4641. And these are the births of Esau. That this signifies derivations in the Lord’s Divine good natural, is evident from the signification of “births,” as being derivations of good and truth (see n. 1330, 3263, 3279, 3860, 3868, 4070); and from the representation of Esau, as being the Lord’s Divine good natural (n. 3302, 3322, 3494, 3504, 3576, 3599). This good is the subject now treated of in this chapter; but as it is of such a nature as not to fall into the understanding of any man, and scarcely of any angel, this good is therefore described by mere names. For the Lord’s Divine good natural, which is represented by Esau, is what He had Divine from birth, since He was conceived of Jehovah, and hence from birth he had the Divine being, which He had as His soul, and consequently as the inmost of His life.

[2] This was clothed outwardly by what He took on from the mother; and as this was not good, but in itself evil, He therefore expelled it by His own power, especially by the combat of temptations; and this human, which He made new in Himself, He then conjoined with the Divine good which He had from birth. Jacob represented the good which He procured to Himself by His own power, and which has been treated of in the preceding chapters. This is the good which He conjoined with the Divine good, and He thus made the human in Himself all Divine. The good which Esau represents flowed in by an internal way, and through rational good into natural immediately; but the good which Jacob and Israel represent, flowed in by an external way, and the Divine went to meet it through rational good, but mediately through the truth of the rational into the natural. Isaac represents this rational good, and Rebekah this rational truth. (See what has already been said of these n. 3314, 3573, 4563)

3279. And these are the births of Isaac, the son of Abraham. That this signifies the Lord’s Divine rational, from which is the Divine natural, is evident from the signification of “births” as being derivations (n. 1145, 1255, 1330), namely, derivations of faith when faith is treated of, and derivations of the church when the church is treated of, just as above the derivations of the spiritual church were signified by the “births” of Ishmael (n. 3263). But here, since the “births” are predicated of the Lord, it is Divine births that are meant, namely, that from the Divine Itself is born the Divine rational, which is signified by Isaac being begotten by Abraham; and that from the Divine rational is the Divine natural, which is signified by Esau and Jacob being from Isaac; for by Esau and Jacob the Lord’s Divine natural is represented-by Esau as to good, and by Jacob as to truth-as will be shown in what now follows. This is what is here signified by the “births.”