4. As long as the mind confines itself to the sense of the letter alone one cannot possibly see that its contents are such. Take for instance these first sections of Genesis: From the sense of the letter the only subject matter people recognize is the creation of the world, and the Garden of Eden which is called Paradise, and Adam as the first man to be created. Who thinks anything different? The fact that these things contain arcana however which have never been revealed up to now will be sufficiently clear from what follows - especially clear from the fact that the subject of Genesis 1 is, in the internal sense, the NEW CREATION of man, that is, in general his REGENERATION, and in particular the Most Ancient Church. And the subject is presented in such a way that not the smallest part of any expression fails to have a representation, carry a spiritual meaning, or embody something within itself.

3823. 'Jacob loved Rachel' means the love which good has for internal truth. This is clear from the representation of 'Jacob' as the good of the natural, dealt with in 3599, 3659, 3775, and from the representation of 'Rachel' as the affection for internal truth, dealt with in 3793, 3819, at this point internal truth that was to be joined to the good of the natural, which conjunction the love had in view.