7. The first state is the state which precedes, both the state existing from earliest childhood onwards and that existing immediately before regeneration; and it is called a void, emptiness, and thick darkness. And the first movement, which is the Lord's mercy, is 'the Spirit of God hovering over the face ¹ of the waters'.

Footnotes:

4591. 'That she called his name Ben-oni' means the nature of that state. This is clear from the meaning of 'calling the name' as the essential nature, often dealt with already. The state that is described here in the internal sense is a state of temptations, the nature of this state being meant by 'Ben-oni'; for in the original language Ben-oni means Son of my pain (or sorrow). In ancient times infants were given names by which states were meant spiritually, see 1946, 2643, 3422, 4298.