4542. When thou fleddest from before Esau thy brother. That this signifies when truth was set before good, is evident from the representation of Esau, as being the Divine good of the Lord’s Divine natural (see n. 3322, 3494, 3504, 3576, 3599). That the signification is when truth was set before good, may be seen from the explications given about Jacob (Genesis 27), when he fled before Esau, for the cause of his flight was that Jacob had taken away the birthright from Esau, by which is signified that truth had set itself before good; for Jacob there represents the truth of the Lord’s natural, and Esau its good. The reason why truth had set itself before good was that when anyone is being regenerated, truth is apparently in the first place; but after he has been regenerated, good is in the first place and truth is in a secondary place (see n. 3324, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3610, 3701, 4243, 4244, 4247, 4337). Hence it is, that “when thou fleddest from before Esau thy brother” signifies when truth was set before good.

3548. And he came unto his father and said, My father; and he said, Behold me, who art thou my son? That this signifies a state of perception from the presence of that truth, is evident from the representation of Isaac, who is here the “father;” and from the representation of Jacob, who is here the “son,” concerning which several times before; also from the signification of “saying,” as being to perceive, concerning which likewise above. From these and from the rest of the expressions it is evident that the signification herein is a state of perception from the presence of that truth which is represented by Jacob; but what is the quality of this truth which is now represented by Jacob is manifest from the internal sense of what goes before and of what follows, namely, that in outward form it appears like the good and the truth of good which are represented by Esau and are signified by his hunting, but that it is not such in its internal form. The natural as to truth in the man who is being regenerated, that is, before he has been regenerated, appears of this character, not indeed in the sight of man, for he knows nothing about the good and truth with him during regeneration; but in the sight of the angels, who see such things in the light of heaven. Man does not even know what the good and truth of the natural are; and because he does not know this, he cannot perceive it; and because he does not perceive it in general, neither can he perceive it in particular; thus he cannot perceive the differences, and still less the changes of their state; and this being so, he can with difficulty comprehend from any description how the case is with this good and its truth. But as these matters are what are treated of in this chapter, therefore in what follows the subject is to be unfolded insofar as it can be apprehended.