4277. 'And he touched the hollow of his thigh' means where celestial-spiritual good is joined to natural good meant by 'Jacob'. This is clear from the meaning of 'the thigh' as conjugial love, and consequently as all celestial and spiritual love, since these are derived from conjugial love as offspring from their parent, dealt with in 3021; and from the meaning of 'the hollow' or socket or cavity of it - that is to say, of the thigh - as the place where the joining together exists, and here therefore where celestial-spiritual good is joined to natural good meant by 'Jacob'. But no one can be told anything about that conjunction unless he knows first of all what celestial-spiritual good, meant by 'Israel', is, and what natural good, meant by 'Jacob', is. It will be told below at verse 28 where Jacob, who at that point is named Israel, is the subject and also further on where Jacob's descendants are the subject.

5051. In a peaceful dream I once saw some trees planted in a wooden receptacle, one of which was tall, another shorter, and two were small. The shorter tree gave me very great delight, and all the while a very lovely feeling of peacefulness, beyond my ability to describe, was filling my mind. When I woke up from my sleep I talked to those among whom my dream had originated. They were angelic spirits, see 1977, 1979. Who told me what was meant by that sight - conjugial love. The tall tree meant a husband, the shorter his wife, and the two small ones their children. Those angelic spirits went on to say that the very lovely feeling of peacefulness which filled my mind served to indicate the loveliness of the peace enjoyed by those in the next life who have led lives of genuine conjugial love. They added that people like these are the ones who belong to the province of the thighs immediately above the knees, and that those whose state is yet more lovely belong to the province of the loins. I was also shown that this province communicates through the feet with the soles and heels. The existence of this communication is also evident from the large nerve in the thigh which sends out its branches not only through the loins to the generative parts, which are the organs of conjugial love, but also through the feet to the soles and heels. Those angelic spirits also disclosed to me at this time the meaning in the Word of the acetabulum and the nerve in the thigh which was put out of joint when Jacob wrestled with the angel, Genesis 32:25, 31-32, dealt with in 4280, 4281, 4314-4317.

[2] After this I saw a large dog, like the one which very ancient authors call Cerberus. It had horrible, gaping jaws. I was told that a dog such as this means the guard which is set to prevent a person crossing over from heavenly conjugial love to a love of adultery, which is a hellish love. For heavenly conjugial love consists in one living, content in the Lord, together with one's partner whom one loves very tenderly, and with one's children. In the world this brings a person a deeper pleasure, and in the next life heavenly joy. But if people cross over from that love to its opposite, and this opposite love seems to them to hold heavenly delight within it, though in fact it is a hellish delight, a dog resembling Cerberus presents itself as if on guard to prevent any communication of opposite delights.