103. I will here add this fact, hitherto unknown, concerning the soul. The soul, which is from the father, is the real man, and the body, which is from the mother, is not in itself the man but is from him; it is merely a covering for him, composed of material things belonging to the natural world, but his soul is formed of such substances as belong to the spiritual world. After death every man lays aside what is natural, derived from the mother, but retains what is spiritual, derived from the father, together with a kind of border (limbus) around it from the purest things of nature. With those who come into heaven this substance is beneath, and the spiritual is above; but with those who come into hell this substance is above, and the spiritual beneath. For this reason an angelic man speaks from heaven, thus what is good and true; but an infernal man, when he speaks from the heart, speaks from hell; while he may speak as if from heaven, but from the lips only. The latter he may do when abroad, but the former he does at home.

[2] Since a man's soul is the real man, and is spiritual in its origin, it is clear why the mind, temper, disposition, inclination and affection of the father's love dwell in the succeeding offspring, and return and display themselves from generation to generation. This is the reason why many families, even whole nations, are known by the resemblance they bear to their original progenitor; there is a common likeness which shows itself in the countenance of every one of the race: and this likeness is not changed except by the spiritual things of the Church. The common likeness of Jacob and Judah, by which their posterity are distinguished from others, still persists, because they have hitherto firmly adhered to their religion. For in the seed from which every one is conceived there is a graft, or offshoot, of the father's soul in its fullness, within a kind of covering composed of natural elements. By means of this his body is formed in the womb of the mother, which may be in the likeness either of the father or of the mother, the likeness of the father still remaining within, and continually endeavoring to bring itself forth; and if it cannot do so in the first generation, it effects it in those that follow. The likeness of the father is in its fullness in the seed because, as has been stated, the soul is spiritual in its origin, and what is spiritual has nothing in common with space; and therefore the likeness remains the same, as well in small compass as in large. When the Lord was in the world, by the acts of redemption He put off the whole of the Human which He had from the mother and put on a Human from the Father, the Divine Human; therefore in Him Man is God, and God Man.

2649. 'On the day when he was to wean Isaac' means a state of separation. This is clear from the meaning of 'day' as state, dealt with in 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, and from the meaning of 'being weaned' as being separated, dealt with in 2647. Verse 1 onwards of this chapter has dealt in the following order with the Lord's Divine Essence united to His Human Essence:

The presence of the Divine within the Human, for the sake of the two being united, verse 1.

The presence of the Human within the Divine, and thus a reciprocal union, dealt with in 2004, verse 2,

From that union the Human was made Divine, verse 3.

This was effected gradually and constantly while the Lord lived in the world, verse 4.

It started to be effected when the rational was in a state to receive, verse 5.

The nature of the state of union is described, together with the arcana of that state, verses 6-7.

Now reference follows, and is continued through to verse 12, to the separation of the human received from the mother. That separation is meant in this present verse by 'the weaning of Isaac', and in those that follow it is represented by Hagar's son being cast out of the house. And because the union of the Lord's Divine with His Human, and of the Human with the Divine, is the marriage itself of Good and Truth, and from this marriage is derived the heavenly marriage, which is the same as the Lord's kingdom, mention is therefore made of 'a great feast which Abraham made when Isaac was weaned', by which is meant the first stage of that marriage or the first union. Unless this 'feast', and also the weaning, had had some hidden meaning, it would never have been mentioned.

[2] Since the subject which follows now is the separation of the first human which the Lord had from the mother and the total casting off of it ultimately, it should be recognized that right to the end of His life when He was glorified the Lord gradually and constantly separated from Himself and cast off that which was merely human. That is to say, He cast off that which He had derived from the mother, until ultimately He was no longer her son but the Son of God not only in conception but also in birth, and so was one with the Father and was Jehovah himself. The truth that He separated from Himself and cast off the whole of the human received from the mother, insomuch that He was her son no longer, is plainly evident from the Lord's own words in John,

When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no wine. Jesus said to her, O woman, What have you to do with Me? John 2:3-4.

In Matthew,

Someone said, Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside asking to speak to You. But Jesus answering said to the one who had told Him, Who is My mother, and who are My brothers? And stretching out His hand over His disciples He said, Behold My mother and My brothers; for whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother. Matthew 12:47-50; Mark 3:32-35; Luke 11:27-28.

In Luke,

A certain woman lifting up her voice out of the crowd ¹ said to Him, Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts that You sucked. But Jesus said, Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it. Luke 11:27-28.

[3] Here, when the woman referred to His mother, the Lord spoke of those mentioned in the preceding quotation. That is to say, He spoke of 'whoever does the will of My Father is My brother, sister, and mother', which amounts to the same as saying, 'Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it'. In John,

Jesus seeing his mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, said to His mother, O woman, behold your son! Then He said to the disciple, Behold your mother! From that hour therefore the disciple took her to his own home. John 19:26-27.

From these words it is evident that the Lord spoke to her according to what she was thinking when she saw Him on the Cross - though He does not call her mother but woman - and that He gave the name mother instead to those meant by the disciple; hence His words to the disciple, Behold your mother! The matter is plainer still from the Lord's own words in Matthew,

Jesus questioned the Pharisees saying, What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He? They said to Him, David's. He said to them, How is it then that David in the spirit calls Him Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool. If therefore David calls Him Lord, how is He his son? And no one was able to answer Him a word. Matthew 22:41-end; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:42-44.

Accordingly He was no longer David's son as to the flesh.

[4] As regards the separation and casting off of the human from the mother, it must be added that they have no conception of this who entertain merely bodily ideas about the Lord's Human and think of it as they do of the human of any other. To such people these matters are as a consequence stumbling-blocks. They do not know that as is the life so is the person, and that the Divine Being (Esse) of life, or Jehovah, was the Lord's from conception and that a similar Being (Esse) of life manifested itself within His Human through union.

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