Arcana Coelestia #3575
3575. 'And he smelled the odour of his clothes' means the pleasing emanation from the truth of good which he perceived. This is clear from the meaning of 'odour' as that which is pleasing, dealt with in 925, and of 'smelling' as perceiving that which is pleasant, and from the meaning of 'clothes' as truth, dealt with in 297, 1073, 2576. Because the clothes were Esau's, to whom 'his' refers here, and 'Esau' represents the good of the natural, it is the truth of good that is meant. The truth of good is that which is produced in the natural through the direct and indirect influx of the rational, dealt with above in 3573. This was the truth that was being sought. But because it could not be produced by means of direct influx from the good of the rational without indirect influx simultaneously, that is, influx through the truth of the rational, and this was not possible except through the many intermediate things which Esau and Jacob are used to describe here in the internal sense, 'smelling the odour of his clothes' therefore means the truth of good which was perceived.
Luke 1:67-75
67
His father, Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
68
"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and worked redemption for his people;
69
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
70
(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
71
salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us;
72
to show mercy towards our fathers, to remember his holy covenant,
73
the oath which he spoke to Abraham, our father,
74
to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve him without fear,
75
In holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
