4608. 'And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant-girl: Dan and Naphtali' means secondary goods and truths which serve the interior ones. This is clear from the representation of 'Bilhah, Rachel's servant-girl' as a secondary affection which, as a means, serves the affection for interior truth, dealt with in 3849. 'A servant-girl' furthermore is used to denote a means which serves to effect a joining together, 3913, 3917, 3931, her 'sons' being the same kinds of means. By secondary goods and truths are meant those goods and truths which do not enter in directly but are derived from these and are associated with them like maidservants, acting also as intermediaries and facilitators. The essential characteristics of them are represented by 'Dan and Naphtali'. In the highest sense 'Dan' means righteousness and mercy, in the internal sense the holiness of faith, and in the external sense the good of life, 3921, 3923, while 'Naphtali' in the highest sense means [the Lord's] own power, in the internal sense temptation in which a person overcomes, and in the external sense resistance offered by the natural man, 3927, 3928. These are the essential characteristics of the means that serve interior goods and truths.

3917. 'And she gave him Bilhah her servant-girl as his wife' means that a link with the affirmative means was established. This is clear from the representation of 'Bilhah', and from the meaning of 'a servant-girl' as an affirmative means, dealt with just above in 3913; and from the meaning of 'giving as his wife' as establishing a link.