3599. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him. That this signifies perception concerning natural good, that it would be made Divine, is evident from the signification of Isaac, as being the Lord’s Divine rational as to the Divine good therein (n. 3012, 3194, 3210); and from the signification in the historicals of the Word of “saying,” as being to perceive, which has already been frequently treated of; and from the representation of Esau, to whom he spoke, as being natural good, concerning which also much has been already said. That it should be made Divine, is evident from the blessing, now to be considered. It was said above that Esau represents the Lord’s Divine natural as to Divine good, and Jacob His Divine natural as to Divine truth; but here, that Esau represents the natural good which was to be made Divine; and in what goes before, that Jacob represented the natural truth which also was to be made Divine. How the case herein is may be seen from what was said above (n. 3494, 3576); but that it may become still clearer, a few words shall be added.

[2] The natural good which Esau first represents is the natural good of the Lord’s infancy, which was Divine from the Father, but human from the mother; and insofar as it was from the mother it was imbued with hereditary evil; and being such, it could not be at once in an order capable of receiving the Divine that was inmostly within it; but had first to be reduced into order by the Lord. The case is the same with the truth represented by Jacob; for where there is good there must be truth in order for there to be anything; all that which is of thought, even with infants, is of truth, adjoined to the will part which is of good. Wherefore after the Lord had reduced the natural as to good and as to truth in Himself into order, so that it might receive the Divine, and that thus He Himself might inflow from His Divine, and after by successive steps He had expelled all the human that was from the mother; then Esau represents the Lord’s Divine natural as to good, and Jacob His Divine natural as to truth.

[3] But Esau and Jacob represent the Divine good and Divine truth of the Lord’s Divine natural as conjoined with each other like brothers, which Divine good and Divine truth considered in themselves are nothing else than one simultaneous power for the formation and reception of actual good and truth. This actual good and truth are treated of later. From all this it is evident what great arcana are contained in the internal sense of the Word, which arcana are such that not even their most general points fall into the understanding of man; as possibly may be the case with the things just stated; and how then can the innumerable particulars relating thereto do so? Yet are they well adapted to the understanding and apprehension of the angels, who concerning these and the like things receive from the Lord heavenly ideas illustrated by representatives of ineffable loveliness and bliss; from which some conception may be formed of the nature of angelic wisdom, yet remotely, because such things are in the shade of the human understanding.

3576. And he blessed him. That this signifies conjunction thus, is evident from the signification of “being blessed,” as being conjunction (n. 3504, 3514, 3530, 3565). From these particulars which are related concerning Esau and Jacob it is evident that the good of the rational conjoined itself inmostly with the good of the natural, and through the good therein with truth; for Isaac represents the rational as to good; Rebekah, the rational as to truth; Esau, the good of the natural; and Jacob, the truth of it. That the rational as to good, signified by “Isaac,” conjoined itself inmostly with the good of the natural, signified by “Esau,” and not with the truth of the natural, signified by “Jacob,” except mediately, is evident from the fact that Isaac had Esau in mind when he pronounced the blessing on Jacob; nor did he then think of Jacob, but of Esau. He who pronounces a blessing, blesses him of whom he is thinking, and not then him of whom he is not thinking. All the blessing that is uttered with the mouth goes forth from within, and has life in it from the will and thought of him who blesses, and therefore it essentially belongs to him for whom he wills, and of whom he thinks. He who takes it away and thus makes it his own is like one who steals something which should be restored to another. That when Isaac blessed he thought of Esau and not of Jacob, is evident from all that goes before, as from verses 18 and 19, where Isaac says to Jacob, “Who art thou my son?” and Jacob said unto his father, “I am Esau thy firstborn;” and from verses 21-22, and 23, where Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near I pray, and I will feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau, or not;” and after he had felt him, he said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau, and he recognized him not;” also from verse 24, “And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am;” and at last when he kissed him, “he smelled the smell of his garments,” namely, Esau’s; and when he then blessed him, he said, “See, the smell of my son;” from all which it is evident that by the son whom he blessed no other was meant than Esau; and therefore also when he heard from Esau that it was Jacob, “Isaac shuddered with exceeding great shuddering” (verse 33), “and said, Thy brother came with fraud” (verse 35); but the reason why Jacob retained the blessing, according to what is said in verses 33 and 37, is that the truth represented by Jacob was apparently to have the dominion for a time, as has been shown several times above.

[2] But after the time of reformation and regeneration has been completed, then the good itself which had lain inmostly concealed, and from within had disposed each and all things that had appeared to be of truth, or that truth had attributed to itself, comes forth and openly has the dominion. This is signified by what Isaac said to Esau: “By thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother, and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from upon thy neck” (verse 40), the internal sense of which words is that so long as truth is being conjoined with good, good is apparently made to take a lower place; but that it will be in the prior place, and then there will be a conjunction of the rational with the good of the natural, and thereby with the truth; and thus truth will come to be of good; consequently Esau will then represent the good itself of the natural, and Jacob the truth itself thereof, both conjoined with the rational; thus in the supreme sense the Lord’s Divine natural; Esau, as to the Divine good, and Jacob as to the Divine truth, therein.