5354. 'And the name of the second he called Ephraim' means a new area of understanding within the natural, and the essential nature of it. This is clear from the meaning of 'the name' and 'calling the name' as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, 3421; and from the representation of 'Ephraim' as the area of understanding within the natural, dealt with below. What the new area of understanding and what the new area of will are, meant by 'Ephraim and Manasseh', must be stated first. It is indeed well known in the Church that a person must be born again, that is, be regenerated, so that he may enter the kingdom of God. This is well known because the Lord has declared it quite explicitly in John 3:3, 5; yet What being born again implies is still known to only a few. And the reason for this is that few know what good and evil are. The reason people do not know what good and evil are is that they do not know what charity towards the neighbour is. If they did know what this was they would also know what good was, and from good what evil was; for everything is good that springs out of genuine charity towards the neighbour.

[2] But with no one can this good have its origin in the person himself, for it is something utterly heavenly flowing into him from the Lord. This heavenly good is flowing in constantly, but evils and falsities stand in the way and prevent the reception of it. So that it may be received therefore it is necessary for the person to remove the evils and, so far as he possibly can do so, the falsities too, and thereby bring himself into a condition to receive that good flowing in. When, after evils have been removed, he accepts the inflow of good he acquires a new will and a new understanding. The new will enables him to feel a sense of delight in doing good to his neighbour without any selfish end in view, and the new understanding enables him to take delight in learning what goodness and truth are for their own sakes and for the sake of the life he should lead. Because this new understanding and new will are brought into being by what flows in from the Lord, the person who has been regenerated therefore acknowledges and believes that the goodness and truth for which he feels an affection do not originate in himself but in the Lord, and also that what does originate in himself or is properly his own is nothing but evil.

[3] From all this one may see what is meant by being born again, and also what is meant by a new will and a new understanding. But regeneration, which brings the new will and the new understanding into being, does not take place in a single instant. Rather, it is taking place from earliest childhood through to the final phase of life, and after that for ever in the next life; and it is accomplished by Divine means that are countless and beyond description. In himself the human being is nothing but evil which is constantly radiating from him as if from a furnace and is constantly trying to smother good while it is still being born. The removal of that kind of evil and the firm implantation of good in its place cannot be effected except through the whole course of a person's life; nor can it be effected except by Divine means which are countless and beyond description. At the present time scarcely anything is known about these means, for the reason that people do not allow themselves to be regenerated. Nor do they believe that regeneration is anything, because they do not believe in a life after death. The process by which regeneration takes place, a process involving things beyond description, constitutes the major part of angelic wisdom; and that process is of such a nature that no angel can ever completely exhaust all there is to know about it. This is the reason why in the internal sense of the Word it is the chief matter that is dealt with.

[4] It is evident from very many places in the Word that 'Ephraim' means a new understanding within the natural, above all in the prophet Hosea, who makes many references to Ephraim, the following among them,

I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me, that you have altogether committed whoredom, O Ephraim; Israel has been defiled. Israel and Ephraim will collapse through their iniquity; Judah also will collapse with them. Ephraim will become a lonely place on the day of reproach. ¹ And I will be like a moth to Ephraim, and like a worm to the house of Joseph. And Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound; and Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to King Jareb, and he could not cure you. Hosea 9:3, 5, 9, 11-13.

After this in the same prophet,

When I healed Israel the iniquity of Ephraim was revealed, and the evils of Samaria; for they practised a lie, and a thief came, a band spread itself outside. And Ephraim was like a silly dove with no heart; they called on Egypt, they went away to Assyria. When they go I will stretch My net over them. Hosea 7:1, 11-12 and following verses.

[5] And further on in the same prophet,

Israel has been swallowed up, now they are going to be among the gentiles, like a vessel in which there is no desire. When they went up to Assyria [they were like] a wild ass alone by himself; Ephraim procures lovers ² with a prostitute's hire. Hosea 8:8-9.

Israel will not dwell in Jehovah's land, but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat what is unclean. Hosea 9:3.

Ephraim has encompassed Me with a lie, and the house of Israel with deceit; and Judah will have dominion still with God and with the saints of the Faithful One. ³ Ephraim feeds the wind, and pursues the east wind. All the day long he multiplies lies and devastation and they make a covenant with the Assyrian, and oil is carried down into Egypt. Hosea 11:11; 12:1.

