6463. 'And he gathered up his feet towards the bed' means that [spiritual good] turned itself - its lower things in which interior ones are present - towards the good and truth of the lower natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'gathering up the feet' as turning oneself towards lower things (when 'the feet' means lower things, 'gathering up' clearly means turning oneself towards; for 'the feet' are the things which compose the natural, see 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952, thus which are lower ones, 6436. The fact that lower things in which interior ones are present are meant is evident from what was stated above in 6451); and from the meaning of 'the bed' as the natural, dealt with in 6188, 6226, thus the good and truth of the natural since these make up a person's natural. The reason why the good and truth of the lower natural are meant is that this part of the natural, in accordance with the explanations given in 6451, 6452, is what interior things turn themselves towards. For the natural has a lower part and a higher one, or an interior part and an exterior one, see 3293, 3294, 5118, 5126, 5497, 5649.

[2] Since 'Israel' represents spiritual good from the natural, and 'Jacob' spiritual truth in the natural, while 'his sons' represent forms of good and truths in the natural, divided into separate groups, the word bed is therefore used; for the natural is meant by it, 6188, 6226, as for example when it says here that, after he had finished speaking to his sons, he gathered up his feet towards the bed. Other examples of the usage occur where it says that, when Joseph came to him, Israel strengthened himself and sat on the bed, 6226, and also where it says that, after he had spoken to Joseph about burying him in the grave of his fathers, Israel bowed himself over the head of the bed, 6188. This also accounts for the following remarkable occurrence: When one thinks of Jacob a bed with a man lying on it is seen in the world of spirits. It is seen some distance away overhead, in front over on the right. The reason for its appearance is that an idea of Jacob in the mind is converted in heaven into an idea of the natural; for in heaven they do not perceive anything of Jacob but perceive that which is represented by him, namely the natural, which is also meant by 'the bed'.

4280. In that lower sense the words 'he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh' mean where conjugial love is joined to natural good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the hollow of the thigh' as the place where conjugial love is linked to it, see above in 4277. The reason why the place where it is linked to natural good is meant is that it is the place where the thigh is joined to the feet. 'The feet' in the internal sense means natural good, see 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986.

[2] As regards 'the thigh' meaning conjugial love and 'the feet' natural good, that is one of those realities known in the past which have grown old and died. The Ancient Church, which existed in an age of representatives and meaningful signs, was extremely well acquainted with these meanings, such knowledge of them constituting their intelligence and wisdom. Indeed it constituted the intelligence and wisdom not only of those who belonged to the Church but also of those outside the Church, as becomes clear from the oldest books written by gentiles and from the stories in them which are nowadays called myths - for meaningful signs and representatives spread from the Ancient Church to those gentiles. With these also 'the thighs and loins' meant that which belonged to marriage, and 'the feet' things that were natural. The origin of this meaning of 'the thighs and the feet' lies in the correspondences of all the members, organs, and viscera of the human being with the Grand Man, which - that is to say, such correspondences - are being dealt with now at the ends of chapters. The correspondences with the thigh and the feet will be discussed again further on, where actual experience will be used to corroborate that their meaning is as indicated above.

[3] These things are bound to seem like enigmas at the present day because, as has been stated, that knowledge has grown very old indeed and died. Yet how far that knowledge excels other types of knowledge becomes clear from the consideration that the internal sense of the Word cannot possibly be known without that knowledge, as well as for the reason that the angels present with man perceive the Word according to that sense. It becomes clear also from the consideration that by means of that knowledge man is provided with communication with heaven. And what is unbelievable, the internal man himself does not think in any other way; for when the external man understands the Word according to the letter the internal man does so according to the internal sense, though while living in the body a person is not at all conscious of doing so. This becomes particularly clear from the fact that when anyone enters the next life and becomes an angel he has no need to learn the internal sense but knows it instinctively, so to speak.

[4] What conjugial love is which is meant by 'the thighs' and also by 'the loins', see 995, 1123, 2727-2759; and conjugial love is the basic love of all loves, 686, 3021. Consequently people who have genuine conjugial love in them also have celestial love, which is love to the Lord, and spiritual love, which is charity towards the neighbour. For this reason the expression 'conjugial love' is used to mean not only that love itself but also all celestial and spiritual love. These kinds of love are said to be joined to natural good when the internal man is joined to the external, that is, the spiritual man to the natural - that joining together of them being meant by 'the hollow of the thigh'. The fact that with Jacob and his descendants in general no such conjunction existed will be evident from what follows, for this is the subject dealt with here in the internal historical sense.