4350. 'Esau ran to meet him' means the influx of Divine Natural Good. This is clear from the meaning of 'running to meet' as influx, and from the representation of 'Esau' as Divine Natural Good, dealt with in 4337, 4340. The reason why 'running to meet' means influx in this case is that Divine Good flows in by way of the internal man and goes to meet truth introduced through the external man, so that the two may be joined together. This is also evident from what follows, for the description which follows concerning his embracing him, falling on his neck, and kissing him, will be seen to mean a joining together effected through love.

According to Swedenborg, a person's name in the Bible represents his or her entire spiritual nature, their whole state of love (good or evil) and thought (from heavenly wisdom to infernal insanity). This is why the name of the Lord is so important; it represents and embodies His perfect love and perfect wisdom, which is everything that we should worship and follow. It's easy to see that names are important in the Bible. Jehovah changed Abram and Sarai to Abraham and Sarah, changed Jacob to Israel and included in the Ten Commandments the order that believers "shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." In the New Testament, Zacharias was told to name John the Baptist "John," and both Joseph (Matthew 1:21) and Mary (Luke 1:31) were told to name Jesus "Jesus." Jesus himself renamed Simon as Peter, and included the phrase "hallowed be thy name" in the Lord's prayer.

(Verweise: Luke 1)