[6] Ephraim is referred to by this prophet in many other places besides these, such as Hosea 4:16-18; 5:3, 5, 9, 11-13; 7:8-9; 9:8, 11, 13, 16; 10:6, 11; 11:3, 8-9; 12:8, 14; 13:1, 12; 14:8. In all these places 'Ephraim' is used to mean the area of understanding within the Church, Israel' the spiritual area within it, and 'Judah' the celestial area. Also, since the area of understanding within the Church is meant by 'Ephraim', frequent reference is therefore made to Ephraim going away into Egypt or into Assyria. This is because 'Egypt' means factual knowledge and 'Assyria' reasonings based on this; and factual knowledge and reasonings are things associated with the understanding. For the meaning of Egypt' as factual knowledge, see 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 2588, 3325, 4749, 4964, 4966; and for that of 'Asshur' or 'Assyria' as reason or reasoning, 119, 1186.

[7] The understanding area of the Church is meant in a similar way by 'Ephraim' in the following places: In Zechariah,

Exult greatly, O daughter of Zion! Make a noise, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king comes to you. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and I will cut off the battle bow; on the other hand he will speak peace to the nations. And his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. I will bend Judah for Me, I will fill Ephraim with the bow; and I will rouse your sons, O Zion, together with your sons, O Javan. Zechariah 9:9-10, 13.

This refers to the Lord's Coming, also to the Church among the gentiles. 'Cutting off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem' stands for the entire understanding which the Church possesses. 'Filling Ephraim with the bow' stands for imparting a new understanding. For 'the chariot' means doctrinal teaching, see 5321; 'the horse' means the power of understanding, 2760-2762, 3217, 5321; and 'the bow' too means doctrinal teaching, 2685, 2686, 2709. Doctrinal teaching is dependent on the power of understanding, for to the extent that a person understands it, he believes it; his understanding of doctrinal teaching determines what his faith is like.

[8] For this reason the children of Ephraim are called 'archers' in David,

The children of Ephraim who were armed (they were archers) turned back on the day of battle. Psalms 78:9.

In Ezekiel,

Son of man, take a stick and write on it, For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions. Then take another stick and write on it, Joseph's - the stick of Ephraim and of the whole house of Israel, his companions. After that join them together, one to the other into one stick for you, that both may be one in your ⁴ hand. Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph which is in the hands of Ephraim and of the tribes of Israel his companions, and I will add them who are on it to the stick of Judah, and will make them into one stick, that they may be one stick in My hand. Ezekiel 37:16-17, 19.

Here also 'Judah' is used to mean the celestial area within the Church, 'Israel' the spiritual area within it, and 'Ephraim' the understanding area. The idea that these will be made one through the good of charity is meant by the promise that one stick will be made out of two. For 'a stick' means good which is the good of charity and of works motivated by charity, see 1110, 2784, 2812, 3720, 4943.

[9] In Jeremiah,

It is a day [when] the watchmen will cry from mount Ephraim, Arise, let us go up to Zion, to Jehovah our God. I will be a father to Israel, and Ephraim will be My firstborn. Jeremiah 31:6, 9.

In the same prophet,

I have surely heard Ephraim bewailing, You have chastised me and I was chastised, like an unruly calf. Direct me, that I may be directed. Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me? Is he not a delightful child? For after I have spoken against him I will surely remember him again. Jeremiah 31:18, 20.

In the same prophet,

I will bring back Israel to his own habitation so that he may feed on Carmel and Bashan; and on mount Ephraim and in Gilead his soul will be satisfied. Jeremiah 50:19

In Isaiah,

Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, to the falling flower and the glory of its beauty, which is on the head of a valley of fat ones confused by wine. Isaiah 28:1.

[10] In all these places too 'Ephraim' means the area of understanding within the Church. The area of understanding within the Church is that understanding which members of the Church have about truth and goodness, that is, about matters of doctrine regarding faith and charity. Thus it is the notions, conceptions, or ideas which they possess about these matters. Truth forms the spiritual area of the Church, and good the celestial area. But one member's understanding of truth and goodness is different from another's, and therefore the nature of each member's understanding of truth determines the kind of truth known to him. And the same is so with each person's understanding of goodness.

