4667. And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. That this signifies that the Lord’s Divine natural was accordant under Divine rational good, is evident from the signification of “to dwell,” as being to live (see n. 1293, 3384, 3613, 4451); from the representation of Jacob, as being in the supreme sense the Lord’s Divine natural (n. 3305, 3509, 3525, 3546, 3576, 3599, 3775, 4009, 4234, 4286, 4538, 4570); from the representation of Isaac, who here is the “father,” as being the Lord’s Divine rational as to good (n. 1893, 2066, 2630, 3012, 3194, 3210); and from the signification of the “land of Canaan,” as being in the supreme sense the Lord’s Divine Human (n. 3038, 3705). From all this it follows that Jacob’s dwelling in the land of his father’s sojournings in the land of Canaan, denotes the Lord’s Divine natural living together or accordantly under Divine rational good, in the Divine Human. The Lord’s natural has been treated of above (Genesis 35:22-26), that all things in it were now Divine (see n. 4602-4610); Genesis 35:27-29(and in the following verses of the same chapter, Genesis 35) the conjunction of the Lord’s Divine natural with His Divine rational (n. 4611-4619). Here the conclusion follows: that the Divine natural lived an accordant life under Divine rational good.

[2] It is said “under Divine rational good,” because the natural lives under this; for the rational is higher or interior, or according to a customary form of speaking is prior, while the natural is lower or exterior, consequently posterior; thus the latter is subordinate to the former. Nay, when they are accordant, the natural is nothing else than the general of the rational; for whatever the natural has does not then belong to it, but to the rational. The difference is only such as exists between particulars and their general, or between singulars and their form, in which the singulars appear as a one. It is known to the learned that the end is the all in the cause, and that the cause is the all in the effect; thus that the cause is the end in form, and the effect the cause in form; and hence that the effect entirely perishes if you take away the cause, and the cause if you take away the end; and moreover that the cause is under the end, and the effect under the cause. It is similar with the natural and the rational.

3304. And his hand laid hold on Esau’s heel. That this signifies the lowest of the good of the natural to which it adhered with some power, is evident from the signification of “hand,” as being power (see n. 878; and that it is predicated of truth, n. 3091); from the signification of “laying hold of,” as being to adhere; from the signification of “heel,” as being the lowest of the natural (see n. 259); and from the representation of Esau, as being the good of the natural (see n. 3302). Hence it is evident that “his hand laid hold on Esau’s heel” signifies the lowest of the good of the natural to which truth adhered with some power.

[2] As regards truth adhering with some power to the lowest good of the natural, the case is this: The natural, or the natural man, when being regenerated, has its conception as to good and truth from the rational, or through the rational from the spiritual; through this from the celestial; and through this from the Divine. Thus does the influx follow in succession, and beginning from the Divine descends until it terminates in the lowest of the natural, that is, in the worldly and corporeal. When the lowest natural is affected with faults by what is hereditary from the mother, truth cannot be united to good, but can only adhere to it with some power; nor is truth united to good until these faults have been driven away. This is the reason why although good is indeed born with man, truth is not; and therefore infants are devoid of any knowledge of truth; and truth has to be learned, and afterwards conjoined with good (see n. 1831, 1832). Hence also it is said that they “struggled together in the midst of her,” that is, they fought (n. 3289). From this it follows that from the first conception truth supplants good, as is said of Jacob in regard to Esau:

Is not he named Jacob? For he hath supplanted me these two times (Genesis 27:36).

And in Hosea:

To visit upon Jacob his ways, according to his doings will he recompense him; in the womb he supplanted his brother (Hos. 12:2-3).

[3] They who keep the mind solely in the historicals, and who are not able to withdraw it from them, do not know but that these and former passages simply foretell the events which came to pass between Esau and Jacob, and this conviction is confirmed also by what follows. But the Word of the Lord is of such a nature that the historicals are in their own series, while the spiritual things of the internal sense are in theirs; so that the former may be viewed by the external man, and the latter by the internal man, and that in this way there may be a correspondence between the two, namely, between the external man and the internal; and this by means of the Word, for the Word is the union of earth and heaven, as has been frequently shown. Thus in everyone who is in a holy state while reading the Word, there is a union of his external man which is on the earth, with his internal man which is in heaven.