6098. And they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers. That this signifies that it has not been uplifted to the state of their life, is evident from the signification of “attaining to,” as here being to be uplifted (of which in what follows) and from the signification of “days” and of “years of life,” as being states of spiritual life (see n. 6093, 6095, 6097). That “attaining to” is here to be uplifted, is because his fathers Isaac and Abraham represented more uplifted, that is, more interior things, than he; for in the supreme sense Abraham represented the Lord’s Divine Itself, Isaac the Lord’s Divine rational, and Jacob His Divine natural. (That Abraham represented the Lord’s Divine Itself, see n. 1965, 1989, 2011, 3245, 3251, 3305, 3439, 3703, 4615; that Isaac represented the Divine rational, n. 1893, 2066, 2072, 2083, 2630, 2774, 3012, 3194, 3210, 4615; and that Jacob represented the Divine natural as to truth and as to good, n. 3305, 3509, 3525, 3546, 3576, 3599, 4286, 4538, 4570, 4615.) Therefore also by Abraham is represented the celestial with man, by Isaac the spiritual, and by Jacob the natural, for the reason that the regeneration of man is an image of the glorification of the Lord (see n. 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688). From all this it is now plain that by the words “and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers” is signified that it has not been uplifted to the state of their life.

3296. And the elder shall serve the younger. That this signifies that for a time the good of truth should be inferior, is evident from the signification of the “elder,” as being good; from the signification of “serving,” as being inferior; and from the signification of the “younger,” as being truth. How the case herein is may be seen from what follows, where it is described under the representation of Esau and Jacob; for as before said by Esau is represented good, and by Jacob, truth. That there was struggling or combat concerning priority and dominion, is described in the internal sense by Jacob’s taking away from Esau the birthright, and also his blessing; yet that this was done only for a time is manifest from Isaac’s prophecy concerning Esau.

And upon thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck (Genesis 27:40).

[2] That these things have an internal sense, and that what they signify cannot be known without the internal sense (namely, what is signified by two nations being in the womb, and by two peoples being separated from the bowels, and by one people prevailing over the other, and the elder serving the younger), is evident; and that they signify what has been said, is evident from what follows, where much will be said on this subject. Moreover it can with difficulty be believed that these expressions involve such things unless it is known how the case is with good and truth, and concerning the birth of the one from the other, and the change of state in man when he is being regenerated. In the internal sense indeed the Lord is treated of, and here how He made His natural Divine; nevertheless in the representative sense the regeneration of man is also treated of; for man’s regeneration is an image of the Lord’s glorification (n. 3043, 3138, 3212); that is, in regeneration as in a certain image it appears how the Lord glorified His Human, or what is the same, made it Divine. For as the Lord altogether changed His human state into the Divine, so also in man, when He regenerates him, the Lord utterly changes the man’s state, for He makes his old man new.