144. As to 'calling by name' meaning recognizing their nature, it must be realized that the ancients understood nothing else by 'a name than the essential nature of a real thing, and by 'seeing and calling them by name' recognizing the nature of such. This was why they gave their sons and daughters names in keeping with the things that were meant by them; for there was something unique to every name, as a means of knowing the origin and nature of those children, as will also be seen later on where, in the Lord's Divine mercy, the twelve sons of Jacob are dealt with. Since therefore a name embodied a person's origin and nature nothing else was meant by 'calling by name'. This manner of speaking was customary among them; but anyone who does not understand is sure to wonder whether they do have these meanings.

3525. 'Jacob said to Rebekah his mother' means the Lord's perception from Divine Truth concerning natural truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' in historical narratives of the Word as perceiving, dealt with in 3509, from the representation of 'Jacob' as natural truth, dealt with in 3305, and from the representation of 'Rebekah' as the Divine Truth of the Lord's Divine Rational, dealt with in 3012, 3013, 3077. The reason why perception from Divine Truth concerning natural truth is the meaning and not, as appears to be the case from the sense of the letter, from natural truth concerning Divine Truth, is that all perception which the natural possesses originates in the rational. Here, therefore, since the subject has reference to the Lord, perception originating in the Divine Truth of the Divine Rational is meant.