4981. 'And the blessing of Jehovah was' means increases. This is clear from the meaning of 'the blessing of Jehovah'. In the genuine sense 'the blessing of Jehovah' means love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, for those who are endowed with these are called 'the blessed of Jehovah' since they are in that case endowed with heaven and eternal salvation. Consequently 'the blessing of Jehovah' in the external sense, that is, in the sense which has to do with a person's state in the world, means resting content in God and on that account being content with one's position in society and with the amount of wealth one possesses, whether one is among the highly honoured and is wealthy or among the not so honoured and the poor. For the person who rests content in God regards positions and wealth as means to fulfill useful purposes; and when he thinks about these and at the same time about eternal life, he rates them as nothing and eternal life as that which is essential.

[2] Because 'the blessing of Jehovah (or the Lord)' implies such increases in the genuine sense, blessing also implies countless other benefits and consequently means the various gifts which flow from it, such as enrichment with spiritual and celestial good, 981, 1731; fruitfulness resulting from the affection for truth, 2846; undergoing rearrangement into heavenly order, 3017; being endowed with the good of love and thereby being joined to the Lord, 3406, 3504, 3514, 3530, 3584; and joy, 4216. What is meant by 'blessing' therefore in any specific instance becomes clear from the context in which it appears. Here the meaning of 'the blessing of Jehovah' as increases in good and truth, that is, in life and doctrine, is evident from what follows it, for there it says that this blessing of Jehovah was 'in the house and in the field', and 'house' means good which is the good of life, while 'field' means truth which is the truth of doctrine. From this it is evident that increases in these are meant in this case by 'the blessing of Jehovah'.

3504.'So that my soul may bless you' means allying it to its own life, consequently life that corresponds to the rational. This is clear from the meaning of 'being blessed' as being endowed with celestial and spiritual good, dealt with in 981, 1731, 2846, 3017, 3406. For the good of early childhood and consequently the good of life, which is the same as the good of the natural, and which is represented by 'Esau', is not spiritual good, for the good of early childhood is devoid of knowledge and intelligence, and so of wisdom. The good of early childhood becomes spiritual good through the implantation of truth, and so through regeneration, see 1616, 1802, 2280, 2290, 2291, 2299, 2304, 2305, 2307, 3494 (end). This is how the correspondence between rational things and natural is effected, and so how the allying of the natural man to the life of the rational is effected. This allying to its own life is what is meant by 'my soul may bless you'.