4270. And he got up that night and took his two women and his two slave women and his eleven sons and crossed the crossing of the Jabbok symbolizes the first infusion of a desire for truth, along with the truth that [the Lord] had acquired, as the following shows: The two women, Rachel and Leah, symbolize a desire for truth, as discussed in §§3758, 3782, 3793, 3819. The two slave women, Bilhah and Zilpah, symbolize a relatively shallow desire for truth that serves as a middle ground, as discussed in §§3849, 3931. Sons symbolize truth, as discussed in §§489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 3373. And the crossing of the Jabbok symbolizes a first infusion.

The Jabbok means a first infusion because it was a border to the land of Canaan. All the borders of that land symbolized heavenly and spiritual qualities of the Lord’s kingdom, depending on their relative distance and position (see §§1585, 1866, 4116, 4240). This includes the ford, or crossing, of the Jabbok, which was across the Jordan from Canaan and was a border of the inheritance belonging to Reuben’s and Gad’s descendants, as can be seen from Numbers 21:24; Deuteronomy 2:36, 37; 3:16, 17; Joshua 12:2; Judges 11:13, 22. It fell to these tribes as an inheritance because of Reuben’s and Gad’s representation. Reuben represented faith that belongs to the intellect, or doctrinal faith, which is the beginning of regeneration; or to put it more comprehensively, theological truth that leads to a good life (see §§[3860,] 3861, 3866). Gad represented good deeds stemming from faith (§3934). The truth espoused by faith (or doctrines) and the first deeds of faith to be performed are what introduce a regenerating person into goodness. That is why the crossing of the Jabbok symbolizes a first infusion, or introduction.