4590. And it came to pass as her soul was in departing that she was about to die. That this signifies a state of temptations, is evident from the signification of the “soul going forth and dying,” as being the utmost of temptation, which exists when the old man is dying and the new man is receiving life. That this is the signification is manifest from what precedes, in that her “suffering hard things in bringing forth” denotes the temptation of interior truth (n. 4586, 4587); and from what follows at verse 19, that “Rachel died.”

4298. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel. That this signifies a state of temptations, is evident from the series of the things; for in old times names were given to the places where anything peculiar happened that were significative of the thing which happened there and of its state (n. 340, 2643, 3422). To this place was given a name which signified a state of temptations, for a state of temptations is here described by the wrestling and contention of Jacob. In the original language “Peniel” means “the faces of God,” and “to see the faces of God” denotes to endure the most grievous temptations, as will be explained in what now follows.