4744. “那坑是空的, 里头没有水” 表那时根本没有真理. 这从 “坑”, “空” 和 “水” 的含义清楚可知: “坑” 是指虚假 (参看4728节); “空” 是指根本真理的地方, 因为根本没有良善, 如下文所述; “水” 是指真理 (680, 739, 2702, 3058, 3424节). “空” 表示根本没有真理的地方, 这一点从圣言中的其它经文明显看出来, 如耶利米书:

他们的贵胄打发家僮打水, 他们来到池边, 见没有水, 就拿着空器皿, 蒙羞惭愧, 抱头而回. (耶利米书 14:3)

“空器皿” 表示其中没有源于良善的真理之真理. 又:

巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒吞灭我, 使我混乱, 又使我成为空虚的器皿. 他将我吞下. (耶利米书 51:34)

“空虚的器皿” 表示没有真理的地方; “巴比伦” 表示那些损毁, 也就是剥夺他人真理的人 (1327末尾节). 又:

我观看地, 不料, 地是空虚混沌; 我观看天, 天也无光. (耶利米书 4:23)

以赛亚书:

鹈鹕, 箭猪却要得为业; 猫头鹰, 乌鸦要住在其间, 他们必将空虚的准绳, 混沌的线铊拉在其上. (以赛亚书 34:11)

又:

空虚的城破毁了; 各家关门闭户, 使人都不得进去. 街上因无酒而有呼喊之声, 地上的喜乐消逝, 城中只有荒凉. (以赛亚书 24:10-12)

此处原文用另一个词来表示 “空”, 但它具有同样的含义. “空” 是指因没有良善而没有真理之地, 这层含义从此处细节的内义, 也就是说, 从 “城”, “家”, “呼喊”, “酒” 和 “街” 的含义明显看出来. 以西结书:

主耶和华如此说, 祸哉! 这流人血的城, 我也必大堆火柴. 把锅倒空坐在炭火上, 使锅烧热, 使铜烧红, 熔化其中的污秽, 除净其上的锈. (以西结书 24:9, 11)

此处显而易见 “倒空” 表示什么; 经上说 “锅” 被 “倒空”, 是因为它有污秽和锈, 也就是邪恶与虚假在里面.

在马太福音也一样.

污灵从人里面出来, 走遍干旱之地, 寻求安歇, 却寻不着. 于是说, 我要回到我所出来的屋里去. 到了, 就看见里面空闲, 打扫干净, 为他修饰好了, 便去另带了七个比自己更恶的灵来, 都进去住在那里. (马太福音 12:43-45)

“污灵” 表示人所过的不洁生活, 以及与他同居的污灵, 因为污灵就住在人的不洁生活中; “干旱之地” 或无水之地表示没有真理之地; “空屋” 表示人的内层再次充满不洁, 也就是源于邪恶的虚假. 路加福音:

神叫饥饿的得饱美食, 叫富足的空手回去. (路加福音 1:53)

“富足的” 表示那些知道很多的人; 因为 “富足” 在灵义上表示记忆知识, 教义事物和对良善与真理的认知. 那些知道这些事, 却不行出来的人就被称为 “富而空”; 因为对他们来说, 真理并非真理, 因为它们缺乏良善 (参看4736节).

Jacob is told twice that his name will now be Israel. The first time is when he wrestles with an angel on his journey to meet Esau, and the angel tells him that his name will be changed. After he is reconciled with Esau, they go their separate ways. Jacob moves to Shechem and then on to Bethel, where he builds an altar to the Lord. The Lord appears to him there, renews the covenant He first made with Abraham and again tells him that his name will be Israel (Genesis 35). The story goes on to tell of Benjamin's birth and Rachel's death in bearing him, and then of Jacob's return to Isaac and Isaac's death and burial. But at that point the main thread of the story leaves Israel and turns to Joseph, and Israel is hardly mentioned until after Joseph has risen to power in Egypt, has revealed himself to his brothers and tells them to bring all of their father's household down to Egypt. There, before Israel dies, he blesses Joseph's sons, plus all his own sons. After his death he is returned to the land of Canaan for burial in Abraham's tomb. In the story of Jacob and Esau, Jacob represents truth, and Esau good. Jacob's stay in Padan-Aram, and the wealth he acquired there, represent learning the truths of scripture, just as we learn when we read the Ten Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount. The change of name from Jacob to Israel represents the realization that what we learn should not simply be knowledge, but should be the rules of our life, to be followed by action. This action is the good that Esau has represented in the story up to that time, but after the reconciliation between Jacob and Esau, Jacob as Israel now represents the truth and the good, together. It is interesting that even after his name change Jacob is rarely called Israel. Sometimes he is called one and sometimes the other, and sometimes he is called both Jacob and Israel in the same verse (Genesis 46:2, 5, & 8 also Psalm 14:7). This is because Jacob represents the external person and Israel the internal person, and even after the internal person comes into being, we spend much of our lives living on the external level.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 4274, 4292, 4570, 5595, 6225, 6256, Genesis 2:5, 46:8)