4563. 'Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died' means that hereditary evil was cast out. This is clear from the meaning of 'dying' as the end or something ceasing to be such as it has been, dealt with in 494, 3253, 3259, 3276, and here therefore, since the subject is hereditary evil, that this was cast out; and from the representation of 'Deborah, who was Rebekah's nurse' as hereditary evil. Inasmuch as she nourishes and suckles an infant, 'a nurse' strictly speaking means the instilling of innocence by means of what is celestial-spiritual, for 'milk' means that which is celestial-spiritual, 2184, and the infant whom she suckles means innocence, 430, 1616, 2126, 2305, 2306. But in this verse 'Deborah, Rebekah's nurse' means that which was received from the mother and nourished from infancy. This was the hereditary evil from the mother which the Lord fought against, as may be seen from what has been shown regarding that heredity, 1414, 1444, 1573, which heredity He cast out, so that at length He was not Mary's son, 2159, 2574, 2649, 3036.

[2] It is well known that a person derives evil from both parents and that this evil is called hereditary evil. He is therefore born with that evil, but it does not show itself until he grows up and acts from his understanding and his will based on his understanding. In the meantime it lies hidden, especially during early childhood. Now because in the Lord's mercy no one can come to be blamed for his hereditary evil, only for the evil of his own doing, 966, 2308, and hereditary evil cannot become evil of his own doing until he acts from his own understanding and his own will, young children are therefore guided by the Lord by means of young children and angels. It is for this reason that they are seen to live in a state of innocence; yet hereditary evil lies hidden within each particular thing they do, 2300, 2307, 2308. This hereditary evil even provides them with nourishment, that is, it acts like a nurse until they reach the age of discretion, 4063. Then, if they are being regenerated, they are brought by the Lord into the state of a new infancy, and at length into heavenly wisdom, and so into genuine infancy, which innocence is; for genuine infancy, or innocence, dwells within wisdom, 2305, 3183. The difference is that the innocence of infancy is present outwardly and hereditary evil inwardly, whereas the innocence of wisdom is present inwardly and evil - hereditary and that of the person's own doing - outwardly. From these considerations, and many others mentioned previously, it is evident that hereditary evil serves so to speak as nourishment from earliest infancy to the age of the new infancy. This explains why 'a nurse' means hereditary evil, as well as meaning the instillation of innocence by means of that which is celestial-spiritual.

[3] Since the arrangement or ordering of truths by good within the Lord's Natural, and consequently the progression towards aspects more interior, 4536, is the subject in the internal sense of this chapter therefore the casting out of hereditary evil is dealt with too. This is the reason why in this verse the death of Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, and her burial under an oak tree are recorded, which are matters that would be too unimportant to interrupt the sequence of events described here if they did not embody the kind of the things that have been mentioned.

[4] The actual arcanum meant specifically by Rebekah's nurse cannot as yet be disclosed. One must first know about the nature of the influx of the rational into the natural, which is an influx from the good of the rational directly into the good of the natural, and an influx from the good of the rational indirectly by way of the truth there into the good of natural truth. 'Rebekah' is the truth of the rational, 3012, 3013, 3077, whereas 'Isaac' is the good of the rational, 3012, 3194, 3210. 'Esau' is the good of the natural resulting from direct influx from the good of the rational, meant by 'Isaac', and 'Jacob' is the good - that is, the good of natural truth - resulting from an indirect influx through the truth of the rational, meant by 'Rebekah'. Regarding this indirect and direct influx see 3314, 3573. This must be known first before anyone can have specific knowledge of the arcanum why 'Rebekah's nurse' means and describes hereditary evil here. It is from such knowledge about influx that one is able to see the nature of that hereditary evil.

