3387. Because he feared to say, She is my woman; lest the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah. That this signifies that He could not open Divine truths themselves, because thus Divine good would not be received, is evident from the signification of “fearing to say,” as being not to be able to open; from the signification of “woman,” who here is Rebekah, as being the Lord’s Divine rational as to Divine truth (n. 3012, 3013, 3077); from the signification of “slaying me,” as being that good is not received, for by Isaac, who here is “me,” is represented the Divine good of the Lord’s rational (n. 3012, 3194, 3210), for good is said to be slain, or to perish, when it is not received, because with him who does not receive it, it is nullified; and from the signification of the “men of the place,” as being those who are in the doctrinal things of faith (n. 3385). From all this it now appears what is the internal sense of these words, namely, that if Divine truths themselves were to be opened, they would not be received by those who are in the doctrinal things of faith, because they surpass all their rational apprehension, thus all their belief, and consequently nothing of good from the Lord could flow in. For good from the Lord, or Divine good, can inflow solely into truths, because truths are the vessels of good, as often shown.

[2] Truths or appearances of truth are given man to the intent that Divine good may be able to form his understanding, and thus the man himself. For truths exist to the end that good may flow in; for without vessels or receptacles good finds no place, because it finds no state corresponding to itself; and therefore where there are no truths, or where they are not received, there is no rational or human good, consequently the man has no spiritual life. In order therefore that man may nevertheless have truths, and thereby have spiritual life, appearances of truth are given to everyone according to his apprehension; which appearances are acknowledged as truths, because they are such that Divine things can be in them.

[3] In order that it may be known what appearances are, and that they are such things as serve man instead of truths Divine, let us take examples for illustration. If it should be said that in heaven there is no idea of place, thus none of distance, but that instead of these there are ideas of state, this could not possibly be apprehended by man, for this would cause him to believe that there nothing is distinct, but that everything is confused, that is, all in one, or together; when yet all things there are so distinct that nothing can be more so. (That the places, distances, and spaces, which exist in nature, are in heaven states, may be seen above, n. 3356.) Hence it is manifest that whatever is said in the Word concerning places and spaces, and from them and by means of them, is an appearance of truth; and unless it were said by means of such appearances, it would not be received at all, consequently would be scarcely anything; for so long as he is in the world, that is, in space and time, the idea of space and of time is within almost everything of man’s thought, both in general and in particular.

[4] That the language of the Word is according to appearances of space appears from almost everything in it; as in Matthew:

Jesus asked them saying, How then doth David say, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand till I make Thine enemies Thy foot stool (Matthew 22:43-44)

where to “sit on the right hand” comes from the idea of place, thus according to appearance, when nevertheless what is here described is the state of the Lord’s Divine power. Again:

Jesus said, Henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming upon the clouds of heaven (Matthew 26:64);

here in like manner “sitting on the right hand,” and also “coming upon the clouds,” are derived from the idea of place with men; but with angels the idea is of the Lord’s power.

In Mark:

The sons of Zebedee said to Jesus, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy left hand, in Thy glory. Jesus answered, To sit on My right hand, and on My left, is not Mine to give, except to those for whom it hath been prepared (Mark. 10:37, 40).

From this it is manifest what sort of an idea the disciples had concerning the Lord’s kingdom, namely, that it was to sit on His right hand and on His left; and because they had such an idea, the Lord also answered them according to their apprehension, thus according to what appeared to them.

[5] In David:

He is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course. His going forth is from the end of the heavens and His circuit unto the ends of it (Psalms 19:5-6);

speaking of the Lord, whose state of Divine power is here described by such things as are of space.

In Isaiah:

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the dawning! Thou saidst in thine heart, I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven; ¹ I will ascend above the heights of the cloud (Isaiah 14:12-14); where “falling from heaven,” “ascending into the heavens,” “exalting the throne above the stars of heaven,” “ascending above the heights of the cloud,” all of which are expressions descriptive of the love of self profaning holy things, are all derived from the idea and appearance of space or place. Inasmuch as celestial and spiritual things are presented before man by means of such things as appear to men, and in accordance with such things, therefore heaven is also described as being on high, when yet it is not on high, but is in what is internal (n. 450, 1380, 2148).

Footnotes:

1925. The Angel of Jehovah found her. That this signifies the thought of the interior man, namely, in the Lord, may be seen from the representation and signification of “the Angel of Jehovah.” “The Angel of Jehovah” is occasionally mentioned in the Word, and everywhere, when in a good sense, represents and signifies some essential in the Lord and from the Lord; but what he represents and signifies may be seen from the connection. They were angels who were sent to men, and who spoke through the prophets; yet what they spoke was not from the angels, but through them, for the state of the latter was then such that they knew not but that they were Jehovah, that is, the Lord; but as soon as they had done speaking, they returned into their former state, and spoke as from themselves.

