3539. And put them upon Jacob her younger son. That this signifies the affection of truth, or the life of good from truth, is evident from the representation of Rebekah, as being the Divine truth of the Divine rational; from the representation of Jacob, as being the Divine truth of the Divine natural; and from the signification of “putting upon,” as being here to communicate and to imbue, namely, the truths of good which are signified by the “garments of Esau” (n. 3537), thus the affection of truth of the natural, which is here the same as the life of good from truth. How these things are to be understood may be known from what was said above (n. 3518); but because they are such things as are at this day utterly unknown, it is permitted to unfold them somewhat further to the apprehension. In this chapter the Lord is treated of, and how He made His very natural Divine; and in the representative sense there is treated of the regeneration of man as to his natural (see n. 3490).

[2] The case herein with man is this: The end of regeneration is that man may be made new as to his internal man, thus as to his soul or spirit; but man cannot be made new or regenerated as to his internal man unless he is regenerated as to his external man also; for although after death man becomes a spirit, he nevertheless has with him in the other life the things which are of his external man, namely, natural affections, and also doctrinal things, and even memory-knowledges; in a word, all things of the exterior or natural memory (see n. 2475-2483); for these are the planes in which his interiors are terminated; and therefore according to the disposition that has been made of these things is the character of interior things when they flow into them, because they are modified in them. This shows that man must be regenerated or made new not only as to his internal or rational man, but also as to his external or natural man; and unless this were the case there would not be any correspondence. (That there is a correspondence between the internal man and its spiritual things, and the external man and its natural things, may be seen above, n. 2971, 2987, 2989-2990, 3002, 3493)

[3] The state of the regeneration of man is described in a representative sense in this chapter by “Esau” and “Jacob;” here, the quality of man’s first state while he is being regenerated, or before he has been regenerated; for this state is entirely inverted in respect to that in which man is when he has been regenerated. For in the former state, during regeneration, or before he has been regenerated, intellectual things which are of truth apparently act the first part; but when he has been regenerated, the things of the will, which are of good, act the first part. That intellectual things which are of truth apparently act the first part in the first state, was represented by Jacob, in that he claimed the birthright of Esau for himself (see n. 3325, 3336); and also in that he claimed the blessing, which is here treated of; and that the state has been completely inverted, is represented by Jacob’s feigning to be Esau, in clothing himself with the garments of Esau and the skins of the kids of the she-goats; for in this state rational truth not yet thus conjoined with rational good, or what is the same, the understanding not thus conjoined with the will, in this manner inflows and acts into the natural, and disposes inversely the things which are there.

[4] This can also be seen from much experience, especially from the fact that a man is able to observe in the understanding, and thereby his natural can know, many things which are good and true, and yet the will cannot as yet act in accordance with them; as for instance that love and charity are the essential in man: this the intellectual faculty of man can see and confirm, but until he has been regenerated the will faculty cannot acknowledge it: there are even those who are in no love to the Lord whatever, and in no charity toward the neighbor, who well apprehend this. In like manner that love is the very life of man, and that such as the love is, such is the life; and likewise that everything delightful and everything pleasant is from love, consequently all joy and all happiness; and therefore also such as the love is, such is the joy and such the happiness. A man is also able to apprehend in his understanding, even should his will dissent or go contrary thereto, that the happiest life is from love to the Lord and from charity toward the neighbor, because the very Divine flows into it; and on the other hand that the most miserable life is from the love of self and the love of the world, because hell flows into it; and from this it may be perceptible to the understanding, yet not to the will, that love to the Lord is the life of heaven, and that mutual love is the soul from this life; and therefore insofar as a man does not think from the life of his will, nor reflect upon his life derived therefrom, so far he perceives this in his understanding; but insofar as he thinks from the life of his will, so far he does not perceive, nay denies it.