[11] What the Church's area of will, meant by 'Manasseh', is exactly can be recognized from the area of understanding, which is 'Ephraim'. The nature of the Church's will is similar to that of its understanding in that it varies from one member to another. 'Manasseh' means that area of will in Isaiah,

Through the wrath of Jehovah Zebaoth the earth has been darkened, and the people have become as fuel for the fire; a man will not spare his brother. A man will eat the flesh of his own arm; Manasseh [will consume] Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, and together they are against Judah.

'A man will eat the flesh of his own arm, Manasseh [will consume] Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh' stands for the member of the Church when his will acts in opposition to the activity of his understanding, and his understanding acts in opposition to the activity of his will.

[12] In David,

God has spoken by means of His holiness, I will exalt, I will divide up Shechem and portion out the valley of Succoth. Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; and Ephraim is the strength of My head. Psalms 60:6-7.

In the same author,

Turn Your ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead ⁵ Joseph like a flock; You who are seated upon the cherubim, shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up Your power. Psalms 80:1-2.

Here also 'Ephraim' stands for the area of understanding within the Church and 'Manasseh' for the area of will there. The same meaning is also evident from the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh by Jacob before he died, and in addition from the fact that Jacob accepted Ephraim in place of Reuben, and Manasseh in place of Simeon, Genesis 48:3, 5. For Reuben had represented the Church's area of understanding, which is faith in the understanding, or doctrine, 3861, 3866. Also, Simeon had represented faith in action - or obedience and the will to put truth into practice - from which charity springs and through which charity expresses itself; thus he represented truth realized in action, which is good belonging to the new will, 3869-3872.

[13] The reason why Jacob, who by then was Israel, blessed Ephraim more fully than Manasseh, by placing his right hand on the former and his left on the latter, Genesis 48:13-20, was the same as the one involved in Jacob's procurement for himself of Esau's birthright. It was also the same as what was involved in the birth of Perez and Zerah, Judah's sons by Tamar; though he was the firstborn, Zerah nevertheless came out after Perez, Genesis 38:18-30. The reason this happened was that the truth of faith, which belongs to the understanding, seems to occupy the first place while a person is being regenerated, and the good of charity, which belongs to the will, seems to occupy the second. But in actual fact good occupies the first place, as is plain to see once the person has been regenerated. On this subject, see 3314, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4243, 4244, 4247, 4337, 4925, 4926.

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3305. 'And he called his name Jacob' means the doctrine of natural truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'calling the name' or calling by name as the essential nature, dealt with just above in 3302. The essential nature represented by 'Jacob' is the doctrine of natural truth, as becomes clear from the representation of Esau as good constituting the life of natural truth, 3300, and from very many places in the Word where he is mentioned. There are two elements which constitute the natural, as there are two which constitute the rational, and indeed which constitute the whole person - the first being that of life, the second that of doctrine. The element of life belongs to the will, that of doctrine to the understanding. The former is called good, but the latter truth. It is that good which is represented by Esau, but this truth by Jacob; or what amounts to the same, it is good constituting the life of natural truth that is represented by Esau, and the doctrine of natural truth that is represented by Jacob. Whether you speak of the good constituting the life of natural truth and of the doctrine of natural truth, or of those in whom such doctrine and life are present, it amounts to the same, for the good constituting the life and the doctrine of truth cannot exist apart from their subject. Without their subject they are mere abstractions, yet they nevertheless have regard to the person in whom they exist. Consequently Jacob here means people who possess the doctrine of natural truth.

[2] Those who confine themselves to the sense of the letter suppose that in the Word Jacob is used to mean every one of those people descended from Jacob, and for that reason they apply to those people everything that has been stated about Jacob either as history or as prophecy. But the Word is Divine in that first and foremost every single thing within it has regard not just to one particular nation or people but to the whole human race, namely to everyone present, past, and future. More than that, it has reference to the Lord's kingdom in heaven; and in the highest sense to the Lord Himself. This is what makes it a Divine Word. If it were concerned with merely one particular nation it would be human only and would have nothing more of the Divine within it than the existence among that nation of holy worship. The fact that such worship did not exist among the people called 'Jacob' may be known to anyone. For this reason also it is evident that 'Jacob' is not used in the Word to mean Jacob, nor 'Israel' to mean Israel - for almost everywhere in prophetical parts, when Jacob is referred to, Israel is mentioned too. And no one can know what is meant specifically by the first or what by the second except from that sense which lies more deeply and conceals the arcana of heaven within itself.

