3970. Verses 25-26 And it happened, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, Send me away and let me go to my own place and to my own land. Give me my womenfolk and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service with which I have served you.

'It happened, when Rachel had borne Joseph' means acknowledgement of the spiritual represented by Joseph. 'That Jacob said to Laban' means the good of natural truth turned to the parallel good from a Divine origin, by means of which good interior things are joined together. 'Send me away and let me go to my own place and to my own land' means that at that time there was in the natural represented by Jacob a strong desire to arrive at a state in which it would be joined to everything Divine in the Rational. 'Give me my womenfolk' means that the affections for truth belonged to that natural. 'And my children' means as did the truths born from those affections. 'For whom I have served you' means from His own power. 'And let me go' means to be joined to everything Divine in the Rational. 'For you know my service with which I have served you' means toil and endeavour from His own power.

2834. 'And offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son' means their sanctification and adoption. This is clear from the meaning of 'offering as a burnt offering' as being sanctified, dealt with in 2776, and from the meaning of 'instead of his son' as being adopted, that is to say, by the Lord's Divine Human, meant here by 'Abraham', 2833. The adoption of those who were spiritual is described in John,

Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5.

'The vine' is the spiritual Church, see 1069.