3179. 'And they said, Let us call the girl and ask her personally' means consent solely of the affection for truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'the girl' as an affection that has innocence within it, dealt with in 3067, 3110, in this case the affection for truth because Rebekah is meant, who is 'the girl' before she gives her consent, but 'Rebekah' once she has given it, as in what follows immediately after ('Rebekah' being the affection for truth, see 3077); and from the meaning of 'asking her personally' as perceiving whether it does consent. Thus it is consent solely of the affection for truth that is meant here. For the situation is this: Truth itself which is to be introduced into good acknowledges its own good because good acknowledges its own truth - and from this comes consent. It is however a consent inspired into truth by good, see above in 3161. With man it is in no way apparent that truth for its part consents when introduced and joined to good, that is, when a person is being regenerated, or that good for its part knows its own truth, and introduces and joins it to itself. Yet this is exactly what happens; for a person is totally unaware of the things that take place while he is being regenerated. If he were to know merely one of the thousands of things that occur he would be dumbfounded. There are countless, indeed an endless number of hidden ways by which a person is at that time being led by the Lord, only some of which shine from the internal sense of the Word.

[2] The Ancient Church formed for itself an idea of these things from marriages. That is to say, they formed that idea from a virgin's state before betrothal; from her state after she had been betrothed; from her state when she was to be given away in marriage, and after that when she had been given away, and finally when she bore children to her husband. ¹ The fruits of truth produced from good, or of faith from charity, they called children; and so on. Such was the wisdom of the Ancient Church. Their books were written in this style too, and the custom of writing in this fashion spread from them to the gentiles themselves. For by means of those things that exist in the world they wished to give expression to things in heaven; indeed from natural things they wished to see spiritual. But today that wisdom is entirely lost.

Poznámky pod čarou:

The words "ask" and "question" are used a number of different in natural language, and a number of different ways in the Bible. The spiritual meaning of the terms generally relates to the idea of gathering knowledge or, in some cases, acquiring the desire to do what is good.Finally, there are several instances, in the New Testament in particular, where the Lord promises that true believers can have anything they ask for. This ius a spiritual statement: Those who truly believe in and follow the Lord will want only what is spiritually good, will ask only for what is spiritually good, and will get what is spiritually good. Thus they do, indeed, get everything they ask for.When people ask for objects from others – such as when the women of Israel were told to borrow precious things from Egyptian women before the final plague and the flight into the wilderness – it means acquiring knowledge the desire for good (in that particular case stripping those things away from evil people). Asking more general questions means seeking instruction, to bring light to the knowledge you have; at the highest level this rises to the perception of truth arising from the love of the Lord.When the questions are asked by someone in a higher position of someone in a lower position – a master asking servants, and expecially the Lord questioning anyone – it illustrates the Lord perceiving what's inside us, and helping us to see it as well.