4696. 'And behold, the sun and the moon' means natural good and natural truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'the sun' as celestial good, dealt with in 1529, 1530, 2120, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060; and from the meaning of 'the moon' as spiritual good, which is truth, dealt with in 1529, 1530, 2495. In the highest sense 'the sun' means the Lord because He is seen as the sun by those in heaven who are governed by celestial love, and in the highest sense 'the moon' too means the Lord because He is seen as the moon by those in heaven who are governed by spiritual love. Also He is the source of every ray of light in heaven. Consequently the light received from the sun there is the celestial form of love, which is good, and the light received from the moon there is the spiritual form of love, which is truth. Here therefore 'the sun' means natural good and 'the moon' natural truth, since these two sources of light are used to refer to Jacob and Leah (as is evident from verse 10, where Jacob says, 'Shall we indeed come - I and your mother, and your brothers - to bow down to you to the earth?') and 'Jacob' represents natural good and 'Leah' natural truth, as shown already in various places. The Divine which comes from the Lord is in the highest sense the Divine within Him, but in the relative sense is the Divine going forth from Him. The Divine good received from Him is that which is called celestial, and the Divine truth received from Him is that which is referred to as spiritual. When the rational receives these it is in this case the good and truth of the rational that are meant; but when the natural receives them it is the good and truth of the natural that are meant. Here the good and truth of the natural are meant because the words used refer to Jacob and Leah.

6870. 'And this will be the sign to you that I have sent you' means the recognition that the Divine would go forth from Him. This is clear from the meaning of 'the sign' as the corroboration of truth and consequent recognition that it is indeed so; and from the meaning of 'being sent' as going forth, dealt with in 2397, 4710, 6831, so that 'being sent by God' is going forth from the Divine. It is also the Divine going forth from Him, for one who comes forth from the Divine is receptive of the Divine and extends its influence further.