3796. 'And so it was, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother' means an acknowledgement of the affection for that truth as to its origin. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing' here as acknowledging, as is evident from the train of thought, and from the representation of 'Rachel' as the affection for interior truth, dealt with above in 3793. The expression 'the daughter of Laban his mother's brother' embodies the origin of that affection; that is to say, it came from a parallel good which had been joined in a brotherly relationship to rational truth represented by 'Rebekah, Jacob's mother'.

[2] As regards affections for truth and good, genuine affections for truth and good which are perceived by a person all have a Divine origin since they come from the Lord. But as they come down they branch off into various and different streams where they form new origins for themselves. For as they flow into affections which are not genuine but spurious, and into affections for evil and falsity present with a person, so they become varied. Affections which often have a similar outward appearance to genuine ones present themselves, but these are nevertheless not genuine inwardly. The only way to establish their true identity is to discover the end they have in view. If that end is selfish or worldly those affections are not genuine. But if the end is the good of the neighbour, the good of the community, the good of the country, and more still if it is the good of the Church and the good of the Lord's kingdom, they are genuine, for in that case the Lord is their end, since the Lord is within those varieties of good.

[3] But it is the mark of someone wise to be aware of which ends are present in himself. Sometimes it does seem as though his ends are selfish when in fact they are not, for the human being is such that in everything he considers how it affects himself. This he does regularly and habitually. But if anyone wishes to know the ends he himself has in view he has merely to take note of his feeling of delight - whether it is on account of his receiving praise and glory, or whether it is on account of his performing some unselfish service. If it is the latter delight which he feels, genuine affection is present in him. He ought also to take note of the varying states he passes through, for those states cause his feelings to vary considerably. A person is able to find these things out in himself, but not in others, for the ends in view to anyone's affection are known to the Lord alone. This is why the Lord said,

Do not judge, lest you are judged; do not condemn, lest you are condemned. Luke 6:37.

For a thousand people may apparently share the same affection for truth and goodness, and yet the affection in each of them may have a different origin, that is, each may have a different end in view.

[4] The reason the end makes the affection what it is - that is to say, genuine, spurious, or false - is that the end is the person's actual life. Indeed a person has as his end in view that which constitutes his life, or what amounts to the same, his love. When the good of the neighbour, the common good, the good of the Church and of the Lord's kingdom is the end in view, a person's soul is in the Lord's kingdom and so abides with the Lord. For the Lord's kingdom is nothing else than a kingdom of ends and purposes directed towards the good of the human race, 3645. Angels themselves present with a person are nowhere else than within his ends in view. To the extent that someone's end in view is such as that which exists in the Lord's kingdom, angels take delight in him and join themselves to him as a brother. But to the extent a person's end is himself, angels depart and evil spirits from hell draw near, for in hell no other end in view reigns. From these considerations one may see how important it is to find out and to know where one's affections originate; these can be known from nothing else than one's end in view.

7230. Verses 14-25 These are the heads of their fathers' houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Enoch ¹ and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben. And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon. And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their births: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. And the years of Levi's life were one hundred and thirty-seven years. The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimei, according to their families. And the sons of Kohath were Amram and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of Kohath's life were one hundred and thirty-three years. And the sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their births. And Amram took Jochebed his father's sister as wife, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of Amram's life were one hundred and thirty-seven years. And the sons of Izhar were Korah and Nepheg, and Zichri. And the sons of Uzziel were Mishael and Elzaphan, and Sithri. And Aaron took Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab, and Abihu, and Eleazar, and Ithamar. And the sons of Korah were Assir and Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites. And Eleazar, Aaron's son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.

[2] 'These are the heads of their fathers' houses' means the chief aspects of the Church. 'The sons of Reuben were Enoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi' means aspects of faith present in the understanding. 'These are the families of Reuben' means the truths of faith. 'And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar' means aspects of faith expressed in action. 'And Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman' means aspects of truth expressed in action outside the Church. 'These are the families of Simeon' means the truths and forms of the good belonging to that faith. 'And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their births: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari' means aspects of charity. 'And the years of Levi's life were one hundred and thirty-seven years' means the essential nature and state.

[3] 'The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimei, according to their families' means the first group of the forms of goodness and truth that derive from charity. 'And the sons of Kohath were Amram and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel' means the second group of the forms of goodness and truth that derive from charity. 'And the years of Kohath's life were one hundred and thirty-three years' means the essential nature and state. 'And the sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi' means the third group of the forms of goodness and truth that derive from charity. 'These are the families of Levi according to their births' means that these are the forms of good and of truth that spring from charity. 'And Amram took Jochebed his father's sister as wife' means good derived from charity joined to kindred truth. 'And she bore him Aaron and Moses' means that from this union the teachings of the Church and the law from God came to them. 'And the years of Amram's life were one hundred and thirty-seven years' means the essential nature and state.

[4] 'And the sons of Izhar were Korah and Nepheg, and Zichri' means the good, and the truth from that good, which belong to one part of the next generation descending from the second group. 'And the sons of Uzziel were Mishael and Elzaphan, and Sithri' means the good within truth belonging to another part of the next generation descending from the same group. 'And Aaron took Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, as wife' means the teachings of the Church and the way in which goodness and truth were joined together within them. 'And she bore him Nadab, and Abihu, and Eleazar, and Ithamar' means forms of faith and charity descending from that group and their essential nature.

[5] 'And the sons of Korah were Assir and Elkanah, and Abiasaph' means yet another generation descending from the second group. 'These are the families of the Korahites' means the essential nature of forms of goodness and truth. 'And Eleazar, Aaron's son' means religious teachings derived from the primary doctrine of charity. 'Took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife' means goodness and truth joined together within those teachings. 'And she bore him Phinehas' means what derived from that union. 'These are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families' means the chief aspects within the Church of charity and of faith that stems from it.

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