3322. 'Therefore he called his name Edom' means the resulting nature of the good, to which matters of doctrine regarding truth were allied. This is clear from the meaning of 'calling the name' or calling by name as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, and from the representation of 'Edom'. In the Word Esau is mentioned in various places, as also is Edom. In those places 'Esau' means the good of the natural before matters of doctrine regarding truth have been joined to it, and also before the good of life brought by an influx from the rational has been joined to it - to natural good; while 'Edom' means the good of the natural to which matters of doctrine regarding truth have been allied. But in the contrary sense 'Esau' means the evil stemming from self-love before falsities have been allied to it, that is to say, to self-love, while 'Edom' means the evil stemming from that love once they have been allied to it. The majority of names in the Word, as shown quite often, also have the contrary sense. The reason why is that in course of time the self-same things which in the Churches were forms of good and truth deteriorated into forms of evil and falsity through various kinds of adulterations.

[2] That 'Esau' and 'Edom' mean these things becomes clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

Who is this who is coming from Edom, with spattered clothes from Bozrah glorious in his apparel, marching in the vast numbers of his strength? Why are you red as to your clothing, and your clothes like his that treads in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no man was with me. I looked around but there was none helping, and I wondered, and there was nobody to uphold, and my own arm saved me. Isaiah 63:1-3, 5.

Here it is quite clear that 'Edom' is the Lord, and the fact that it is the Lord as regards the Divine Good of the Divine Natural is evident because the subject is the joining together of good and truth in the Lord's Human, and the conflicts brought about by temptations through which He joined the two together. 'Clothes' here means the truths of the natural man, or truths that are lower compared with other truths, see 2576, while 'red' is the good of the natural man, 3300. The Lord's work in which - by His own power, and through the conflicts brought about by temptations - He joined truths present there to good is described by the words 'I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no man was with me. I looked around but there was none helping; I wondered, and there was nobody to uphold, and my own arm saved me' - 'arm' meaning power, 878.

[3] In the Book of Judges,

O Jehovah. when You went forth from Seir, when You set out from the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, the clouds indeed dropped [water], the mountains flowed down. Judges 5:4-5.

'Setting out from the field of Edom' is almost the same in meaning as 'coming from Edom' in Isaiah. Likewise in Moses,

Jehovah came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir upon them. Deuteronomy 33:2.

In the same author,

I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near. A star will arise out of Jacob, and a sceptre will rise up out of Israel. And Edom will be an inheritance, and Seir will be an inheritance, of his enemies - with Israel doing valiantly - and will have dominion in regard to Jacob, and will destroy what is left of the city. Numbers 24:17-19.

This refers to the Lord's Coming into the world, His Human Essence being called 'a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre out of Israel'. 'Edom' and 'Seir' which are to be 'an inheritance' stand for the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Natural. Their becoming 'an inheritance of his enemies' stands for the fact that it would take the place of those things that existed previously in the Natural. Dominion at that time over the truths there is meant by 'he will have dominion over Jacob, and he will destroy what is left of the city' - 'Jacob' being the truth of the natural, 3305, and 'a city' doctrine, 402, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216. Dominion is said to be had over those truths when they are subsidiary to and subject to good. Before this comes about they are called enemies because they constantly offer resistance, as shown above in 3321.

[4] In Amos,

On that day I will raise up the tent of David that is fallen down, and I will close up their breaches, and I will restore its destroyed places, and I will build it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnants of Edom, and all the nations which have been called by My name. Amos 9:11-12.

'The tent of David' stands for the Church and worship of the Lord; 'the remnants of Edom' for those within the Church who are governed by good, 'the nations which have been called by His name' for those outside the Church who are governed by good - 'the nations' being those who are governed by good, 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849. In David,

Upon Edom I will cast my shoe. Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me even to Edom? Will not You, O God? Psalms 60:8-10.

'Edom' stands for the good of the natural. Its being the good of the natural is evident from the meaning of 'shoe' as the lowest part of the natural, 1748.

