4033. ¹ 'Those which came together later were Laban's' means that these things were left behind, that is to say, those that were compulsory. 'And those which came together first were Jacob's' means that the spontaneous things - those which were from his freedom - were joined together. This is clear from what has been stated immediately above in 4029, 4032. By the things that were compulsory are meant in this case those that had not been joined together, and were incapable of being joined; and by the things that were spontaneous those that had been joined, and also such as were capable of being joined. The reason why the latter are meant as well is that affections and the essential nature of those affections make spontaneous things what they are. After the good meant by 'Laban and his flock' has served the uses described above it is separated. That separation is dealt with in the next chapter.

Footnotes:

2426. 'In case the evil clings to me and I die' means it would inevitably result in evil existing with him at the same time and that this being so he would be condemned. This is clear without explanation. What these words embody can be recognized from what has been stated and shown already in 301-303, 571, 582, 1001, 1327, 1328 - that the Lord is continually making provision to prevent the mixing together of evil with good. But to the extent a person is immersed in evil, he is further away from good. It is better to be immersed completely in evil than in evil and at the same time in good. For if a person is under the influence of evil and of good simultaneously he inevitably stands condemned for ever. It is the deceitful and the hypocritical within the Church who more than anybody else stand in danger of this. This then is the meaning in the internal sense of 'in case the evil clings to me and I die'.