3313. 'And Isaac loved Esau because of the venison he had in his mouth' means that the Divine Good of the Divine Rational loved the good of truth. This is clear from the representation of 'Isaac' as the Lord's Divine Rational as regards Divine Good, dealt with in 3012, 3013, 3194, 3210, from the representation of 'Esau' as the Lord's Divine Natural as regards the good there, dealt with in 3300, 3302, and later on where Edom is referred to; and from the meaning of 'venison' as the good of life arising out of natural truths, dealt with in 3309. 'In his mouth' means within his natural affection, for in the Word that which is interior and stems from good is referred to as being 'in the heart', and that which is exterior and stems from truth as being 'in the mouth'. And since the good of truth, which is here represented by Esau and is meant by 'hunting', is exterior, that is to say, within natural affection and stemming from truth, it is spoken of as being 'in Isaac's mouth'.

3210. 'And Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother' means the sanctuary of truth within the Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of 'a tent' as that which is holy, dealt with in 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 2576, and so the sanctuary; and from meaning of 'Sarah his mother' as Divine truth, dealt with in 1468, 1901, 2063, 2065, 2904, from which the Divine Human was born, the Rational of which is represented by 'the son Isaac'. From this it is evident that 'Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother' means that rational Good guided Truth represented by Rebekah into the sanctuary of truth. What the sanctuary of truth is becomes clear from what has been stated above in 3194 about the Lord's Divine Human - that Good and Truth belong essentially to the Divine itself, but that the Lord's Divine Human came into existence from Divine Good and was born (as to the Divine itself, that is) from Divine Truth; or what amounts to the same, that the Lord's Essential Being (Esse) was Divine Good, but the Manifestation (Existere) of Him was Divine Truth. From this came Divine Rational Good to which He joined Divine Truth from the Human.

[2] It is impossible to say anything more about this very deep arcanum than this: Divine Good and Truth themselves within the Lord's Divine Human to which Truth from the Human was joined are what were meant by the Sanctuary or Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and in the Temple. The nature of that Good and Truth was represented by the objects within the Sanctuary, such as the golden altar, the table with the loaves of the presence, and the lampstand; and further within, by the Mercy Seat and the Ark; and within it, inmostly, by the Testimony which was the Law delivered from Sinai. This was the Holy of Holies itself or Sanctuary of Truth.

3309. 'And Esau was a man skilled in hunting' means the good of life that has its origin in sensory truths and factual truths. This is clear from the representation of 'Esau' as the good of life, dealt with above, and from the meaning of 'a man skilled in hunting' as those who have the affection for truth, dealt with in what follows - for 'a skilled man' has reference to the affection for truth, that is, to those who have that affection for truth, whereas 'hunting' means truths themselves, though truths which belong to the natural man and in which goods have their origin. Now because the truths of the natural man are called factual, 3293, and factual truths are primarily of two kinds or two degrees - sensory and factual proper - 'hunting' here means both of these. Sensory truths occur with children, factual with those same children when they are growing up, for factual truths cannot exist with anyone before he has received sensory truths because the ideas that make up factual truths are acquired from sensory truths. Then, from those factual truths, other truths even more interior can be learned and grasped, which are called matters of doctrine, meant by 'a man of the field', dealt with below in the next paragraph.

[2] The reason why 'hunting' means the sensory truths and factual truths that are taught to those in whom the good of life is present and who have the affection for those truths is that the word 'hunting' in a broad sense refers to creatures caught through hunting, such as rams, he-goats, she-goats, and the like, by which are meant spiritual goods, see 2180, 2830; and also because the weapons used in hunting, which were the quiver, the bow, and darts, mean matters of doctrine upholding what is true, 2685, 2686, 2709. These are the things meant by 'hunting', as may be seen from what Isaac his father told Esau, in Chapter 27 below,

Take now your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt venison for me, and make me savoury food such as I love. Genesis 27:3-4; and, in the same chapter, from what he told Jacob, who was posing as Esau,

Bring it to me that I may eat from my son's venison, so that my soul may bless you. Genesis 27:25.

These quotations show what 'hunting' or 'venison' means.

[3] Consequently 'hunting' is teaching [what is true] or else inducing a belief in what is false, and in both senses, that is to say, acting from an affection for truth or from an affection for falsity. Acting from an affection for truth is described in Jeremiah,

I will bring them back over their land which I gave to their fathers. Behold, I am sending to many fishermen, and they will fish them; and after that I will send to many hunters and they will hunt them from upon every mountain, and from upon every hill, and from the holes in the rocks. Jeremiah 16:15-16.

'Fishermen' stands for those whose teaching is drawn from sensory truths, 40, 991, 'hunters' those whose teaching is drawn from factual truths, and also from matters of doctrine. 'Upon every mountain, and upon every hill' stands for teaching people who are stirred by the affection for good and by the affection for truth - 'mountain' and 'hill' carrying such meanings, see 795, 796, 1430. 'Hunting in the field', as in Genesis 27:3, implies the same. Inducing others to believe what is false and doing so from the affection for falsity is described in Ezekiel,

Behold, I am against your little pillows with which you there hunt the souls to make them fly away, and I will tear them from on your arms, and I will let the souls go that you hunt, souls to fly away; and I will tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they will be no more in your hand to be hunted. Ezekiel 13:18-21.

For the meaning of 'hunting' in this sense, see 1178, though nets are normally associated with this type of hunting.