Arcana Coelestia # 3078
3078. 'Who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milkah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother' means the whole origin of that affection. This is clear from the representation of 'Bethuel', and also of 'Milkah and Nahor', as well as of 'Abraham'. What the specific representation is of each of these cannot be explained and presented intelligibly, the reason being that the initial affection for truth had its origin indeed in the Divine things acquired by the Lord within the natural man, 3019, but maternal elements were nevertheless there which could not be separated in an instant and from which also affection came. The nature of that affection in its origin is described in the internal sense by the details given here, that she was 'born to Bethuel, the son of Milkah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother'.
[2] Although it appears to be simple and a single entity, every affection nevertheless contains details within itself which are so countless that it cannot even be apprehended, let alone described by any idea. For present within every affection there is a person's whole life which he has acquired from his earliest childhood through to the time of life when that affection is active in him. Indeed even more is present there, namely that which at birth he derived by heredity from father and mother, grandparents, and great grandparents. In fact that affection constitutes the whole person such as he is. In the next life through a revelation of a person's affection one is sometimes enabled to see how far that person is moved by self-love, and how far by love of the world; to see how far he is moved by a love of the things of first importance such as the end in view and the purpose; also how far he is moved by a love of good and truth, and to see the nature of that good and truth; and to see as well how these are ordered, that is to say, whether joined together, close together, or separated; thus to see how far such good and truth do not accord with heavenly order or how far they do accord. All of these things are able to be seen, as has been stated, through the revelation of the affection because affection constitutes the whole person. The truth of this seems unbelievable to man, but it is still the truth.
