4821. 'And she conceived and bore a son' means that from this came the falsity of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'conceiving and bearing' as acknowledging in faith and action, dealt with in 3905, 3915, 3919, and from the meaning of 'a son' as the truth of the Church, but in the contrary sense falsity, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 3373, 4257. Consequently 'she conceived and bore a son' here means that the Church among the tribe of Judah acknowledged falsity in faith and action. The reason this son means the falsity of the Church is that he was the firstborn, and in the Ancient Churches 'the firstborn' meant the truth of faith, 352, 3325, and so in the contrary sense falsity, which was also the meaning of the firstborn among men and the firstborn among beasts in Egypt, 3325. The fact that truth is not meant but falsity is evident from what follows shortly, for in verse 7 it says, 'Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah caused him to die'. Er, this son's name, also implies the particular nature of this falsity, even as Onan, his second son's name, implies the particular nature of that meant by him, namely what is wrong or evil.

3905. 'Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob [any children]' means that interior truth was not yet acknowledged. This is clear from the representation of 'Rachel' as the affection for interior truth, or as interior truth itself, dealt with in 3758, 3782, 3793, 3819; from the meaning of 'bearing' as acknowledging in action as well as in faith, dealt with below; and from the representation of 'Jacob' as the good of natural truth, dealt with in 3669, 3677, 3829, and in the whole of the previous chapter. The reason why 'bearing' means acknowledging in action as well as in faith is that births in the Word mean spiritual births, 1145, 1255, 3860, 3868. Spiritual birth is the acknowledgement of and faith in truth and good, in this verse acknowledgement in action as well as in faith, that is to say, an acknowledgement of the interior truth represented by 'Rachel'. Since something is not acknowledged in faith until a person is living according to it the phrase 'acknowledgement in action as well as in faith' is therefore used. Truths of faith which are not learned for the sake of putting them into action but solely for the sake of knowing them attach themselves to affections for evil and falsity, and as a consequence are not the truths of faith with the person who learns them but within him go against faith.