3731. Verses 20-22 And Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and guard me on this road on which I am walking, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, and I come back in peace to my father's house, then Jehovah will be my God. And this stone which I have placed as a pillar will be God's house; and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.

'Jacob made a vow, saying' means a state of Providence. 'If God will be with me, and guard me on this road on which I am walking' means the ever-present Divine. 'And will give me bread to eat' means even to the point of being joined to Divine Good. 'And clothing to wear' means being joined to Divine Truth. 'And I come back in peace to my father's house' means even to the point of perfect union. 'Then Jehovah will be my God' means that the Divine Natural also is Jehovah. 'And this stone which I have placed as a pillar' means truth as it exists in the ultimate degree. 'Will be God's house' means here, as previously, the Lord's kingdom as it exists in the ultimate degree of order where higher things are accommodated as in their own house. 'And of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth' means that by His own Divine power He made every single thing Divine.

2268. 'Will You for five destroy the whole city?' means, Will mankind perish for the small amount that is lacking? This is clear from the meaning of 'five' as small, referred to immediately above, and from the meaning of 'a city' as truth, also dealt with already. The human mind as regards truths is in the Word compared to and also called 'a city', and as regards the goods that are present within truths is there compared to and also called 'the inhabitants'. For a similarity indeed exists, in that if the truths in a person's two memories ¹ and in the thoughts of his mind are devoid of goods, they are like a city that has no residents and so is vacant and empty. Indeed it can also be said of angels that they dwell so to speak in a person's truths and implant affections for good from the Lord when that person leads a life abiding in love to the Lord and in charity towards the neighbour, for they are delighted so to dwell, that is, to live, with such persons. It is different in the case of those with whom some truths exist but no goods that flow from charity.

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