4278. 'And the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him' means that truth did not as yet have the power to join itself completely to good. This is clear from the meaning of 'being out of joint' as a situation in which truths have not yet been arranged into such an order that together with good they could all enter celestial-spiritual good, dealt with in the explanation at verse 31 below. The meaning as a consequence is that truth did not as yet have the power to join itself completely to good, for 'the hollow of the thigh' means the place where different kinds of good are joined together, as stated immediately above in 4277.

'Hollow of the thigh' denotes where there is conjunction of conjugial love. 'And the hollow, of Jacob's thigh was out of joint in his wrestling with him,' as mentioned in Genesis 32:25, signifies that at that moment truth had no ability to conjoin itself together to good, for 'to be out of joint' denotes that truths were not yet arranged in that order, that they together with good could enter celestial spiritual good.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 4277, 4278)

3834. 'That he took Leah his daughter and brought her to him, and he came [in] to her' means that as yet it was a joining merely to the affection for external truth. This is clear from the representation of 'Leah' as the affection for external truth, dealt with in 3793, 3819. 'Bringing her to him' clearly means a joining together as in marriage. The implications of this are that with a person who feels an affection for internal truth, that is, has a desire to know the more internal arcana of the Lord's kingdom, those arcana are not in the beginning joined to him even though he knows them and sometimes even though he acknowledges and seemingly believes them. For worldly and bodily affections are still present, and these cause him to take them in and seemingly believe them. But insofar as those affections are present those truths cannot be joined to him. It is solely the affection for truth deriving from good and the affection for good which attach them to him. Insofar as anyone is stirred by these affections more internal truths are joined to him, for truths are the recipient vessels of good.

[2] Indeed the Lord provides against celestial and spiritual truths, such as all interior truths are, being joined to any affections other than genuine ones. This is why the general affection for truth deriving from good comes first and why truths that are implanted in it are none but general truths. States of truth are altogether what they are by virtue of states of good, that is, a state of faith is what it is by virtue of a state of charity. For example, even the evil are able to know that the Lord rules the whole of heaven, and also that heaven consists in mutual love and love to the Lord, as well as that these loves enable those in heaven to be joined to the Lord, and to receive wisdom and happiness there. The evil can indeed be convinced that all this is true. But the truth of faith has not been joined to them, still less the good of love. It is from the life that one knows whether these have been joined to a person, as a tree is known from its fruit. In the case of the evil it is like grapes containing no pips. When these are cast into the soil, no matter how fertile this is, they turn into mere compost. It is also like the glow at night of an ignis fatuus which vanishes the moment the sun comes up. But in the Lord's Divine mercy further discussion of this matter will appear later on.