3432、“又挖了一口井，他们不为这井争竞了”表示圣言的字义。这从“井”的含义清楚可知，“井”是指圣言（2702， 3096， 3424节），在此是指字义上的圣言，或圣言的字义。因为经上说“以撒离开那里，又挖了一口井，他们不为这井争竞了”，这句话表示他们不否认的更外层的圣言表面意义，即被称为字义的意义。圣言的字义有三重，即：历史意义，预言意义和教义意义；其中每种意义都能被那些只看外在事物的人理解。
关于圣言，情况是这样：在上古时代，当教会是属天的时，圣言是不存在的，因为上古教会成员拥有刻在他们心里的圣言。事实上，主直接通过天堂教导他们何为良善，并由此教导何为真理，使他们既能出于爱和仁感知这两者，又能从启示中认识它们。对他们来说，真正的圣言本身就是主。后来，上古教会被另一个属灵，而非属天的教会取代。一开始，这个教会没有其它圣言，只有从上古之人那里搜集来的圣言；这部圣言代表主，并表示祂的国度；因此，对他们来说，内义就是圣言本身。他们还有一部写出来的圣言，该圣言包含历史和预言，只是已不复存在；它同样含有关乎主的内义（参看2686节）。因此，那些时代的智慧就在于利用代表和有意义的符号或象征来说话和写作：说、写的主题在教会之内是神性事物，在教会之外是其它事物，这从现存的那些古人的手稿明显看出来。但随着时间推移，该智慧消失了，直到最后人们甚至不知道圣言的书卷竟还有什么内义。犹太和以色列民族就是这样，他们视圣言的预言部分为神圣，是因为它听上去很古老，他们在阅读字义时听到耶和华这个名字，但同时却不相信有任何神性事物深藏在这名字里面。基督教界也没有把圣言看得更神圣。
由此可见，智慧如何随着时间流逝从最内在的事物退到最外在的事物，人又如何远离天堂，最后一直沉到地上的尘土里；现在，他将智慧置于这尘土之中。这就是圣言的遭遇，也就是说，它的内义逐渐被抹除，直到如今人们不知道它的存在，尽管内义才是神性最近地存在于其中的圣言本身，故本章就描述它的连续状态。
Potts(1905-1910) 3432
3432. And digged another well, and for this they strove not. That this signifies the literal sense of the Word, is evident from the signification of a "well," as being the Word (n. 2702, 3096, 3424), here, the Word as to the literal sense, for it is said that he "removed from thence, and digged another well, and for this they strove not," by which is signified that sense of the Word which is more exterior, and which they do not deny; and it is this which is called the literal sense. The literal sense of the Word is threefold; namely, historical, prophetical, and doctrinal, each of which is such that it may be apprehended even by those who are in externals. [2] As regards the Word the case is this: In the most ancient time, when the celestial church existed, the Word was not, because the men of that church had the Word inscribed on their hearts; for the Lord taught them immediately through heaven what was good, and thence what was true, and gave them both to perceive from love and charity, and to know from revelation. To them the veriest Word was the Lord. After this church another succeeded that was not celestial but spiritual, and at first this church had no other Word than that which had been gathered from the most ancient people; which Word was representative of the Lord, and significative of His kingdom; thus the internal sense was to them the very Word. (That they had also a written Word, both historic and prophetic, which is no longer extant; and that in this there was in like manner an internal sense, which had relation to the Lord, may be seen above, n. 2686.) Hence it was the wisdom of that time both to speak and to write by representatives and significatives; within the church concerning Divine things, and out of the church concerning other things; as is evident from the writings of those ancient people which remain with us. But in process of time this wisdom perished, to such a degree that at last they did not know that there was any internal sense even in the books of the Word. The Jewish and Israelitish nation was of the character here referred to, and accounted the prophetic Word holy from the fact that it sounded ancient, and they heard the name Jehovah in the sense of the letter; and they did not believe that anything Divine was deeply hidden within it; nor does the Christian world think any more reverently of the Word. [3] From this we can see how in succeeding time wisdom retired from inmost things to outermost; and that man had removed himself from heaven, and had at last descended even to the dust of the earth, wherein he now places wisdom. As it has fared thus with the Word, so that its internal sense has been successively obliterated, and at this day to such a degree that it is not known that there is such a sense, when yet this sense is the veriest Word in which the Divine proximately dwells, therefore its successive states are described in this chapter.
Elliott(1983-1999) 3432
3432. 'And dug another well, and they did not dispute over that' means the literal sense of the Word. This is clear from the meaning of 'a well' as the Word, dealt with in 2702, 3096, 3424, here the Word as regards the literal sense. For the words 'he moved on from there and dug another well, and they did not dispute over that' mean that sense of the Word which is more external and which people do not refuse to recognize, namely that sense which is called the literal sense. The literal sense of the Word is threefold - historical, prophetical, and doctrinal. Each of these is such that it is intelligible even to those who see only external things.
