5160. 'On Pharaoh's birthday' means when the natural was to be regenerated. This is clear from the meaning of 'being born' as being regenerated, dealt with below; and from the representation of 'Pharaoh' as the interior natural, dealt with in 5080, 5095, in this case the natural in general because among regenerate persons the agreement of the interior natural with the exterior natural causes the two to act as one. The reason 'being born' means being regenerated is that in the internal sense spiritual matters are meant, and spiritual birth is regeneration, which is also called rebirth. When therefore birth is spoken of in the Word no other birth is understood in heaven than a birth effected through water and the spirit, that is, through faith and charity. For being born again or regenerated makes a person truly human and entirely different from animals, because in this case he becomes a son and heir of the Lord's kingdom. As regards the births which are mentioned in the Word meaning spiritual births, see 1145, 1255, 3860, 3868, 4070, 4668.

3860. 'Leah conceived and bore a son' means spiritual conception and birth from what is external to what is internal. This is clear from the meaning of 'conceiving and bearing' in the internal sense as being regenerated, for a person who is being regenerated is conceived and born anew. Regeneration is for' this reason called rebirth, but that rebirth is spiritual. A person is indeed born a human being from his parents, but he does not become truly human until he is born again from the Lord. Spiritual and celestial life is what makes a person truly human, for that life distinguishes him from animals. This conception and birth is what is meant in the Word by the conceptions and births of all who are mentioned there, and by the words used here, 'Leah conceived and bore a son'. As to its being the generations and births of faith and love that are meant, see 613, 1145, 1255, 2020, 2584, 3856. Those conceptions and births take place from what is external to what is internal, and this is meant by 'Leah conceived and bore', for 'Leah' represents the affection for external truth, 3793, 3819, and 'Reuben' the truth of faith, which is the first stage of regeneration and the external from which it begins. The implications of all this will be evident from all that follows regarding Jacob's children by Leah and by Rachel.