4284. 'And he said, I will not let you go unless you bless me' means that a joining together was to take place. This is clear from the meaning of 'not letting you go' as the fact that the temptation was not going to come to an end, dealt with immediately above in 4283, and from the meaning of 'blessing' as conjunction, dealt with in 3504, 3514, 3530, 3584. From this it is evident that 'I will not let you go unless you bless me' means that it would not come to an end until the conjunction was effected, that is, when the joining together was to take place.

3504.'So that my soul may bless you' means allying it to its own life, consequently life that corresponds to the rational. This is clear from the meaning of 'being blessed' as being endowed with celestial and spiritual good, dealt with in 981, 1731, 2846, 3017, 3406. For the good of early childhood and consequently the good of life, which is the same as the good of the natural, and which is represented by 'Esau', is not spiritual good, for the good of early childhood is devoid of knowledge and intelligence, and so of wisdom. The good of early childhood becomes spiritual good through the implantation of truth, and so through regeneration, see 1616, 1802, 2280, 2290, 2291, 2299, 2304, 2305, 2307, 3494 (end). This is how the correspondence between rational things and natural is effected, and so how the allying of the natural man to the life of the rational is effected. This allying to its own life is what is meant by 'my soul may bless you'.