[2] As regards the Word, this did not exist in most ancient times when the Church was celestial, for members of that Church had the Word inscribed on their hearts. Indeed the Lord taught them directly by way of heaven what good was and from this what truth was, and enabled them to perceive each of these from love and charity, and to know each of them from revelation. To them the very Word itself was the Lord. This Church was succeeded by another which was not celestial but spiritual. At first this Church did not have a Word other than that which had been acquired from the most ancient people, a Word which was representative of the Lord and served spiritually to mean His kingdom. Thus to them the internal sense was the Word itself. The fact that they also had a written Word, both historical and prophetical, which is no longer extant, and that this in a similar way had an internal sense within it which was concerned with the Lord, see 2686. Consequently the wisdom of those times consisted in both speaking and in writing by means of representatives and meaningful signs - inside the Church about Divine things, and outside the Church about other matters, as is evident from the writings of these ancients which we possess. But in the course of time that wisdom perished, so that at length people were not aware that any internal sense existed even in the books of the Word. That was what the Jewish and Israelitish nation were like. They regarded the prophetical part of the Word to be holy because it sounded ancient and they heard the name of Jehovah when the sense of the letter was read, but at the same time they did not believe that anything deeper and Divine lay concealed in it. Nor does the Christian world think that the Word has any deeper holiness.
[3] From this it becomes clear how as time went by wisdom shifted from things that were the most internal to those that were the most external, and how mankind removed itself from heaven and at length sank as low as the dust of the ground in which wisdom is now seen to reside. Since this is what happened to the Word, that is to say, its internal sense has gradually been effaced, so that at the present day its existence is not known, and yet that sense is the very Word itself in which the Divine is most nearly present, this chapter therefore describes its consecutive states.
Latin(1748-1756) 3432
3432. `Et fodit puteum alium, et non rixati super illo': quod significet sensum litteralem Verbi, constat ex significatione `putei' quod sit Verbum, de qua n. 2702, 3096, 3424, hic Verbum quoad sensum litteralem, nam dicitur quod `transtulerit exinde, et foderit puteum alium, et quod de illo non rixati sint,' per quae significatur ille sensus Verbi qui exterior est et quem non negant, qui sensus est qui litteralis vocatur. Sensus litteralis Verbi est triplex, nempe historicus, propheticus, et doctrinalis; unusquisque est talis ut capi possit {1}etiam ab illis qui in externis sunt. [2] Cum Verbo ita se habet antiquissimo tempore quando Ecclesia caelestis fuit, non fuerat Verbum, homo enim illius Ecclesiae habuit Verbum cordibus suis inscriptum; Dominus enim immediate per caelum illos docuit quid bonum et inde quid verum, et dedit illis utrumque percipere ex {2}amore et charitate, et scire ex revelatione; ipsissimum Verbum illis fuit Dominus. Post hanc Ecclesiam successit alia quae non caelestis sed spiritualis fuit; haec principio non habuit Verbum aliud quam quod ab antiquissimis collectum fuit, hoc repraesentativum erat Domini, ac significativum regni Ipsius, ita illis fuit sensus internus ipsum Verbum; quod etiam Verbum scriptum habuerint, tam historicum quam propheticum, quod amplius non exstat, et quod in illo similiter sensus internus fuerit qui se referebat ad Dominum, videatur n. 2686; inde sapientia illius temporis fuit et loqui et scribere per repraesentativa et significativa, intra Ecclesiam de rebus Divinis, et extra Ecclesiam de rebus aliis, ut patet ab {3}antiquorum illorum scriptis quae apud nos: sed successu temporis, illa sapientia periit, usque tandem ut non scirent quod aliquis sensus internus, etiam in Libris Verbi, inesset; Judaica et Israelitica gens erat talis; haec {4}Verbum propheticum sanctum habuit ex eo quod antiquum sonaret et Jehovae nomen in sensu litterae audirent, non credentes quod {5}aliquod Divinum altius ibi reconditum lateret; orbis Christianus nec sanctius de Verbo cogitat. [3] Exinde constare potest quomodo sapientia succedente tempore ab intimis secesserit ad extima, et homo se a caelo removerit, et tandem descenderit usque ad terrae pulverem, in quo nunc sapientiam ponit. Quia ita se habuit cum Verbo, nempe quod ejus sensus internus successive obliteratus sit, et hodie ita ut nesciatur quod sit, cum tamen ille est ipsissimum Verbum in quo Divinum proxime, ideo status ejus successivi in hoc capite describuntur. @1 , ita accommodatus etiam$ @2 affectione$ @3 antiquissimorum$ @4 stylum antiquum, qui fuit qualis primorum capitum Geneseos et qualis Prophetarum$ @5 aliquid$