3971. 'It happened, when Rachel had borne Joseph' means acknowledgement of the spiritual represented by Joseph. This is clear from the meaning of 'bearing' as acknowledging, dealt with in 3905, 3911, 3915, 3919; from the representation of 'Rachel' as the affection for interior truth, dealt with in 3758, 3782, 3793, 3819; and from the representation of 'Joseph' as the spiritual kingdom and so the spiritual man, dealt with in 3969, and therefore as the spiritual; for having its origin in the Lord, the spiritual is that which makes the spiritual man and also the spiritual kingdom what they are. By means of Jacob's sons by the servant-girls and by Leah, the sections prior to this have dealt with the reception and acknowledgement of general truths, and eventually with the joining of those truths to the interior man, and so have dealt with man's regeneration up to and including his becoming spiritual. 'Joseph' is that spiritual man. The present sections coming directly after them deal with the fruitfulness and the multiplication of truth and good, which are meant by the flock which Jacob obtained for himself by means of Laban's flock.

[2] Indeed after the joining of the interior man to the external man has taken place, that is, of the spiritual and the natural, fruitfulness of good and multiplication of truth take place, for that joining together of the two is the heavenly marriage with man. It is from this marriage that such fruitfulness and multiplication spring. This also is why 'Joseph' in the external sense means fruitfulness and multiplication, 3965, 3969, the expressions 'fruitfulness' being used in reference to good, and 'multiplication' to truth, 43, 55, 913, 983, 2846, 2847.

6362. Verses 8-12 Judah are you, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons will bow down to you. A lion's cub is Judah; from the plunder you have gone up, my son. He crouched, he lay down like a lion, and like an old lion; who will rouse him? The sceptre will not be removed from Judah, or a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to him will be the obedience of the peoples. He binds his young ass to the vine, and the foal of his she-ass to the outstanding vine; he washes his clothing in wine, and his garment in the blood of grapes. His eyes are red from wine, and his teeth white from milk.

'Judah are you' means the celestial Church, in the highest sense the Lord's Divine celestial. 'Your brothers will praise you' means that this Church is superior to all the rest. 'Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies' means that the hellish and devilish crew will flee from its presence. 'Your father's sons will bow down to you' means that truths will submit themselves of their own accord. 'A lion's cub is Judah' means innocence with innate strength. 'From the plunder you have gone up, my son' means that through the celestial the Lord accomplishes the deliverance of many from hell. 'He crouched, he lay down like a lion, and like an old lion' means the good of love and the truth from that good in their power. 'Who will rouse him?' means that he is safe when among all those in the hells. 'The sceptre will not be removed from Judah' means that power and control will not depart from the celestial kingdom. 'Or a lawgiver from between his feet' means truths from that kingdom in lower things. 'Until Shiloh comes' means the Lord's Coming, and the peaceful tranquillity at that time. 'And to him will be the obedience of the peoples' means that from His Divine Human truths would go forth that were able to be received. ¹ 'He binds his young ass to the vine' means truth in the natural for the external Church. 'And the foal of his she-ass to the outstanding vine' means truth from the rational for the internal Church. 'He washes his clothing in wine' means that His Natural consists in Divine Truth from His Divine Good. 'And his garment in the blood of grapes' means that His Intellect consists in Divine Good from His Divine Love. 'His eyes are red from wine' means that His Intellect or Internal Human is nothing else than good. 'And his teeth white from milk' means that the Divine Natural is nothing else than the good of truth.

അടിക്കുറിപ്പുകൾ:

3793. 'Rachel came with the flock' means the affection for interior truth belonging to the Church and to doctrine. This is clear from the representation of 'Rachel' as the affection for interior truth, and from the meaning of 'the flock' as the Church and also as doctrine, dealt with in 3767, 3768, 3783. To enable it to be known how 'Rachel' represents the affection for interior truth, and 'Leah' the affection for exterior truth, let a brief statement be made about the matter: The natural, which 'Jacob' represents, consists of good and of truth; and within the natural, as within every single part in the human being, and indeed within the whole natural order, there ought to be a marriage of good and truth. Without this marriage nothing is produced, for every act of bringing forth and every effect is from that marriage. When he is born there is no marriage of good and truth within a person's natural because the human being, unlike other creatures, is not born into a condition where Divine order is present. It is true that good which goes with innocence and charity is present, flowing from the Lord in earliest childhood; but no truth is present to which that good may be coupled. As he advances in life this good which has been instilled by the Lord into a person in early childhood is drawn in towards the interior parts and kept there by the Lord so that it may serve to modify the states of life which he experiences subsequently. As a consequence without the good belonging to his infancy and early childhood the human being would be worse and more vicious than any wild animal. When that good belonging to earliest childhood is drawn inwards, evil in that case takes its place and enters the person's natural. Falsity then couples itself to that evil, and a joining together and so to speak a marriage of evil and falsity takes place with him. If a person is to be saved therefore, he has to be regenerated. Evil has to be removed and good instilled by the Lord. And in the measure that he receives good truth is instilled into him so that a coupling, or so to speak marriage, of good and truth takes place.

[2] These are the matters represented by Jacob and his two wives, Rachel and Leah. 'Jacob' now takes on the representation of natural good therefore, and 'Rachel' that of truth. But since all joining of truth to good is effected through affection, it is the affection for truth coupled to good that 'Rachel' represents. Furthermore the natural, like the rational, has an interior and an exterior. 'Rachel' represents the affection for interior truth, and 'Leah' the affection for exterior truth. 'Laban', who is their father, represents a good that springs from a common stock, but is a parallel good, as has been stated. That good is the good which in the parallel line corresponds to the truth of the rational, which is 'Rebekah', 3012, 3013, 3077. Daughters descended from that good therefore represent affections existing within the natural, for these are like daughters fathered by that good. And because those affections are to be coupled to natural good they consequently represent affections for truth - the first representing the affection for interior truth, the second the affection for exterior truth.

[3] The regeneration of a person's natural is altogether like Jacob and Laban's two daughters, Rachel and Leah. Anyone therefore who can see and understand the internal sense of the Word sees this arcanum which has been disclosed to him, but no one else is able to see it except him in whom good and truth are present. No others, no matter how good a perception they may have of the things to do with personal life and life in society and may seem to be highly intelligent, are able to see and then to acknowledge anything at all of that arcanum. Indeed they do not know what good and truth are, for they imagine evil to be good, and falsity to be truth. For this reason the moment good is mentioned the idea of evil presents itself, and the moment truth is mentioned the idea of falsity does so. Consequently they perceive nothing of the things contained in the internal sense, but as soon as they hear anything of it darkness descends which extinguishes the light.