4287. 'For as a prince you have contended with God and with men, and have prevailed' means repeated victories in conflicts over truths and goods. This is clear from the meaning of 'contending as a prince' as overcoming in conflicts, in this case conflicts that accompany temptations since these are the subject at present; and from the meaning of 'with God and with men' as conflicts over truths and goods, to be dealt with below.

[2] The subject in the highest sense being the Lord, it is He who is meant in that sense by 'one contending as a prince with God and with men', for by His own power He suffered all temptations and through them overcame the hells. Indeed He allowed into Himself all the hells in their order, and even the angels, as will be explained later on. In so doing he brought into order everything in the heavens and in the hells, and at length glorified Himself, that is, made the Human within Him Divine.

[3] From this it is evident that in the highest sense the Lord is meant by Jacob and Israel, as shown immediately above in 4286. Not only has He Himself 'contended as a prince', that is, has suffered all the conflicts brought about by temptations and has overcome in them, but also He suffers them in every individual human being. But see what has been stated many times already on these matters in the following references,

The Lord suffered the severest temptations, greater than anybody else has done, 1663, 1668, 1787, 2776, 2786, 2795, 2816.

Unlike any others the Lord fought out of Divine love, 1690, 1691 (end), 1789, 1812, 1813, 1820.

The Lord fought against hereditary evil from the mother, so that at length He was not her son; even so, no evil of His own doing was attached to Him, 1444, 1573, 2025, 2574, 2649, 3318 (end).

Through the conflicts brought about by temptations and through repeated victories the Lord arranged all things into the form which heaven possesses, 1928.

And through repeated victories in conflicts brought about by temptations He united the Divine Essence to the Human Essence, 1616, 1737, 1813, 1921, 2025, 2026, 2500, 2523, 2632, 2776.

The Lord suffers the temptations that take place in man, subduing evil and the hells, 987, 1661, 1692 (end).

[4] The arcanum that 'contending with God and with men' means being tempted over truths and over goods is one that is not open to view in the letter. It is clear to anyone, and will also be evident from the explanation given below, that it was not God with whom Jacob contended, for it cannot be said of anyone that he contends with God and prevails. But the internal sense teaches what 'God' and 'men' mean here - that 'God' means truth, and 'men' good. The reason for this is that 'God' in the internal sense means truth, and therefore whenever truth is dealt with the name God is used, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, whereas the term 'man' is used to mean good. And 'man' means good because the Lord is the only Man and anyone else is called such by virtue of Him, 49, 288, 565, 1894. A further reason is that by virtue of Him heaven is man and is called the Grand Man, 684, 1276, 3624-3649, 3741-3750. And this also was why the Most Ancient Church which was governed by celestial good was referred to as Man, 478.

[5] Therefore whenever good is dealt with in the Word, 'man' (homo) means good, as in Isaiah,

I will make the male person (vir homo) more rare than gold, and man (homo) than the gold of Ophir. Isaiah 13:12.

In the same prophet,

The inhabitants of the land will be scorched and few male persons (vir homo) left. Isaiah 24:6.

'Male persons' stands for spiritual good or the good of truth. 'Man' stands for good. In the same prophet, The highways have been laid waste, the wayfarer has ceased. He has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities, he has no regard for the male person (vir homo). Isaiah 33:8.

In Jeremiah,

I looked to the earth, and behold, that which is void and empty, and towards the heavens, and they had no light I looked, and behold, there was no man; and all the birds of the air had flown away. Jeremiah 4:23, 25.

In the same prophet, behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. Jeremiah 31:27.

In Ezekiel,

Your merchants [traded] in the souls of men and vessels of bronze, giving these for your merchandise. Ezekiel 27:13.

In the same prophet, You, O my flock, the flock of My pasture, you are men; I am your God. Ezekiel 34:31.

In the same prophet, They will be cities laid waste, filled with the flock of mankind. Ezekiel 36:38.

In these places 'man' (homo) stands for people who are governed by good, and so stands for good, since good is what causes anyone to be 'man'. Truth however which is grounded in good is referred to in the Word as 'a male person' (vir homo) and also as 'the son of man'.

4741. 'That they stripped Joseph of his tunic' means that they removed and annihilated the appearances of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'stripping', when used in reference to Divine Truth represented here by 'Joseph', as removing and also annihilating; and from the meaning of 'tunic', because this consisted of various colours, as appearances of truth, dealt with in 4677. The removal and annihilation of the appearances of truth takes place once truth itself has been cast aside, for truth itself cannot but shine in people's minds, and no matter how much it is blotted out it remains visible, especially to those who are governed by good. Those who have annihilated truth see it too, and therefore they try to remove and annihilate even those appearances of it.

[2] Take an example to illustrate this. Who does not see that willing what is good and doing it is the whole essence of the Christian life? And if anyone is told that this is charity he is bound to agree. Indeed all who agree will go on to say that they know what willing and doing good is because this is a matter of life. But as for thinking, by the confidence imparted through faith, that this or that is true, as the adherents to faith separated from charity wish to do, they will say that they do not know what this is, for they can have no other conception of it than of smoke which vanishes. Now since faith alone and the confidence it imparts is seen to be like this by all who think seriously about it, especially by the good, those adherents to faith separated from charity strive to remove and annihilate even those appearances by cutting away every idea that is close to Divine Truth or in the neighbourhood of it. This is what is meant by stripping Joseph of the tunic that was on him.

[3] The same people also believe that those persons are wiser than all others who, once they have accepted some dogma, can substantiate it in various ways, and use various reasonings to present it as the truth. This however is anything but the mark of one who is wise. Anyone who is clever enough can do it, the wicked being more expert at it than the upright. Nor indeed is it the mark of a rational man; for a rational man can see from so to speak a higher viewpoint whether it is truth that is being substantiated or whether it is falsity. And this being what he sees he is quite unmoved by arguments substantiating falsity but regards them as senseless and absurd, no matter how much another person believes they are the result of wrestling to obtain pure wisdom. In short, it is anything but the mark of one who is wise, indeed anything but rationality, to be able to substantiate falsities; for it is the mark of a wise one, and it is rationality, when something is first seen to be the truth and is substantiated only after that. That is to say, seeing the truth implies seeing it by the light of heaven which comes from the Lord, but seeing falsity as truth implies seeing it by the inferior light which comes from hell.