[2] This was the case with the angels who spoke the Word of the Lord, as has been given me to know from much similar experience in the other life, concerning which, of the Lord’s Divine mercy hereafter. This is the reason why the angels were sometimes called “Jehovah;” as is very evident from the angel who appeared to Moses in the bush, of whom it is written:

And the Angel of Jehovah appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. Jehovah saw that he turned aside to see, and God called unto him out of the midst of the bush. God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And God said moreover to Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the sons of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers hath sent me unto you (Exodus 3:2, 4, 11, 15).

from which it is evident that it was an angel who appeared to Moses as a flame in the bush, and that he spoke as Jehovah because the Lord or Jehovah spoke through him.

[3] For in order that the speaking may come to man by words of articulate sound and in ultimate nature, the Lord makes use of the ministry of angels, filling them with the Divine, and lulling the things which are their own; so that at the time they do not know but that they themselves are Jehovah. In this way the Divine of Jehovah, which is in the highest things, passes down into the lowest of nature, in which lowest is man in respect to sight and hearing. So it was with the angel who spoke to Gideon, of whom it is thus said in the book of Judges:

The Angel of Jehovah appeared unto Gideon, and said unto him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of strength. And Gideon said unto him, In me, my Lord; why then is all this befallen us? And Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in thy might; and Jehovah said unto him, Surely I will be with thee (Judg. 6:12, 14, 16);

and it is afterwards said:

And Gideon saw that he was the Angel of Jehovah, and Gideon said, Ah, Lord Jehovah, forasmuch as I have seen the Angel of Jehovah face to face. And Jehovah said unto him, peace be unto thee; fear not (Judg. 6:22-23).

In this case also it was an angel, but he was then in such a state that he did not know otherwise than that he was Jehovah or the Lord.

[4] So in another place in the book of Judges:

The Angel of Jehovah went up from Gilgal to Bochim, and he said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you into the land which I sware unto your fathers, and I said, I will not make void My covenant with you to eternity (Judg. 2:1); where in like manner an angel speaks in the name of Jehovah, saying that he had led them up out of the land of Egypt, when yet the angel did not lead them out, but Jehovah, as is declared many times elsewhere. From all this we may see how angels spoke through the prophets, namely, that Jehovah Himself spoke, but through angels, and the angels spoke nothing from themselves. That the Word is from the Lord, is evident from many passages, as in Matthew:

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son (Matthew 1:22-23),

besides other passages. As when the Lord speaks with men He speaks through angels, therefore sometimes in the Word the Lord is also called an “Angel,” and then by “Angel,” as already said, there is signified some essential thing in the Lord and from the Lord; as, in the present case, the Lord’s interior thought; and therefore also the angel is called in this chapter “Jehovah” and also “God,” as in verse 13: “and Hagar called the name of Jehovah that was speaking unto her, Thou God seest me.”

[5] In other places likewise some special attribute of the Lord is signified by “angels.” As in John:

The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches (Revelation 1:20).

There are no angels of churches, but by the “angels” is signified that which is of the church, thus that which is of the Lord in respect to the churches. And again:

I saw the wall of the Holy Jerusalem great and high, having twelve gates, and upon the gates twelve angels, and names written which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel (Revelation 21:12) where by the “twelve angels” the same is signified as by the “twelve tribes,” namely, all things of faith, and thus the Lord, from whom is faith and all that is of faith. And again:

And I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the eternal gospel (Revelation 14:6) where by the “angel” is signified the gospel, which is the Lord’s alone.

[6] In Isaiah:

The Angel of His faces saved them ¹ in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them and carried them all the days of eternity (Isaiah 63:9)

where by “the Angel of His faces” is meant the Lord’s mercy toward the whole human race, in redeeming them. So too it was said by Jacob when he blessed the sons of Joseph:

The Angel who redeemed me from all evil bless the lads (Genesis 48:16)

where also redemption, which is the Lord’s, is signified by the “Angel.”

In Malachi:

The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the covenant whom ye desire (Malachi 3:1)

it is here plainly evident that the Lord is signified by the “Angel,” since He is called “the Angel of the covenant” on account of His advent. And even more plainly does it appear that the Lord is signified by an “Angel” in Exodus:

Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee by the way, and to bring thee to the place which I have prepared. He will not endure your transgression, for My name is in the midst of him (Exodus 23:20-21).

Hence now it is evident that by “Angel” in the Word is meant the Lord; but what of the Lord, appears from the series and connection in the internal sense.

Footnotes: