10282. 'Throughout your generations' means within all things of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'generations' - when the subject is the children of Israel, by whom the Church is meant - as those who belong to the Church, dealt with in 10212, and so in the abstract sense, without reference to persons, as things of the Church. This is called the abstract sense, without reference to persons, because things that are Divine and emanate from the Lord constitute the Church, not anything that is a person's own. Those things do indeed flow into and reside with the person; nevertheless they do not become the person's own, only the Lord's residing with that person. This being so, when angels talk to one another they speak of things without reference to actual persons. Neither therefore does the name of some person mentioned in the Word pass into heaven, but the reality that is meant by that person.

All names of persons and places mentioned in the Word serve to mean spiritual realities, see 1888, 4442, 5095, 5225.

Names do not pass into heaven, 1876, 6516, 10216.

6238. 'As Reuben and Simeon will they be mine' means that they will be truth and the good of truth. This is clear from the representation of 'Reuben' as faith in the understanding, and the truth of doctrine by means of which one is able to arrive at the good of life, dealt with in 3861, 3866, thus in general truth that belongs to the understanding; and from the representation of 'Simeon' as faith in the will, consequently truth realized in action, which is the good of faith or the good of truth, dealt with in 3869-3872, 4497, 4502, 4503, 5626, 5630, thus in general good which belongs to the new will. The things that Ephraim and Manasseh represent are clearly similar to all this.

[2] But since Reuben profaned what he represented, 4601, and Simeon polluted what he represented, 4497, 4501, 4507, on account of which they were cursed, see verses 3-7 of the next chapter, they lost their birthright and Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh were acknowledged as the firstborn in place of them, 1 Chronicles 5:1. Nevertheless what Reuben and Simeon represented remained with them, for it makes no difference what the character of the person who serves to represent something is like, 665, l097 (end), 4281. That is to say, the representation of faith in the understanding remained with Reuben, and the representation of faith in the will with Simeon. But what resided with Ephraim was the representation of the Church's understanding, and what resided with Manasseh was the representation of the Church's will.