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.

4116. And crossed the river symbolizes a state in which there is union. This can be seen from the symbolism of the river, the Euphrates, as union—specifically union with the Divine. The reason the river has this symbolism is that it was the land of Canaan’s border on that side. All of Canaan’s borders represented and therefore symbolized what was last and what was first—what was last, because Canaan ended there, and what was first, because it started there. All borders by their very nature are last on the way out and first on the way in. Since Jacob was now entering, the river was an initial boundary and accordingly meant union—specifically, in the highest sense, union with the Divine. On an inner plane, the land of Canaan symbolizes the Lord’s heavenly kingdom (§§1607, 3481), and on the highest plane it symbolizes the Lord’s divine humanity (§§3038, 3705). From this it is evident what “he crossed the river” means in this passage.

Everything in the land of Canaan had a representation that depended on distances, placement, and borders (see §§1585, 3686). So the rivers that formed its boundaries did too, and this included the river of Egypt, the Euphrates, and the Jordan (§1866).