4594. This is Bethlehem. That this signifies in place thereof the resurrection of a new spiritual of the celestial, is evident from the signification of “Bethlehem,” as being the spiritual of the celestial in a new state; for “Ephrath” is the spiritual of the celestial in a former state (n. 4585), and by her being buried there is signified the resurrection of a new state (n. 4593). That Rachel brought forth her second son or Benjamin in Bethlehem, and died in bringing him forth, also that David was born in Bethlehem and was there anointed king, and finally that the Lord was there born, is a mystery which as yet has not been revealed, and could not be revealed to anyone who did not know what is signified by “Ephrath” and by “Bethlehem,” and what was represented by Benjamin, and also by David; and especially who did not know what the spiritual of the celestial is, for this was signified by these places and was represented by these persons.

[2] The reason why the Lord was born there and not elsewhere, is that He alone was born a spiritual celestial man, but all others natural, with the capacity or ability to become either celestial or spiritual by regeneration from the Lord. The reason why the Lord was born a spiritual celestial man was that He might make His Human Divine, and this according to order from the lowest degree to the highest, and might thus dispose into order all things in the heavens and in the hells. For the spiritual celestial is intermediate between the natural or external man and the rational or internal man (see above, n. 4585, 4592), thus below it was the natural or external, and above it was the rational or internal.

[3] He who cannot apprehend these things, cannot possibly comprehend, by any revelation whatever, why the Lord was born at Bethlehem. For from the most ancient time “Ephrath” signified the spiritual of the celestial, and therefore afterwards “Bethlehem” had the same signification. This then is the reason why the following is said in David:

He sware to Jehovah, he vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, If I shall come into the tent of my house, if I shall go upon the couch of my bed, if I shall give sleep to mine eyes, slumber to mine eyelids, until I find a place for Jehovah, habitations for the Mighty One of Jacob; lo we heard of Him in Ephrata, we found Him in the fields of the forest; we will go into His habitations, we will bow ourselves at His footstool (Psalms 132:2-7).

That these things were said of the Lord is very evident; “we heard of Him,” and “we found Him,” are expressed in the original language at the end of the words by the letter “h” taken from the name Jehovah.

[4] And in Micah:

Thou Bethlehem Ephrata, it is little that thou be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto Me who shall be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from the days of eternity (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:6).

From these prophecies it was known to the Jewish people that the Messiah or Christ would be born at Bethlehem, as is evident in Matthew:

Herod, gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, inquired of them where the Christ (the Messiah) should be born; and they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea (Matthew 2:4-5).

And in John:

The Jews said, Doth not the Scripture say that the Christ (Messiah) should come of the seed of David, and from Bethlehem, the city where David was? (John 7:42).

And that He was born there may be seen in Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4-7. For this reason also, and because He was from David, the Lord is called a “rod out of the stock of Jesse,” and the “root of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:1, 10); for Jesse, David’s father, was a Bethlehemite; and David was born at Bethlehem and was anointed king there (1 Samuel 16:1-14; 17:12). Hence Bethlehem was called “the city of David” (Luke 2:4, 11; John 7:42). By David is especially represented the Lord as to His royalty or the Divine truth (n. 1888).

4585. And they journeyed from Bethel, and there was still a tract of land to come to Ephrath. That this signifies that now was the spiritual of the celestial, is evident from the signification of “journeying from Bethel” as being what is continuous of the advancement of the Divine from the Divine natural (that “journeying” denotes what is continuous may be seen above, n. 4554, here in the supreme sense what is continuous of the advancement of the Divine, and that “Bethel” is the Divine natural, n. 4559, 4560); from the signification of a “tract of land in coming,” as being what is intermediate (of which in what follows); and from the signification of “Ephrath,” as being the spiritual of the celestial in a former state (of which below where Bethlehem is treated of, which is the spiritual of the celestial in a new state), hence it is said, “Ephrath, this is Bethlehem” (verse 19).