4063. 'He heard the words of Laban's sons, saying' means the nature of the truths belonging to the good meant by 'Laban' in comparison with the good thereby acquired in the Natural by the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'sons' as truths, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 3373, and from the representation of 'Laban' as a parallel good that springs from a common stock, dealt with in 3612, 3665, 3778, and so the kind of good which might serve to introduce genuine goods and truths, dealt with in 3974, 3982, 3986 (end), here which had in fact served to do so because the separation of that good is the subject. Jacob 'heard the words' implies in the internal sense the nature of such truths in comparison with the good which the Lord acquired in the Natural. This may be seen from what immediately follows, in that the scene was one of anger: Laban's sons said that Jacob had taken everything that belonged to their father, and Jacob saw that Laban's face was not friendly towards him as it had been before. For 'Jacob' represents the Lord's Natural, and in the previous chapter the good of truth within the Natural, see 3659, 3669, 3677, 3775, 3829, 4009.

[2] How the good meant by 'Laban' compares with the good of truth, represented by 'Jacob', may be seen from what has been stated and shown in the previous chapter. The same may be further illustrated by means of the states which a person passes through when being regenerated, a subject which is also dealt with here, in the representative sense. When someone is being regenerated the Lord maintains him in an intermediate kind of good, a good which serves to introduce genuine goods and truths. But once those goods and truths have been introduced, that intermediate good is separated from them. Anyone who knows anything at all about regeneration and about the new man can appreciate that the new man is entirely different from the old, for the new man has an affection for spiritual and celestial matters since these constitute his feelings of delight and blessedness, whereas the old man's affections are for worldly and earthly things, and these constitute his feelings of delight and pleasure. The new man's ends in view therefore lie in heaven, whereas the old man's lie in the world. From this it is evident that the new man is entirely different from and unlike the old.

[3] So that a person may be led from the state of the old man into that of the new, worldly passions have to be cast aside and heavenly affections assumed. This is effected by countless means known to the Lord alone, many of which the Lord has made known to angels but few if any to man. Even so, every single one of those means is revealed in the internal sense of the Word. When therefore a person is converted from an old man into a new one, that is, when he is regenerated, it does not take place in an instant as some people believe, but over many years. Indeed the process is taking place throughout the person's whole life right to its end. For his passions have to be rooted out and heavenly affections implanted, and he has to have a life conferred on him which he did not possess previously, and of which in fact he scarcely had any knowledge previously. Since therefore his states of life have to be changed so drastically he is inevitably maintained for a long time in an intermediate kind of good which partakes both of worldly affections and of heavenly ones. And unless he is maintained in that intermediate good he in no way allows heavenly goods and truths into himself.

[4] That intermediate good is the kind meant by 'Laban and his flock'. But a person is maintained in that good only so long as it serves its particular use. Once it has served it, it is separated. This separation is the subject in this chapter. The existence of this intermediate good, and its separation when it has served its use, may be illustrated from the changes of state which everyone undergoes from early childhood even to old age. It is well known that in each phase of life - early childhood, later childhood, youth, adulthood, and old age - a person's state is different. It is also well known that a person lays aside the state of early childhood and its playthings when he passes into the state of later childhood, and that he lays aside the state of later childhood when he passes into that of youth, and this in turn when he passes into the state of adulthood, and that he finally lays this aside when he passes into the state of old age. And if anyone thinks it over he can also recognize that each phase of life has its particular delights. He can recognize that by means of these he is introduced by consecutive stages into those which belong to the next phase and that such delights have served to bring him through to that next phase, till at length he is brought to the delight of intelligence and wisdom in old age.

[5] From this it is evident that former things are always left behind when a new state of life is assumed. But this comparison merely serves to make the point that delights are simply means and that they are left behind when a person enters whatever state comes next. When however a person is being regenerated his state is made entirely different from the previous one, towards which the Lord is leading him not by any natural process but by a supernatural one. Nor does anyone reach that state except by the means belonging to regeneration which the Lord alone provides, and so by the intermediate good which has been referred to. And once he has been brought to that state, to the point of his no longer having worldly, earthly, and bodily things as his end in view but those of heaven, that intermediate good is separated. Having something as one's end in view means loving it more than anything else.