3839. 'And he said to Laban, What is this you have done to me?' means indignation. This is clear from the affectional content of these words and of those that follow; for as accords with the sequence of events in this historical narrative it is the feeling of indignation that is expressed in these words. There are two elements which constitute the internal sense of the Word - affections and subject-matter. The affections lying within expressions of the Word are not visible to man but are concealed there inmostly. Nor can they be visible since man during his lifetime is governed by worldly and bodily affections, which have nothing in common with the affections present in the internal sense of the Word. That sense contains affections which belong to spiritual and celestial love, affections which mankind is that much less capable of perceiving because those in whom they exist are few, and the few in whom they do exist are for the most part simple people who have no ability to reflect on affections. All others do not even know what genuine affection is. These affections that belong to celestial and spiritual love manifest themselves in charity towards the neighbour and in love to God. Those in whom such affections do not exist do not believe that they are anything at all, when in fact those affections fill the whole of heaven, doing so in varying ways beyond description. These are the affections, together with the variations of them, which have been stored away in the internal sense of the Word, residing not only in every sentence but also in every expression, indeed in every detail. And they reveal themselves to angels when the Word is read by people in whom simple good and at the same time innocence are present; and they reveal themselves, as has been stated, in ways unendingly various.
[2] There are principally two kinds of affections which shine out of the Word for angels to see - affections for truth and affections for good. Affections for truth reveal themselves to spiritual angels, affections for good to celestial angels. The latter, namely affections for good, which belong to love to the Lord, are altogether indescribable to man and are consequently incomprehensible too. But affections for truth, which belong to mutual love, are to some extent comprehensible in their most general aspects, though only to people in whom mutual love is present. And even those general aspects are not comprehensible to them from any internal perception except one that is obscure.
[3] Take for example the affection or feeling of indignation referred to in this verse. Anyone who does not know what charitable affection is, for the reason that this is not present in him, can have no other idea of what it is but the kind of indignation that is aroused in a person when some wrong is done to him - which in reality is a feeling of anger. But that kind of indignation does not exist with angels but an altogether different kind, which is not the expression of anger but of zeal, and holds nothing evil in it at all. This indignation is as far away from hatred, or revenge, or repaying evil with evil, as heaven is from hell; for it wells up out of good. But the nature of that indignation, as has been stated, cannot be expressed by any words. The situation is similar with all other affections which originate in good and truth and which belong to good and truth.
[4] This is also evident from the fact that angels are concerned solely with ends in view, and with the purposes engendered by those ends, 1317, 1645, 3645. Ends in view are nothing else than loves or affections, 1317, 1568, 1571, 1909, 3425, 3796; for what a person loves he has as his end in view. This being so, angels are acquainted with the affections enclosed in the subject-matter of the Word; and this entails every variation according to the types of affections present in the angels. From this it becomes quite clear how holy the Word is, for Divine love, that is, love coming from the Divine, has holiness within it, and so therefore do the subjects within the Word.
