4109. Verses 19-21 And Laban had gone to shear his flock, and Rachel stole the teraphim which belonged to her father. And Jacob stole the heart ¹ of Laban the Aramean by not giving him any indication that he was fleeing. And he fled with all that he had; and he rose up and crossed the river; and he set his face towards mount Gilead.

'Laban had gone to shear his flock' means a state of use and of an end in view involving the good meant by 'Laban's flock'. 'And Rachel stole the teraphim which belonged to her father' means a change, as regards truth, of the state meant by 'Laban'. 'And Jacob stole the heart of Laban the Aramean' means a change, as regards good, of the state meant by 'Laban' - 'Laban the Aramean' meaning, as previously, a type of good which does not include Divine Truth and Good. 'By not giving him any indication that he was fleeing' means through the separation. 'And he fled with all that he had' means separation. 'And he rose up' means a raising up. 'And crossed the river' means a state in which a joining together takes place. 'And he set his face towards mount Gilead' means good within it.

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2066. 'And I will also give you a son by her' means the Rational. This is clear from the meaning of 'a son' as truth, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147. And because the whole of the rational originates in truth, 'a son' here means the rational. The Lord's first rational was represented and meant by Ishmael, born from the servant-girl Hagar. This was dealt with previously in Chapter 16. The second Rational, which is the subject here, is represented and meant by Isaac who was to be born from Sarah. The former, that represented by Ishmael, was the rational that was subsequently cast out of the house, but this latter Rational, which is represented by Isaac, is the one that remained in the house, because it was Divine. This rational is in the Lord's Divine mercy to be described in the next chapter where Isaac is the subject.