2909. 'In Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron in the land of Canaan' means within the Church. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'Kiriath Arba' as the Church as regards truth, and from the meaning of 'Hebron in the land of Canaan' as the Church as regards good. In the Word, especially the prophetical part, whenever truth is the subject, good also is included, on account of the heavenly marriage that exists in every detail of the Word, see 683, 793, 801, 2173, 2516, 2712. Here therefore when Kiriath Arba is mentioned, so also is 'Hebron in the land of Canaan'. The land of Canaan is the Lord's kingdom, 1413, 1437, 1607, and locations in that land were in varying ways representative, 1585, 1866.
[2] As regards 'Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron', this was a region where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob dwelt. Abraham's dwelling there is evident from what has gone before,
Abraham came and dwelt in [the oak-groves of] Mamre, which are in Hebron. Gen 13:18.
And Isaac and Jacob's dwelling there too is evident from what comes further on, Jacob came to Isaac his father in Mamre, to Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. Gen 35:27.
Joseph was sent by Jacob his father to his brothers, from the Valley of Hebron. Gen 37:14.
From the representation dealt with already of those three personages it is clear that 'Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron' represented the Church before Jerusalem did so.
[3] In the course of time every Church deteriorates until it ceases to possess any faith or charity at all, at which point it is destroyed. This too was represented by 'Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron', that is to say, when this place was occupied by the Anakim, by whom dreadful false persuasions were meant, 581, 1673, regarding which occupation by the Anakim, see Num 13:21, 22; Josh 11:21; 14:15; 15:13, 14; Judg 1:10. As regards the end or close of the Church and its destruction, this was represented by Joshua's utterly destroying everything in that place, Josh 10:36, 37; 11:21, and by Judah and Caleb's smiting the Anakim, Judg 1:10; Josh 14:13-15; 15:13, 14. The establishment again of a new Church was represented by the allotment of its fields and villages to Caleb as his inheritance, Josh 21:12. The city itself however became a city of refuge, Josh 20:7; 21:13, and a city for priests, for the sons of Aaron, Josh 21:10, 11, within the inheritance of Judah, Josh 15:54.
[4] From this it is evident that Hebron represented the Lord's spiritual Church in the land of Canaan. For the same reason also David was ordered by Jehovah's command to go to Hebron and was there anointed king over the house of Judah; and after he had reigned there for seven years and six months he went to Jerusalem and took possession of Zion, see 2 Sam 2:1-11; 5:5; 1 Kings 2:11, at which point the Lord's spiritual Church now began to be represented by Jerusalem, and His celestial Church by Zion.
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