3857. And Rachel was barren. That this signifies that interior truths were not received, is evident from the representation of Rachel, as being the affection of interior truth (concerning which see above); and from the signification of “barren,” as being that there were no doctrines therefrom, consequently no churches; for this statement is opposed to what is said of Leah-that “Jehovah opened her womb,” by which is signified that therefrom came the doctrines of churches. The reason why interior truths were not received, is that interior truths are such as to transcend man’s faith, for they do not fall into his ideas, neither are they according to external appearances, that is, the fallacies of the senses, by which every man suffers himself to be led, and does not believe that which does not in some measure coincide with them.

[2] For example: it is an interior truth that there are no times and spaces in the other life, but instead of these, states. Whereas during his life on earth, man-who is in time and space-has all his ideas from them, insomuch that without time and space he cannot think at all (see n. 3404); and therefore unless the states that are in the other life were described to man by means of times and spaces, or by means of such objects as derive therefrom their forms, he would perceive nothing, thus would believe nothing, and consequently would not receive the instruction; so that the doctrine would be barren and there would be no church from it.

[3] To take another example: unless celestial and spiritual affections were described by means of such things as belong to worldly and bodily affections, man would not perceive anything, for he is in these affections, and thereby is capable of having some notion of celestial and spiritual affections, when nevertheless they are as different, or as distinct from each other, as heaven is from earth (n. 3839). For instance-in regard to the glory of heaven, or of the angels in heaven-unless man formed for himself an idea of the glory of heaven in accordance with the idea of glory in the world, he would not apprehend the matter, thus neither would he acknowledge it. And so in all other cases.

[4] For this reason the Lord spoke in the Word in accordance with man’s apprehension, and in accordance with the appearances of the same. The literal sense of the Word is of this nature, but still it is such as to contain within it an internal sense, in which are interior truths. This then is the reason why it is said of Leah, that “Jehovah opened her womb,” and of Rachel, that “she was barren;” for as before said by Leah is represented the affection of exterior truth, and by Rachel the affection of interior truth. But inasmuch as exterior truths are the first truths man learns, it is provided by the Lord that by means of them he may be introduced into interior truths, and this is what is signified when it is said that at last “God remembered Rachel, and hearkened to her, and opened her womb” (Genesis 30:22).

[5] These matters may be substantiated from the churches which were of ancient time, and from their doctrinal things, in that these were formed from external truths. Thus with the Ancient Church that was after the flood, its doctrinal things were for the most part external representatives and significatives, in which internal truths were stored up. Most of the members of this church were in holy worship when in externals; and had anyone told them in the beginning that these representatives and significatives were not the essentials of Divine worship, but that the essentials were the spiritual and celestial things represented and signified thereby, they would have altogether rejected such a doctrine, and thus there would have been no church. This was still more the case with the Jewish Church: if anyone had told the men of this church that their rituals derived their sanctity from the Divine things of the Lord that were in them, they would not have acknowledged it at all.

[6] Such also was man when the Lord came into the world, and still more corporeal had he become, and especially they who belonged to the church. This is very plain from the disciples themselves, who were continually with the Lord, and heard so many things concerning His kingdom, and yet were not able to perceive interior truths, not being able to form any other notion of the Lord than such as the Jews at this day entertain concerning the Messiah whom they expect; namely, that He will exalt their people to dominion and glory above all the nations in the universe. And even after they had heard so many things from the Lord respecting the heavenly kingdom, they still could not think otherwise than that the heavenly kingdom would be like an earthly kingdom, and that God the Father would be the highest therein, and after Him the Son, and then the twelve, and thus that they would reign in their order; wherefore also James and John asked that they might sit, the one on His right hand and the other on His left (Mark 10:35-37); and the rest of the disciples were angry at their desiring to be greater than they (Mark 10:41; Matthew 20:24). For the same reason also the Lord, after He had taught them what it was to be the greatest in heaven (Matthew 20:25-28; Mark 10:42-45), still spoke according to their apprehension, saying that they should sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 22:24, 30; Matthew 19:28).

[7] If they had been told that by “the disciples” are not meant themselves, but all who are in the good of love and faith (n. 3354, 3488); also that in the Lord’s kingdom there are neither thrones, sovereignties, nor rule, as in the world, and that they could not even judge the least thing in a single man (n. 2129, 2553), they would have rejected the saying, and, leaving the Lord, would have returned everyone to his own occupation. The reason why the Lord so spoke was that they might receive external truths, and thereby be introduced into internal ones, for within those external truths which the Lord spoke, internal truths were concealed, which in course of time stand open; and when these stand open, the external truths are dissipated and serve only as objects or means of thinking about the internal truths. From this it may now be known what is meant by what is here related-that Jehovah first opened Leah’s womb and she bare sons to Jacob, and that Rachel bare sons afterwards.

3839. And he said unto Laban, What is this that thou hast done unto me? That this signifies indignation, is evident from the affection in these words, and in those which follow. It is evident that it is an affection of indignation which according to the historical series falls into these words. There are two things which constitute the internal sense of the Word, namely, affections and actual things; the affections that lie hidden in the expressions of the Word are not manifest to man, but are stored up in its inmost recesses; nor can they be made manifest to him, because during his life in the body he is in worldly and corporeal affections, which have nothing in common with the affections in the internal sense of the Word; these latter being affections of spiritual and celestial love, which man is the less capable of perceiving because there are few who are in them, and these few are mostly simple persons, who are not able to reflect upon their affections, while all the rest do not even know what genuine affection is. These spiritual and celestial affections are contained in charity toward the neighbor, and in love to God. Those who are not in them believe that they are not anything, when yet they fill the whole heaven, and this with unspeakable variety. Such affections together with their varieties are what are stored up in the internal sense of the Word, and are there, not only in each series, but also in each expression, nay, in each syllable, and they shine forth before the angels when the Word is being read by those who are in simple good and who are at the same time in innocence; and this, as before said, with unlimited variety.

[2] There are principally two kinds of affections which shine forth from the Word before the angels, namely, affections of truth and affections of good-affections of truth before the spiritual angels, and affections of good before the celestial angels. Affections of good, which are of love to the Lord, are altogether unutterable to man, and are therefore incomprehensible; but affections of truth, which are of mutual love, may in some measure be comprehended as to what is most general, yet only by those who are in genuine mutual love, and this not from any internal perception, but from such as is obscure.

[3] For example, in regard to the affection of indignation, which is here treated of-whoever does not know what the affection of charity is, in consequence of not being in it, can have no other idea than of such indignation as a man has when anything evil is done to him, which is the indignation of anger. The angels however have no such indignation, but an indignation altogether different, which is not of anger, but of zeal, in which there is nothing of evil, and which is as far removed from hatred or revenge, or from the spirit of returning evil for evil, as heaven is from hell; for it springs from good. But as before said the nature of this indignation cannot be expressed by any words.

[4] The case is similar in regard to the other affections which are from good and truth, and which are of good and truth, as is also evident from the fact that the angels are solely in ends, and in the uses of ends (n. 1317, 1645, 3645). Ends are nothing else than loves or affections (n. 1317, 1568, 1571, 1909, 3425, 3796); for what a man loves, that he regards as an end. And this being the case, the angels are in the affections of the things that are in the Word; and this with all variety, according to the kinds of affections in which the angels are. From this it is sufficiently evident how holy the Word is; for in the Divine love, that is, in the love which is from the Divine, there is holiness, and therefore in the things contained in the Word.