is clear from the meaning of 'a cave'. A cave is a kind of dwelling-place in a mountain, but an obscure one. And because all dwelling-places whatever, like houses, mean goods, 2231, 2233 - though the nature of the goods is such as are those dwelling-places - 'the cave' mentioned here, being an obscure dwelling-place, therefore means an obscure good. Mountain-caves are mentioned in various places in the Word, where in the internal sense they have a similar meaning, such as in Isaiah 2:19; 32:14. They also have a similar meaning in historical descriptions, as for example in the incident describing when Elijah, fleeing from Jezebel, came to a cave in Mount Horeb where he spent the night and where the word of Jehovah came to him. He went out and stood on the mount before Jehovah, when he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave, 1 Kings 19:9, 13. Here in the internal sense 'a cave' means an obscure good, but like that which exists in times of temptation. Because he could not bear to see the Divine he wrapped his face in his mantle. Similar examples occur elsewhere in historical descriptions, such as in Judges 6:2 where it is said that the children of Israel made caves for themselves in the mountains, because of Midian, and also in 1 Samuel 13:6, because of the Philistines. These historical descriptions are similar to those in Moses, in that they mean something different in the internal sense.

710. 'Enter, you and all your house, into the ark' means things that constitute the will. This is clear from what has just been stated. In the previous chapter, which dealt with things of the understanding, verse 18 reads differently, namely 'You shall enter into the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons' wives with you'. That 'a house' means the will and what constitutes the will is clear from various places in the Word, as in Jeremiah,

Their houses will be turned over to others, their fields and wives together. Jeremiah 6:11.

Here both 'houses' and 'fields and wives' refers to things of the will. In the same prophet,

Build houses and dwell in them; and plant gardens and eat their fruit. Jeremiah 29:5, 28.

Here 'building and dwelling in houses' has to do with the will, 'planting gardens' with the understanding. The same applies in other places. And frequently 'the house of Jehovah' stands for the Church where love is the chief thing. 'The house of Judah' stands for the celestial Church, 'the house of Israel' for the spiritual Church, because 'a house' means the Church. Consequently the mind of the member of the Church, which has within it things of the will and those of the understanding, that is, of charity and of faith, is meant by 'a house'.