[2] In these verses the subject treated of is the advancement of the Lord’s Divine toward interior things, for when the Lord made His Human Divine He advanced in a like order to that in which He makes man new by regeneration, namely, from what is external to interior things, thus from the truth which is in the ultimate of order to a good which is interior, and is called spiritual good, and from this to celestial good. But these things cannot fall into the understanding of anyone unless it is known what the external man and the internal man are, and that the former is distinct from the latter, although while man is living in the body they appear as one; also unless it is known that the natural constitutes the external man, and the rational the internal; and further, unless it is known what the spiritual is and what the celestial.

[3] These things have indeed already been occasionally unfolded, nevertheless they who have previously had no idea about them in consequence of having no desire to know the things of eternal life, find it impossible to have any such idea. Such people say, “What is the internal man? Is it possible that it can be distinct from the external? What is the natural, and the rational? Are they not one? Moreover, What is the spiritual, and the celestial? Is not this a new distinction? We have heard of the spiritual, but that the celestial is something else we have not heard.” The case however is thus: They who have not previously acquired any idea on these subjects, for the reason that the cares of the world and of the body have possession of all their thought and take away all desire of knowing anything else; or because they deem it sufficient to know their doctrinal tenets as they are commonly known, and that it is of no consequence to have any further thought about the matter, saying, “We see the world, but the other life we do not see, perhaps it exists and perhaps not”—much persons put away all these subjects, for even at the first look they at heart reject them.

[4] Nevertheless as they are such things as are contained in the internal sense of the Word, and these cannot be explained without adequate terms, and we have no terms more adequate for expressing exterior things than the term natural, for interior things than the term rational, for those things which are of truth the term spiritual, and those which are of good the term celestial, it is absolutely necessary to make use of these terms, for without terms adapted to the subject nothing can be described. In order therefore that those who desire to know may receive some idea of what the spiritual of the celestial is which Benjamin represents and which “Bethlehem” signifies, I will briefly explain it. In the supreme sense the subject that has been treated of is the glorification of the Lord’s natural, and in the relative sense the regeneration of man as to his natural. That Jacob represented the man of the church as to his external, and Israel as to his internal, thus Jacob as to his exterior natural, and Israel as to his interior natural, has been shown above (n. 4286); for the spiritual man is from the natural, and the celestial man is from the rational. It has also been shown that the Lord’s glorification advanced from external things to more interior things, in like manner as the regeneration of man advances, and that for the sake of this representation Jacob was called “Israel.”

[5] But a further advance toward more interior things is now treated of, namely, toward the rational, for as just said, the rational constitutes the internal man. The intermediate between the internal of the natural and the external of the rational is what is meant by the spiritual of the celestial, which is signified by “Ephrath” and “Bethlehem,” and is represented by Benjamin. This intermediate derives somewhat from the internal of the natural which is “Israel,” and from the external of the rational which is “Joseph;” for that which is intermediate derives something from each extreme, otherwise it could not serve as an intermediate. In order that anyone from being spiritual may become celestial, he must needs advance through this intermediate, for to climb up to higher things without an intermediate is not possible.

[6] And therefore the nature of the advance through this intermediate is here described by Jacob’s coming to Ephrath, and by Rachel’s bringing forth Benjamin there. Hence it is evident that by their journeying from Bethel, and by there being yet a tract of land to come to Ephrath, is signified what is continuous of the advancement of the Lord’s Divine from the Divine natural to the spiritual of the celestial which is signified by “Ephrath” and “Bethlehem,” and is represented by Benjamin. The spiritual of the celestial is the intermediate that is spoken of, being called “spiritual” from the spiritual man, which viewed in itself is the interior of the natural man, and “celestial” from the celestial man, which viewed in itself is the rational man. “Joseph” is the exterior rational man, and therefore the celestial of the spiritual from the rational is predicated of him.