[5] Also to the understanding it may clearly appear that it is into the humiliation with a man that the Divine can inflow; for the reason that in this state the loves of self and of the world, and consequently the infernal things which oppose, are removed; but yet so long as the will is not new and the understanding has not been united to it, the man cannot be in humiliation of heart; nay, insofar as the man is in a life of evil, that is, insofar as his will is toward evil, so far this state is not possible; and what is more, so far the matter is obscure to him, and so far he even denies it. Hence also a man can perceive in his understanding that the humiliation of man is not for the sake of the Lord’s love of glory, but for the sake of His Divine love, and in order that He can thereby inflow with good and truth and make the man blessed and happy; nevertheless so far as the will is consulted, so far this is obscured. The same is true in very many other cases.

[6] This faculty of man of being able to understand what is good and true although he does not will it, has been given to man in order that he may have the capacity of being reformed and regenerated; on which account this faculty exists with the evil as well as with the good; nay, with the evil it is sometimes more acute, but with this difference, that with the evil there is no affection of truth for the sake of life, that is, for the sake of the good of life from truth, and therefore they cannot be reformed; but with the good there is the affection of truth for the sake of life, that is, for the sake of the good of life, and therefore they can be reformed. But the first state of the reformation of these is that the truth of doctrine appears to them to be in the first place, and the good of life in the second, because they do what is good from truth; and their second state is that the good of life is in the first place, and the truth of doctrine in the second, for then they do what is good from good, that is, from the will of good; and when this is the case, because the will has been conjoined with the understanding as in a marriage, the man has been regenerated. In the internal sense these two states are treated of in the things said concerning Esau and Jacob.

3336. And Esau despised the birthright. That this signifies that in the meantime the good of life made no account of the priority, is evident from the signification of “despising,” as being to make no account of; from the representation of Esau, as being the good of life (n. 3300, 3322); and from the signification of “birthright,” as being priority (n. 3325). That it is in the meantime, or for a time, may be seen above (n. 3324, 3325, 3330). Hence it is manifest that by “Esau despising the birthright” is signified that in the meantime the good of life made no account of the priority. In order that what is related in this chapter concerning Esau and Jacob may be apprehended in regard to its signification in the internal sense, the thought must be removed entirely from the historicals, thus from the persons of Esau and Jacob; and instead of them must be substituted the things they represent, namely, the good of the natural and its truth; or what is the same, the spiritual man who is being regenerated by means of truth and good; for in the internal sense of the Word names signify nothing else than actual things. When the good of the natural and its truths are thought of instead of Esau and Jacob, it is then evident how the case is with man’s regeneration by means of truth and good, namely, that in the beginning truth apparently has the priority with him, and also the superiority, although in itself good is prior and superior.

[2] In order that it may be still more clearly evident how the case is with this priority and superiority, something further shall be said. It is easy to see that nothing can possibly enter into man’s memory and remain there, unless there is a certain affection or love which introduces it. If there is no affection, or what is the same, no love, there will be no observation. It is this affection, or love, with which the thing that enters connects itself, and being connected remains; as is evident from the fact that when a similar affection or love returns, the thing itself recurs, and is presented to view along with other things that had before entered by virtue of a similar affection or love; and this in a series. From this comes man’s thought; and from this thought his speech. In like manner also when the thing itself returns, if this is effected by objects of the senses, or by objects of the thought, or by the discourse of another, the affection also with which the thing had entered is reproduced. This is the teaching of experience, and on reflection everyone may be confirmed in it.

[3] The doctrinal things of truth enter in like manner into the memory; and the things that at first introduce them are affections of various loves, as before said (n. 3330). Genuine affection, which is of the good of charity, is not then observed; but still it is present; and so far as it can be present, it is adjoined by the Lord to the doctrinal things of truth; and so far also they remain adjoined. When therefore the time comes that the man can be regenerated, the Lord inspires the affection of good, and through this excites the things which have been adjoined by Him to this affection, which things are called in the Word “remains;” and then by means of this affection (that is, of the affection of good), by successive steps the Lord removes the affections of other loves, consequently also the things that have been connected with them. And thus the affection of good, or what is the same, the good of life, begins to have the dominion. It indeed had the dominion before, but this could not appear to the man; for insofar as a man is in the love of self and of the world, the good which is of genuine love does not appear. From this it may now be seen what is signified in the internal sense by the things historically related concerning Esau and Jacob.