4572. 'I am God Shaddai' means a state of temptation is past, and now there is Divine comfort. This is clear from the meaning of 'God Shaddai' as temptation and subsequent comfort, for the ancients had called Jehovah or the Lord 'God Shaddai' whenever they referred to Him in connection with temptations and the comfort that followed these, see 1992, 3667. Therefore 'God Shaddai' means a state of temptation that is past, and now there is Divine comfort. The reason why it is past is that previously, in particular when he wrestled with the angel, Chapter 32:25-end, and when he met Esau, Chapter 33, 'Jacob' represented temptations; and the reason why now there is comfort is that the joining of good and truth within the natural is effected by means of those temptations. The actual joining together brings that comfort since such a joining together is the end in view of the temptations. Indeed whoever attains that end receives comfort, as much as he has suffered severely in the means to that end.

[2] In general it should be recognized that every joining together of good and truth is effected by means of temptations. The reason for this is that evils and falsities offer resistance and so to speak engage in rebellion, and by every means try to prevent the joining of good to truth, and of truth to good. This conflict takes place between the spirits present within man, that is to say, between the spirits governed by evils and falsities and the spirits governed by goods and truths. Man experiences that conflict as temptation within himself. When therefore the spirits governed by evils and falsities are conquered by the spirits governed by goods and truths, the former are compelled to depart and the latter receive joy from the Lord by way of heaven. This joy is also felt by the person concerned as comfort; he feels it within himself. Yet the joy and comfort do not come because a victory has been won but because good and truth have been joined together. Joy is present within every joining together of good and truth, for that joining together is the heavenly marriage, in which the Divine is present.

7194. 'And by My name Jehovah I was not known to them' means that in a state involving temptations those who belonged to the spiritual Church gave no thought to Divine things that the Church possesses. This is clear from the meaning of 'the name of Jehovah' as everything in its entirety by which God is worshipped, dealt with in 2724, 3006, 6674, thus everything Divine within the Church ('the name of Jehovah' is used strictly speaking to mean the Lord's Divine Human, 2628, 6887, and since the whole of faith and the whole of love, which are the Divine things within the Church, come through and from His Divine Human, everything in its entirety composing Divine worship is meant by that Human); and from the meaning of 'not being known' as a situation in which people have no knowledge of, that is, give no thought to those things - Divine things within the Church - that is to say, during a state involving temptations, which are meant by 'God Shaddai'. That is the reason why it says that He was known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but not by His name Jehovah. This is the internal sense of these words; but the external or historical sense is different. From this sense it becomes clear that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not worship Jehovah but God Shaddai, see 1992, 3667, 5628, and that Abraham did not know Jehovah, 1756, 2559. Yet the name Jehovah appears in the historical narratives concerning Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and the reasons for this are that this part of the Word was written by Moses, to whom Jehovah's name was made known, and that Jehovah's name is used in those historical narratives for the sake of the internal sense. For throughout the Word Jehovah is used when the good of love is referred to, but God when the truth of faith is referred to, 709, 732, 1096, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921 (end), 4402.