3904. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 1-2 And Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob [any children], and Rachel was jealous of her sister, and said to Jacob, Give me sons; if you do not, I am dead. And Jacob flared up in anger against Rachel, and he said, Am I in God's place, who is withholding from you the fruit of the womb?

'Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob [any children]' means that interior truth was not yet acknowledged. 'And Rachel was jealous of her sister' means indignation that it was not being acknowledged as external truth was. 'And said to Jacob, Give me sons' means a desire to have interior truths by the good of natural truth. 'If you do not, I am dead' means that otherwise [the affection for interior truth] would not rise again. 'And Jacob flared up in anger against Rachel' means indignation on the part of natural good. 'And he said, Am I in God's place' means that good was powerless. 'Who is withholding from you the fruit of the womb' means that it had to originate in what was internal.