7929. 'And not allow the destroyer to come to your houses' means that falsity and evil from the hells will not at all come near the will. This is clear from the meaning of 'will not allow' as will not come near; from the meaning of 'the destroyer' as hell, dealt with in 7879, thus falsity and evil from the hells, since the hells derive their existence from falsity and evil; and from the meaning of 'houses' as aspects of the will, dealt with in 710, 7848. For 'house' means a person, therefore also his mind, since a person is a person by virtue of his understanding of truth and his desire for good, which are abilities belonging to the mind. And since a person is a person primarily by virtue of that part of the mind called the will, the will is therefore also meant by 'house'. But which of these is meant is evident from the train of thought 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'.