10575. 'And He said, I will cause all My goodness to pass by your face' means causing everything Divine which composes heaven and the Church to pass by the external separated from the internal as it existed with Moses and the nation he headed. This is clear from the meaning of 'causing to pass by his face' as doing so to the external separated from the internal as it existed with Moses and the nation he headed, for 'your face' means the outward form that worship, the Church, and the Word take, which has an inner substance, while 'causing to pass' means making it pass by this; and from the meaning of 'all the goodness of Jehovah' as everything Divine composing heaven and the Church. The implications of all this may be recognized from what has been stated and shown above regarding Moses and the nation he headed. There it has been shown that their interest lay in external things separated from what was internal, by which is meant that when engaged in worship they performed outwardly holy acts without thought of anything internal. And since an inner holiness was nevertheless present, though it did not enter into that nation's outward holiness, it is evident what the meaning is of Jehovah's declaration that He would cause all His goodness to pass by his face. That nation did have, it is true, an internal level of mind, but this was foul, full of uncleanness as a result of self-love and love of the world. It was closed however when they engaged in worship, to prevent the defilement of what was within, belonging to heaven, the Church, and the Word. For if this had been defiled by their internal level of mind that which was external with them would not have had any connection at all with heaven when they engaged in worship and read the Word. See what has been stated and shown previously regarding these matters, in 10454-10457, 10462-10466, 10492, 10498, 10500, 10533, 10549-10551, 10570, where they have been explained fully.

4567. 'God was seen by Jacob again, when he was coming from Paddan Aram; and He blessed him' means interior natural perception. This is clear from the meaning of 'God was seen' as interior perception. 'Seeing' means understanding and perceiving, see 2150, 2807, 3764, 3863, 4403-4421, and therefore the words 'God was seen' used in reference to the Lord mean perception from the Divine, which is the same as interior perception. The possession by the natural of this perception is meant by 'God was seen by Jacob', for 'Jacob' represents the Lord's natural, as has been shown many times. 'Again, when he was coming from Paddan Aram' means after He had absorbed cognitions of good and truth, which, being meant by 'Paddan Aram', are dealt with in 3664, 3680, 4112. 'He blessed him' means progress towards the more interior aspects of the natural, and the joining together there of good and truth. For 'blessing' is used to refer to all the good which anyone has conferred on him by the Divine, 1420, 1422, 2846, 3017, 3406; in particular the expression refers to the joining together of good and truth, 3504, 3514, 3530, 3565, 3584.