4542. 'When you fled from before Esau your brother' means when truth was placed above good. This is clear from the representation of 'Esau' as the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Natural, dealt with in 3322, 3494, 3504, 3576, 3599. This meaning - when truth was placed above good - may be seen from the explanations - given at Chapter 27 of Genesis - of the events which led to Jacob's flight from Esau. The reason he fled from him was that Jacob had stolen the birthright from Esau, by which action truth's placing itself above good is meant; for in that chapter Jacob represents the truth, and Esau the good, of the Lord's Natural. The reason why truth placed itself above good was that while a person is being regenerated truth seemingly occupies the first place, but once he is regenerated good occupies the first place and truth the last, for which see 3324, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3610, 3701, 4243, 4244, 4247, 4337. This explains why 'when you fled from before Esau your brother' means when truth was placed above good.

3548. 'He went to his father, and said, My father. And he said, Behold, here I am; who are you, my son?' means a state of perception resulting from the presence of that truth. This becomes clear from the representation of Isaac, to whom 'father' refers here, and from the representation of Jacob, to whom 'son' refers, dealt with several times already; and also from the meaning of 'saying' as perceiving, also dealt with already. From these and all the other expressions used it is evident that it is a state of perception resulting from the presence of the truth represented by 'Jacob'. But the nature of this truth represented at this point by Jacob is evident from the internal sense of what comes before and after - that in outward form it is like the good and the truth acquired from good which are represented by 'Esau' and meant by his venison, but it is not so in inward form. With one who is being regenerated, that is, prior to his having been regenerated, the truth of the natural presents this outward appearance. Not indeed that the person himself sees it, for he is quite unaware of the presence of good and truth with him while he is being regenerated; but the eyes of angels who see such things in the light of heaven do behold it. Man is not even aware of what the good and the truth of the natural are, and being unaware of what they are he cannot perceive them. And because he does not perceive them in general nor is able to perceive them in particular, he does not perceive their differences, let alone their changes of state. Not perceiving these he is scarcely able to grasp from any description of them what this good and its truth are like. But as they are the subject in this chapter, an explanation is going to be given, so far as this can be made intelligible.