3505. 'Before I die' means the first state of awakening in the natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'dying' as rising again or awakening into life, dealt with in 3326, 3498. That this is the first state is evident from the consideration that it is the good of early childhood and therefore the good of life which comes first in regeneration, which first state up to now has been represented by 'Esau'. Subsequent states, dealt with consecutively, form the subject in this chapter.

3326. 'Esau said, Behold, I am going to die' means that [the good of the natural] would after that rise again. This is clear from the representation of 'Esau' as the good of the natural, dealt with in 3302, 3322, and from the meaning of 'dying' as the final phase of a state when something ceases to exist, dealt with in 2908, 2912, 2917, 2923. And since the end of the previous state is the beginning of the next, 'going to die', like 'being buried', here means rising again after that. For 'being buried' means rising again, see 2916, 2917, 3256. His rising again after that implies that good will come to have priority and dominion over truth, after truth in the short term has apparently had priority, dealt with above.