[3] In the internal sense therefore 'Jacob' means the doctrine of natural truth, or what amounts to the same, people who possess that doctrine, no matter what nation they belong to; and in the highest sense 'Jacob' is used to mean the Lord, as becomes clear from the following places: In Luke,

The angel said to Mary, You will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, so that He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. Luke 1:31-33.

Everyone recognizes that here 'the house of Jacob' was not used to mean the Jewish nation or people, for the Lord's kingdom included not merely that people but all throughout the world who have faith in Him, and from faith have charity. From this it is clear that when the angel used the name Jacob he did not mean the people of Jacob. Nor consequently are those people meant anywhere else. Nor are the references to the seed of Jacob, the sons of Jacob, the land of Jacob, the inheritance of Jacob, the king of Jacob, and the God of Jacob, which occur so many times in the Old Testament Word, meant literally.

[4] It is similar with the name Israel, as in Matthew,

The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Rise, take the Boy and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there until I tell you. He rose and took the Boy and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt, so that what had been said by the prophet might be fulfilled, when he said, Out of Egypt have I called My Son. Matthew 2:13-15.

In the prophet this promise is stated as follows,

When Israel was a boy I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. Hosea 11:1.

Here it is quite evident that 'Israel' is the Lord. From the sense of the letter however nothing more may be known beyond the fact that 'the boy Israel' means the immediate descendants of Jacob who came into Egypt and at a later time were summoned from there. It is similar in other places where the names Jacob and Israel occur, although it is not apparent from the sense of the letter, as in Isaiah,

Hear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel whom I have chosen, Thus said Jehovah who made you and formed you from the womb, who helps you, Fear not, O my servant Jacob, and Jeshurun whom I have chosen, for I will pour out waters upon thirsty land, and rivers upon the dry. I will pour out My spirit upon your seed, and My blessing upon your sons. This one will say, I am Jehovah's, and another will call himself by the name of Jacob, and he will write with his hand, Jehovah's, and surname himself by the name of Israel. Isaiah 44:1-3, 5.

Here 'Jacob' and 'Israel' plainly stand for the Lord, and 'the seed' and 'the sons of Jacob' for those having faith in Him.

[5] In the prophecy concerning Israel's sons, in Moses,

Joseph will sit in the strength of his bow, and the arms of his hands will be made strong by the hands of the mighty Jacob; from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. Genesis 49:24.

Here also 'the mighty Jacob' and 'the Stone of Israel' plainly stand for the Lord. In Isaiah,

My glory will I not give to another. Hearken to Me, O Jacob, and O Israel whom I called: I am the same; I am the first; I am also the last. Isaiah 48:11-12.

Here again 'Jacob' and 'Israel' are the Lord. In Ezekiel,

I will take the stick of Joseph which is in the hand of Ephraim and of the tribes of Israel his companions, and I will add them to it, to the stick of Judah, and make them into one stick, that they may be one in My hand. I will take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and will gather them from all around and bring them on to their own land. And I will make them into one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king to them all, and they will no longer be two nations, nor will they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. At that time they will dwell in the land which I gave to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers dwelt. They will dwell in it, they, and their sons, and their sons' sons even for ever. David My servant will be their prince for ever. I will make with them a covenant of peace; it will be an eternal covenant with them. I will bless ¹ them, and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst for evermore. Thus will My dwelling-place be with them, and I will be their God. and they will be My people, so that the nations may know that I Jehovah sanctify Israel, to be My sanctuary in their midst for evermore. Ezekiel 37:19, 21-22, 24-28.

Here again it is quite clear that 'Joseph', 'Ephraim', 'Judah', 'Israel', 'Jacob', and 'David' are not used to mean those persons, but in the highest sense Divine spiritual things within the Lord and which exist in the Lord's kingdom and in His Church. Anyone may know that David will not be, as is said, their king and prince for ever, but that 'David' is used to mean the Lord, 1888. Anyone may also know that Israel will not be gathered together from where they have been scattered, or that they will be sanctified, or, as is said, that the sanctuary will be set in their midst, but that, as is well known, 'Israel' in the representative sense means all those who have faith.

