3605. And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him. That this signifies that natural good was averse to the inverted conjunction of truth is evident from the signification of “hating” as here in the internal sense being to be averse to, which is the subject treated of in what follows; and from the representation of Esau, as being natural good; and of Jacob as being natural truth (concerning which above); and from the signification of a “blessing” as being conjunction (see n. 3504, 3514, 3530, 3565, 3584); that here it is an inverted conjunction of truth which is represented by Jacob is evident from what was said and shown above (n. 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603).

[2] That in the internal sense “to hate” denotes to be averse to is because it is predicated of good, which is represented by Esau, and good does not even know what hatred is, being the direct opposite thereof, and opposites are never possible in the same subject; but instead of hatred, good, or they who are in good, feel a kind of aversion; hence it is that “hatred” here in the internal sense denotes to be averse to; for the internal sense is principally for those who are in heaven, wherefore when it descends thence, and is derived into the literal sense, then, the historicals being of this nature, the affection of aversion falls into the expression “hatred,” but yet in such a way that with those who are in heaven there is no idea of hatred. This case is like that which was related from experience in volume 1875 (see n. 1875), concerning the words in the Lord’s prayer, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”; in that temptation and evil are rejected until what is purely angelic, that is, good, remains without any idea of temptation and of evil, and this with the adjunction of a species of indignation and aversion, in regard to evil being thought of when the Lord is thought of.

[3] The case is the same when we read in the Word concerning Jehovah or the Lord “hating.” As in Zechariah:

Let none of you think evil in your heart of his neighbor; and love no lying oath; for all these are things that I hate, saith Jehovah (Zech. 8:17).

In Moses:

Thou shalt not set thee up a pillar, which Jehovah thy God hateth (Deuteronomy 16:22).

In Jeremiah:

Mine heritage is become unto Me as a lion in the forest; she hath uttered her voice against Me, therefore I have hated her (Jeremiah 12:8).

In Hosea:

In Gilgal I hated them; because of the wickedness of their works I will drive them out of Mine house; I will love them no more (Hos. 9:15).

In these passages “hatred,” predicated of Jehovah or the Lord, in the internal sense is not hatred, but mercy, for the Divine is mercy; but when this flows in with a man who is in evil, and he runs into the penalty of evil, it then appears as hatred and because it so appears, in the sense of the letter it is likewise so called.

[4] It is in the same way that “anger,” “wrath,” and “fury” are in the Word predicated of Jehovah or the Lord (concerning which, n. 245, 592, 696, 1093, 1683, 1874, 2395, 2447, 3235). Above all other peoples the Jewish and Israelitish people were such that as soon as they observed anything unfriendly, even in their associates, they believed it lawful to treat them cruelly, and not only to kill them, but also to expose them to wild beasts and birds; and therefore because the inflowing mercy of the Lord was turned with them into such hatred, not only against their enemies, but also against their companions, they could not believe otherwise than that Jehovah also entertained hatred, was angry, wrathful, and furious, and for this reason it is so expressed in the Word according to the appearance; for such as is a man’s quality, such the Lord appears to him (see n. 1838, 1861, 2706). But what the quality of hatred is with those who are in love and charity, that is, who are in good, is evident from the words of the Lord in Matthew:

Ye have heard that it has been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy; but I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that injure and persecute you, that ye may be the sons of your Father who is in the heavens (Matthew 5:43-45).

3235. And Abraham added, and took a woman. That this signifies another state of the Lord, whom Abraham represents, and that Abraham and Sarah represented the Lord as to the Divine celestial, and Abraham and Keturah as to the Divine spiritual, is evident from the things hitherto said and shown concerning Abraham and Sarah his wife, and from those here related concerning Abraham and Keturah. But as it is said that Abraham here represents another state of the Lord, and that Abraham and Sarah represented the Lord as to the Divine celestial, but Abraham and Keturah the Lord as to the Divine spiritual, it should be known what the Divine celestial is, and what the Divine spiritual.

[2] The Divine celestial and the Divine spiritual are such in respect to those who receive the Divine of the Lord, for the Lord appears to everyone according to the nature of him who receives, as may be seen from what has been said above (n. 1838, 1861), and is clearly manifest from the fact that the Lord appears in one way to the celestial, but in another to the spiritual; for to the celestial He appears as a sun, but to the spiritual as a moon (n. 1529-1531, 1838). The Lord appears to the celestial as a sun, because they are in celestial love, that is, in love to the Lord; but to the spiritual as a moon, because they are in spiritual love, that is, in charity toward the neighbor. The difference is like that between the light of the sun in the daytime and the light of the moon by night; it is also like the difference between the heat of the one and the heat of the other, from which springs vegetation. This is what is meant in the first chapter of Genesis by the words:

And God made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night (Genesis 1:16).

[3] Speaking generally, the Lord’s kingdom is both celestial and spiritual; that is, it consists of those who are celestial, and of those who are spiritual. And it is because the Divine of the Lord appears to the celestial as celestial, and to the spiritual as spiritual, that it is here said that Abraham and Sarah represented the Lord as to the Divine celestial, and that Abraham and Keturah represented Him as to the Divine spiritual. But as scarcely any know what the celestial is and what the spiritual, or who the celestial and the spiritual are, see what has already been said and shown concerning them, namely: What the celestial is, and what the spiritual (n. 1155, 1577, 1824, 2048, 2184, 2227, 2507): Who are celestial and who are spiritual (n. 2088, 2669, 2708, 2715): That the celestial man is a likeness of the Lord and does good from love, and the spiritual man is an image of the Lord and does good from faith (n. 50-52, 1013): That the celestial perceive truth from good, and that they never reason concerning truth (n. 202, 337, 607, 895, 1121, 2715): That in the celestial man good is implanted in his will part, but in the spiritual man it is implanted in his intellectual part, and that in this part a new will is created in those who are spiritual (n. 863, 875, 895, 897, 927, 1023, 1043, 1044, 2256): That the celestial from good itself see indefinite things, but that the spiritual, because they reason whether a thing is so, cannot attain to the first boundary of the light of the celestial (n. 2718): That the spiritual are in relative obscurity (n. 1043, 2708, 2715): That the Lord came into the world in order to save the spiritual (n. 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834).