2511. 'And took Sarah' means the affection for consulting the rational. This is clear from the meaning of 'Sarah when a sister' as rational truth, dealt with in 2508, and also from 'taking her' as descriptive of affection towards her, and so in the internal sense of an affection for consulting the rational. The contents of this verse embody the Lord's initial thought regarding the doctrine of faith, whether it would be advantageous to consult the rational or not. The reason He initially thought this is that the Lord developed according to the whole of Divine order; and everything of the human into which He had been born and which He had derived from the mother had to be cast off by Him so that He might put on the Divine. Thus this human thought - whether in matters of doctrine regarding faith the rational should be consulted - had to be cast off as well.