4277. 'And he touched the hollow of his thigh' means where celestial-spiritual good is joined to natural good meant by 'Jacob'. This is clear from the meaning of 'the thigh' as conjugial love, and consequently as all celestial and spiritual love, since these are derived from conjugial love as offspring from their parent, dealt with in 3021; and from the meaning of 'the hollow' or socket or cavity of it - that is to say, of the thigh - as the place where the joining together exists, and here therefore where celestial-spiritual good is joined to natural good meant by 'Jacob'. But no one can be told anything about that conjunction unless he knows first of all what celestial-spiritual good, meant by 'Israel', is, and what natural good, meant by 'Jacob', is. It will be told below at verse 28 where Jacob, who at that point is named Israel, is the subject and also further on where Jacob's descendants are the subject.

5355. 'For God has made me fruitful' means leading to a multiplication of truth from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'making fruitful' as a multiplication, that is to say, of truth from good, for fruitfulness is used in reference to good and multiplication to truth, 43, 55, 913, 983, 1940, 2846, 2847. In the original language the name Ephraim is derived from a word meaning fruitfulness, the essential nature of which is contained in the statement 'for God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction'. That essential nature is one in which truth from good in the natural has been multiplied after the temptations undergone there have come to an end. But a brief description of what a multiplication of truth from good is must be given. When good, that is, love towards the neighbour, is present in a person, so also is the love of truth. Consequently, insofar as that good is present he feels an affection for truth, since good exists within truth like the soul within its body.

[2] In the measure therefore that good multiplies truth it reproduces itself; and if it is the good of genuine charity it reproduces itself endlessly within truth and through truth. For there is no limit either to good or to truth; the Infinite is present within every single form of truth or good because each one has its origin in the Infinite. Yet that endless quality cannot ever match up to the Infinite itself, for what is limited or finite cannot be compared with the Infinite. In the Church at the present day scarcely any multiplication of truth takes place. The reason for this is that at the present day the good of genuine charity is non-existent. The Church believes that it is enough if a person knows simply the tenets of the Church within which he is born and in various ways firmly assents to these. But one with whom the good of genuine charity exists and who consequently feels an affection for truth is not content with that but wishes to clarify from the Word what the truth is and to see it before firmly assenting to it. Also, it is good that enables him to see it, for the discernment of truth originates in good, the Lord being within that good and imparting such discernment. When the person receives truth from Him he increases it to an unlimited extent. This may be likened to a tiny seed which grows into a tree and produces more tiny seeds, which then grow into a garden, and so on beyond that.

9952. 'And with these you shall clothe Aaron your brother' means such a state of Divine Good in the spiritual kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of 'to clothe' as to bring about the state of whatever reality is represented by garments, in this instance the state of Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom. For 'Aaron' represents the Lord in respect of Divine Good, and so also Divine Good that comes from the Lord, dealt with in 9806, and 'his garments' the Lord's spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom, 9814. The meaning of 'to clothe' as to bring about the state which is represented by garments that are put on has its origin in representatives in the next life. Spirits there and angels all appear wearing garments, each wearing ones that accord with the state of the truth that governs him, thus each wearing ones that accord with his power of understanding that harmonizes with the power of will within it. The reason why this should be so is that a person's understanding serves to clothe his will, the understanding being formed from truths, and the will from forms of good, and that good is what is clothed, 5248. So it is that in the Word truths are meant by 'garments', see 165, 1073, 4545, 4763, 5954, 6378, 6914, 6917, 9093, 9814, and that this has its origin in representatives in the next life, 9212, 9216, 9814.