882. 'And he proceeded to send out the dove from the ark' means a state of receiving the goods and truths of faith. This is clear from what has been stated at verse 8 where nearly identical words appear, with the difference that there it is said 'he sent out the dove from himself', for the reason also given there, that at that time he himself was the source of every work of truth or good which he performed. That is to say, he believed that he performed it by his own power, meant by 'from himself'.

'A whale,' as in Jeremiah 51:34, signifies people who possess the universal aspects of the knowledges of faith, as known, and apply them to evil purposes. 'Whales,' or 'great fishes,' are sometimes mentioned in the prophets, and are used to signify the universal aspects of knowledges

(Izinkomba: Arcana Coelestia 42)