4609. 'And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant-girl: Gad and Asher' means those that serve the exterior ones. This is clear from the representation of 'Zilpah, Leah's servant-girl' as a secondary affection which, as a means, serves the affection for exterior truth, dealt with in 3835, 'a servant-girl' being a means that serves to effect a joining together, as immediately above in 4608. Her 'sons' are the same kinds of means, the essential characteristics of which are represented by 'Gad and Asher'. In the highest sense 'Gad' means Omnipotence and Omniscience, in the internal sense the good of faith, and in the external sense works, 3934, while 'Asher' in the highest sense means eternity, in the internal sense the happiness of eternal life, and in the external sense the delight that belongs to affection, 3938, 3939. These are the matters implied in the listing of Jacob's sons at this point. But how they all fit together, one following another and one included within another, cannot be seen in the light of the world unless this light is brightened by the light of heaven. Yet even then the things that can be seen are such that no words are adequate to express them. This is because human words are the product of ideas formed from things that exist within the light of the world. But ideas that are formed from the light of heaven are so superior to those worldly ideas that no words exist to express them, though they do to a small extent find a place in the thinking of people who are enabled to separate their minds from ideas formed from the senses.

1397. Since perceptions are so keen, evil spirits cannot go near a sphere or any community where there are good spirits in whom mutual love reigns. When they merely go near they start to feel pain, and to complain and wail as they do so. Out of boldness and self-confidence a certain spirit who was evil pushed his way into a certain community on the outskirts of heaven. But as soon as he got near he could scarcely breathe. He smelt his own corpse-like stench, and as a consequence fell back.