9371. THE INTERNAL SENSE.

Verses 1-2. And He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and bow yourselves afar off; and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah; and they shall not come near; and the people shall not come up with him. “And He said unto Moses,” signifies that which concerns the Word in general; “come up unto Jehovah,” signifies conjunction with the Lord; “thou and Aaron,” signifies the Word in the internal sense and the external sense; “Nadab and Abihu,” signifies doctrine from both senses; “and seventy of the elders of Israel,” signifies the chief truths of the church which are of the Word, or of doctrine, and which agree with good; “and bow yourselves afar off,” signifies humiliation and adoration from the heart, and then the influx of the Lord; “and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah,” signifies the conjunction and presence of the Lord through the Word in general; “and they shall not come near,” signifies no separate conjunction and presence; “and the people shall not come up with him,” signifies no conjunction whatever with the external apart from the internal.

9093. And they shall divide the silver of it. That this signifies that the truth thereof shall be dissipated, is evident from the signification of “dividing,” as being to banish and dissipate (see n. 6360, 6361); and from the signification of “silver,” as being truth (n. 1551, 2048, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 7999). That “to divide” denotes to dissipate, is because if those things which have been associated together are divided, they are also scattered, as he who divides his mind destroys it. For the mind of man is an association of two parts, one part being called the understanding, the other the will. He who divides these two parts scatters the things which belong to one part, for one part must live from the other; consequently the other also perishes. It is the same with him who divides truth from good, or what is the same, faith from charity. He who does this destroys both. In a word, all things which ought to be united in a one, if divided perish.

[2] This division is meant by the Lord’s words in Luke:

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will prefer the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13).

That is, by faith serve the Lord, and by love the world; thus acknowledge truth, and do evil. He who does this has a divided mind, from which comes its destruction. From all this it is evident whence it is that “to divide” denotes to dissipate; as is also evident in Matthew:

The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth not, and shall divide him, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites (Matthew 24:50-51); where “to divide” denotes to separate and remove from goods and truths (n. 4424), thus to dissipate.

[3] In Moses:

Cursed be their anger, for it was vehement; and their wrath, for it was hard. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel (Genesis 49:7); where Israel speaks prophetically of Simeon and Levi. By Simeon and Leviticus are there represented those who are in faith separate from charity (n. 6352), by Jacob and Israel the church external and internal, and also the external and internal man (n. 4286, 4598, 5973, 6360, 6361). “To divide them in Jacob” denotes to expel them from the external church; and “to scatter them in Israel” denotes from the internal church; thus to dissipate the goods and the truths of the church appertaining to them.

[4] That “dividing” has this signification is also plain from the words written on the wall when Belshazzar king of Babel, together with his lords, his wives, and his concubines, drank wine from the vessels of gold and of silver which belonged to the temple that was at Jerusalem. The writing was:

Numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided (Daniel 5:2-4, 25-28); where “divided” means separated from the kingdom. In this passage it is plain how all things were at that time representative. In it is described the profanation of good and truth, which is signified by “Babel” (that Babel” denotes profanation, see n. 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304-1308, 1321, 1322, 1326); “vessels of gold and of silver” denote the goods of love and the truths of faith from the the Lord, (n. 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917). Profanation is signified by “drinking therefrom, and at the same time praising the gods of gold, of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone,” as we read in the fourth verse of the chapter, which denote evils and falsities in a series (n. 4402, 4544, 7873, 8941). By the “temple at Jerusalem” from which the vessels came, is signified in the supreme sense the Lord, in the representative sense His kingdom and church (n. 3720). The kingdom of Belshazzar being “divided” signified the dissipation of good and truth, and he himself being “slain that night” signified the loss of the life of truth and good, thus damnation; for “to be divided” denotes to be dissipated; “a king” denotes the truth of good (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148); the like is signified by “kingdom” (n. 1672, 2547, 4691); “to be slain” denotes to be deprived of the life of truth and good (n. 3607, 6767, 8902); and the “night” in which he was slain denotes a state of evil and falsity (n. 2353, 7776, 7851, 7870, 7947). From this it is plain that all things there were representative.

[5] It says in David:

They divided My garments among them, and upon My vesture did they cast a lot (Psalms 22:18).

They divided His garments, casting a lot; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet (Matthew 27:35).

The soldiers took His garments, and made four parts; and the tunic, the tunic was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore, Let us not divide it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the Scripture might be fulfilled (John 19:23-24).

He who reads these words and knows nothing of the internal sense of the Word, is not aware that anything secret lies hidden in them, when yet in each word there is a Divine secret. The secret was that Divine truths had been dissipated by the Jews, for the Lord was the Divine truth; and hence He is called “the Word” (John 1). “The Word” denotes Divine truth; His garments represented truths in the external form; and His tunic, truths in the internal form; the division of the garments represented the dissipation of the truths of faith by the Jews. (That “garments” denote truths in the external form, see n. 2576, 5248, 5954, 6918; also that “a tunic” denotes truth in the internal form, n. 4677.) Truths in the external form are such as are those of the Word in the literal sense; but truths in the internal form are such as are those of the Word in the spiritual sense. The division of the garments into four parts signified total dissipation, in like manner as the division in Zechariah 14:4, and in other passages; likewise the division into two parts, as we read of the veil of the temple (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38). The rending of the rocks also at that time (Matthew 27:51) represented the dissipation of all things of faith, for a “rock” denotes the Lord as to faith, consequently it denotes faith from the Lord.

