4358. 'And said, Who are these with you?' means acknowledgement. This becomes clear from the fact that questions in the sense of the letter are not such in the highest sense, for the Lord, who is the subject in that highest sense, has no need to ask man any questions since He knows every single thing. Consequently this question 'Who are these with you?' means acknowledgement, for 'Esau' represents the Lord as regards Divine Natural Good, and Divine Good acknowledges instantly the truths which it has to join to itself. What is more, all good does so, for good cannot exist without the things it calls truths, nor can truths exist without that which they call good. The two join together of their own accord; but as is the good so are the truths it joins to itself. It is good that acknowledges them and links itself to them like a husband to his wife; indeed the joining together of good and truths is a marriage in the spiritual sense, 2508, 2618. For good acknowledges its own truth, and truth its own good, and thereby they are joined together, see 3101, 3102, 3161, 3179, 3180.

3102. 'And so it was, when the camels finished drinking' means acknowledgement resulting from enlightenment in general facts. This is clear from the fact that the two expressions 'it was' and 'they finished' mean a subsequent stage and imply the end of the activity which precedes, and the beginning of the activity which follows, dealt with above in 3093, and so mean acknowledgement, as shown above; from the meaning of 'the camels' as general facts, dealt with in 3048, 3071; and from the meaning of 'drinking' here as the same as that meant by 'drawing water', as above in 3058, 3097, and also by 'being given a drink', as above in 3071, that is to say, being enlightened. From this it is evident that the words 'and so it was, when the camels finished drinking' means acknowledgement - that is to say, of Divine truth - resulting from the enlightenment in general facts.

[2] The real situation is as follows: Every truth that is raised up from the natural man - that is, out of facts, or cognitions and matters of doctrine since these belong in the natural man - into the rational man, and is received there, must first be acknowledged as to what sort it is, whether it accords with the good that is there or not. If it does accord it is received, but if it does not it is rejected. The apparent truths in an attendant group of them are many, but only those are joined which acknowledge the good that is there, and so which love good and are loved by good. But in order that they may be acknowledged as such there has to be the enlightenment in the natural man by means of which every single thing in the natural man can be seen simultaneously, and so a choice be made. Enlightenment such as this in the natural man comes from good, yet does so by way of truth, see 3094. This enlightenment is what is meant by Rebekah's drawing for the camels, causing them to drink, or giving them a drink.