3465. 'And he called it Shibah' means the conjunction of confirmed truth by means of them. This is clear from the meaning of 'calling', that is to say, 'calling by name', as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 3421, and so from the fact that names mean a real thing or a state, 1946, 2643, 3422. Meant here therefore is the conjunction of confirmed truth by means of them, that is, by matters of doctrine; for in the original language Shibah is a word for an oath, which means confirmation, 2842, 3375. It is called the conjunction of confirmed truth when interior truths join themselves to exterior truths, which are matters of doctrine drawn from the literal sense of the Word. The fact that with such persons the conjunction is effected by means of the truths of faith and not so much by the goods of charity has been stated above in 3463.

1896. 'Her name was Hagar' means the life of the exterior or natural man. This becomes clear from what has been stated already, and also from the meaning of Hagar' as a foreign woman or one living in foreign parts. 'Foreigners' represented people who were to receive instruction, and living in foreign parts represented instruction, and also rules of life, as shown already in 1463. When it is stated in the Word what a person's name is, as here, that 'her name was Hagar', it means that the name embodies something to which attention should be paid, for 'calling by name' is knowing a person's character, as shown already in 144, 145, 340. Not one particle exists in the Word without a reason and without meaning some real thing in the internal sense.