5965. 'And came to the land of Canaan, to Jacob their father' means the dwelling-place where natural but not spiritual good resides. This is clear from the meaning of 'the land of Canaan' as the Church, dealt with in 3705, 3686, 4447, 4517, 5136, and so the dwelling-place of those who were to represent the Church, who were the descendants of Jacob, as is well known; and from the representation of 'Jacob' as natural good, dealt with in 3305, 3659, 3775, 4009, 4073, 4234, 4538, but not spiritual good since this is represented by 'Israel'. For the representation of 'Jacob' as the external aspect of the Church and of 'Israel' as the internal, see 4186, 4570. Whether you say natural good or the external aspect of the Church, and spiritual good or the internal aspect of the Church, it all amounts to the same since natural good constitutes the external aspect of the Church, and spiritual good the internal aspect of the Church.

[2] The expression 'spiritual' is used to describe that which is in the light of heaven, for what is in that light has the affection for good and the perception of truth within itself. Such affection and perception make use of that light because that light comes from the Lord. People therefore who have spiritual good and truth within themselves are in the internal part of the Church, for their heads are up in heaven. But the expression 'natural' is used to describe that which is in the light of the world, for what is in this light does not have the affection for good or the perception of truth within itself, only outside itself. For the light of heaven flows down and shines round about it, thus outside it but not within it, with the result that the person can know that good is good or truth is truth because it is said to be good or truth but not because he perceives for himself that it is such. People therefore who have only natural good within themselves are in the external part of the Church, for their heads are not in heaven. Instead what light their heads receive from heaven comes from without. Jacob is called Jacob, not Israel, at this point for the reason that they are engrossed in external interests, as is plain from what has been stated above.

4234. 'Jacob went on his way' means the progression of truth so that it might be joined to spiritual and celestial good. This is clear from the representation of 'Jacob' at this point as the truth of the natural. What 'Jacob' represented has been stated already, namely the Lord's Natural. And because the subject in the internal sense where the historical narrative has to do with Jacob is the Lord and how He made His Natural Divine, Jacob therefore first represented truth within that Natural and then truth to which the parallel good meant by Laban had been allied. And once this good had been allied to it Jacob represented that kind of good. That kind of good is not however Divine good within the Natural but intermediate good by means of which He was able to receive Divine good. Jacob represented such intermediate good when he departed from Laban, though essentially that good is truth, which by virtue of being intermediate has the capacity to join itself to Divine good within the Natural. It is that kind of truth that Jacob represents now.

[2] The good however to which that truth was to be joined is represented by 'Esau' - 'Esau' being the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Natural, see 3300, 3302, 3494, 3504, 3527, 3576, 3599, 3669, 3677. It is the actual joining together of the two - the joining of the Divine truth to the Divine good of the Lord's Divine Natural - that is the subject now in the highest sense. For once Jacob has departed from Laban and come to the Jordan, and so to the place of entry into the land of Canaan, he comes to represent that conjunction; for in the internal sense the land of Canaan means heaven, and in the highest sense the Lord's Divine Human, 3038, 3705. This explains why the words 'And Jacob went on his way' mean the progression of truth so that it might be joined to spiritual and celestial good.

[3] But these matters are such that a full and intelligible explanation of them cannot be given at all, for the reason that not even the learned in the Christian world possess the vaguest notions on the subject. For scarcely any knowledge exists of what man's natural is, or of what his rational is, or of the fact that the two are altogether distinct and separate from each other. Nor is there much knowledge of what spiritual truth is or of the good which goes with that truth, or of the fact that these likewise are distinct and separate. Still less is it known that when a person is being regenerated truth is joined to good, in one distinct and separate way in the natural, in another in the rational, and by means that are countless. In fact it is not even known that the Lord made His Human Divine according to the same order as that by which He regenerates man.

[4] Since therefore not even the vaguest notions exist about these matters, any statements made about them are bound to seem obscure. Nevertheless such statements must be made because the internal sense of the Word cannot be explained in any other way. If nothing else they will show what angelic wisdom is and the nature of it, for the internal sense of the Word is primarily for angels.