3490. GENESIS 27

1. And it came to pass that Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim that he could not see, and he called Esau his elder son, and said unto him, My son; and he said unto him, Behold me.

2. And he said, Behold I pray I am old, I know not the day of my death.

3. And now take I pray thy weapons, thy quiver, and thy bow, and go out to the field, and hunt me a hunting.

4. And make me dainties, such as I have loved, and bring to me, and I will eat, that my soul may bless thee before I die.

5. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son; and Esau went to the field to hunt for a hunting, to bring it.

6. And Rebekah said unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

7. Bring me a hunting, and make me dainties, and I will eat, and will bless thee before Jehovah before my death.

8. And now my son hearken unto my voice, according to that which I command thee.

9. Go now to the flock, and take me from thence two good kids of the she-goats, and I will make them dainties for thy father, such as he loveth.

10. And thou shalt bring to thy father, and he shall eat, that he may bless thee before his death.

11. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.

12. Peradventure my father will feel me, and I shall be in his eyes as a misleader; and I shall bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.

13. And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse my son; only hearken to my voice, and go, take for me.

14. And he went, and took, and brought to his mother; and his mother made dainties, such as his father loved.

15. And Rebekah took garments of desires of Esau her elder son that were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son.

16. And the skins of the kids of the she-goats she caused to be put upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck.

17. And she gave the dainties, and the bread, which she had made, into the hand of Jacob her son.

18. And he came unto his father and said, My father; and he said, Behold me, who art thou my son?

19. And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou spokest unto me; arise I pray thee, sit, and eat of my hunting, that thy soul may bless me.

20. And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast hastened to find it, my son? And he said, Because Jehovah thy God made it come to meet my face.

21. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near I pray, and I will feel thee my son, whether thou be my very son Esau, or not.

22. And Jacob came near to Isaac his father, and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

23. And he recognized him not, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; and he blessed him.

24. And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

25. And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s hunting, that my soul may bless thee; and he brought it near to him, and he did eat, and he brought him wine, and he drank.

26. And Isaac his father said unto him, Come near I pray, and kiss me, my son.

27. And he came near, and kissed him, and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed.

28. And God shall give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fat things of the earth, and a multitude of corn and new wine.

29. Peoples shall serve thee, and peoples shall bow down themselves to thee. Be thou a master to thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down themselves to thee; cursed are they that curse thee, and blessed are they that bless thee.

30. And it came to pass as Isaac made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was scarcely yet gone out from the faces of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came from his hunting.

31. And he also made dainties, and brought unto his father, and he said unto his father, Let my father arise and eat of his son’s hunting, that thy soul may bless me.

32. And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn, Esau.

33. And Isaac shuddered with exceeding great shuddering, and said, Who then is he that hath hunted hunting, and brought it to me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and blessed him? Yea, and he shall be blessed.

34. When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, me also, O my father.

35. And he said, Thy brother came with fraud, and hath taken away thy blessing.

36. And he said, Is it not that his name is called Jacob? And he hath supplanted me these two times; he hath taken away my birthright, and behold now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

37. And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold I have made him thy master, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and new vine have I sustained him; and what then shall I do for thee, my son?

38. And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but this one blessing, my father? Bless me, me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.

39. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold of the fat things of the earth shall be thy dwelling, and of the dew of heaven from above.

40. And upon thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother, and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion that thou shalt break his yoke from upon thy neck.

41. And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father draw near, and I will kill Jacob my brother.

42. And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah; and she sent and called unto Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold Esau thy brother comforteth himself concerning thee to kill thee.

43. And now, my son, hearken unto my voice, and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran.

44. And tarry with him some days until thy brother’s wrath turn away;

45. Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him, and I will send and take thee from thence; why should I be bereaved even of you both in one day?

46. And Rebekah said to Isaac, I loathe my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob should take a woman of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, wherefore have I lives?

THE CONTENTS.

In the preceding chapters, where Isaac and Rebekah are treated of, the subject in the internal sense is the rational, and how the Lord made it Divine in Himself. In the present chapter, in the internal sense, the subject is the natural, and how the Lord made it Divine in Himself. “Esau” is the good thereof, and “Jacob” the truth. For when the Lord was in the world He made His whole Human Divine in Himself, both the interior Human which is the rational, and the exterior Human which is the natural, and also the very corporeal, and this according to Divine order, according to which the Lord also makes new or regenerates man. And therefore in the representative sense the regeneration of man as to his natural is also here treated of, in which sense “Esau” is the good of the natural, and “Jacob” the truth thereof, and yet both Divine, because all the good and truth in one who is regenerate are from the Lord.