[6] In Micah,

I will surely gather Jacob, all of you, I will surely assemble the remnant of Israel; I will put them together, like the sheep of Bozrah. Micah 2:12.

Here the meaning is similar. In Isaiah,

Those who are to come Jacob will cause to take root. Israel will blossom and flower, and the face of the earth will be filled with produce. Isaiah 27:6.

Here also the meaning is similar. In the same prophet,

Thus said Jehovah, who redeemed Abraham, to the house of Jacob, Jacob will no more be ashamed, and no more will his face grow pale. For when he sees his male children, the work of My hands, in his midst they will sanctify My name, and they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will fear the God of Israel. And those who err in spirit will know understanding. Isaiah 29:22-24.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah said to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him, and I will ungird the loins of kings, to open doors before him, and gates may not be closed: I will go before you and make straight the crooked places; I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut asunder the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of concealed places, and the secret wealth of hoarded objects, that you may know that it is I, Jehovah, who called you by your name, the God of Israel. For the sake of My servant Jacob, and of Israel My chosen, I have called you by your name. I have surnamed you when you did not know Me. Isaiah 45:1-4.

This also clearly refers to the Lord. In Micah,

In the latter days the mountain of the house of Jehovah will be established at the head of the mountains. Many nations will come and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways, and we will go in His paths. For out of Zion will go forth teaching, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. Micah 4:1-2.

In David,

Jehovah loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling-places of Jacob. Glorious things are to be spoken in you, O city of God. Psalms 87:1-3.

In Jeremiah,

They will serve Jehovah their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. And do not fear, O My servant Jacob, and do not be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I am saving you from afar. Jeremiah 30:9-10.

In Isaiah,

Listen to Me, O islands, and hearken, O peoples from afar. Jehovah called me from the womb, from my mother's body ² He remembered my name. And He said to me, You are My servant Israel in whom I will be rendered glorious. Isaiah 49:1, 3.

In the same prophet,

Then will you take delight in Jehovah and I will convey you over the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob. Isaiah 58:14.

In the same prophet,

I will bring forth seed from Jacob, and from Judah the heir of My mountain, so mat My chosen ones may possess it, and My servants may dwell there. Isaiah 65:9.

[7] In all these places 'Jacob' and 'Israel' are used in the highest sense to mean the Lord, and in the representative sense the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and the Church which is the Church by virtue of the doctrine of truth and the life of good - 'Jacob' meaning those who are in the external aspects of that Church, and 'Israel' those who are in the internal. These and very many other places show that nowhere is 'Jacob' used to mean Jacob, or 'Israel' to mean Israel, any more than when the names 'Isaac' and 'Abraham' are used Isaac or Abraham is meant, as in Matthew,

Many will come from the east and from the west and will recline with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 8:11.

In Luke,

You will see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God. Luke 13:28.

And in the same gospel,

Lazarus was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. Luke 16:22.

For in heaven angels have no knowledge at all of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Angels there perceive nothing else from those words when read by man than the Lord as regards the Divine and the Divine Human. When man reads about reclining with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob they perceive nothing else than being with the Lord; and when about being in Abraham's bosom nothing else than resting in the Lord. Such wording has been used however because mankind at that time was so far removed from things of an internal nature that it neither knew nor wished to know anything other than this, that everything in the Word was to be taken literally. And when the Lord spoke to them in that literal manner He did so in order that they might receive faith, and also at the same time in order that the internal sense might be contained within what He said, by means of which mankind was joined to Himself. This being so one may see what is meant in the Old Testament Word by 'the God of Jacob' and by 'the Holy One of Israel', namely the Lord Himself. For places where 'the God of Jacob' means the Lord, see 2 Samuel 23:1; Isaiah 2:3; 41:21; Micah 4:2; Psalms 20:1; 46:7; 75:9; 76:6; 81:1, 4; 84:8; 94:7; 114:7; 132:2; 146:5; and for places where 'the Holy One of Israel' means the Lord, Isaiah 1:4; 5:19, 24; 10:20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19; 30:11-12, 15; 31:1; 37:23; 41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 54:5; 55:5; 60:9, 14; Jeremiah 50:29; Ezekiel 39:7; Psalms 71:22; 78:41; 89:18.

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