[5] In Daniel,

At the time of the end the king of the south will clash with him; therefore the king of the north will rush upon him like a whirlwind with chariots, and will overflow and penetrate; and when he comes into the glorious land many will fall These however will be delivered out of his hand, Edom and Moab, and the firstfruits of the children of Ammon. Daniel 11:40-41.

This refers to the final state of the Church. 'The king of the north' stands for falsities, or what amounts to the same, for people in possession of falsities. 'Edom' stands for those in whom simple good is present, the type of good that exists with those who constitute the Lord's external Church. The same applies to 'Moab' and 'the children of Ammon', 2468; and as the two of them, that is to say, Edom and Moab, mean those in whom natural good exists, both are therefore mentioned together in many places. But the difference between them is that 'Edom' is the good of the natural to which matters of doctrine concerning truth have been allied, whereas 'Moab' is natural good such as also exists with those with whom the two have not been joined together. Both sets of people seem to outward appearance to be alike, but they are not so inwardly.

[6] From this it is now evident why it was said that they were not to abhor an Edomite since he was a brother, nor an Egyptian since they had been strangers in his land, Deuteronomy 23:7. Because 'an Edomite' means the good of the natural, and 'an Egyptian' means the truths of the same, which are facts, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, therefore the two are mentioned in the good sense. It is also evident why Jehovah told Moses that they were not to quarrel ¹ with the children of Esau, for none of their territory would be given to the children of Jacob, not even enough to leave a footprint, Deuteronomy 2:4-6.

[7] In the contrary sense however Esau and Edom represent those who turn away from good by utterly despising truth and who are unwilling to associate any truth of faith at all with it, which happens chiefly for reasons of self-love. Consequently Esau and Edom in the contrary sense mean those people The same was also represented by the king of Edom coming out with many people and a strong force and refusing to let Israel pass across his frontier, Numbers 20:14-22. This evil, that is to say, the evil of self-love, which is such as does not accept the truths of faith, nor thus matters of doctrine concerning truth, is described in various places in the Word as Esau and Edom, the state of the Church when it comes to be such also being described at the same time; as in Jeremiah,

Against Edom. Is there no wisdom any longer in Teman? Has counsel perished from those who have intelligence? Has their wisdom become rotten? Flee! They have turned themselves away, they have gone down to dwell in the deep, O inhabitants of Dedan, for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him. I will strip Esau bare, I will uncover his secret places, and he is not able to be concealed. His seed have been laid waste, and his brothers, and his neighbours. Leave your orphans, I will keep them alive, and let your widows trust in Me. Edom will become a waste; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss at all its plagues. Jeremiah 49:7-8, 10-11, 17, and following verses.

[8] In David,

They say, Let not the name of Israel be remembered any more, for they consult together with one accord; against You they make a covenant - the tents of Edom, and the Ishmaelites, and Moab, and the Hagrites. Psalms 83:4-6.

In Obadiah,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih to Edom, Behold, I have made you small among the nations; you are utterly despised. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose seat is on high, who say in your heart, Who will bring me down to the ground? Though you exalt yourself like the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there will I bring you down. How are the men of Esau searched out, their hidden treasures sought out! Will I not on that day destroy the wise men out of Edom, and those who have intelligence out of Mount Esau, so that your mighty men may be dismayed, O Teman, and every man from Mount Esau cut off by slaughter? For the violence done to Jacob your brother shame will cover you, and you will be cut off for ever. The house of Jacob will be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau turned into stubble; and they will burn them and consume them, and there will be nothing left over to the house of Esau. And the people of the south will inherit the mountain of Esau. Obad. verses 1-4, 6, 8-10, 18, 19, 21.

'Edom' and 'Esau' here stand for the evil of the natural man, which evil, arising out of self-love, despises and rejects all truth - which leads to its devastation.

[9] In Ezekiel,

Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, and say to it, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out My hand against you, and I will make you a waste and a desolation. Because you possess eternal enmity, and give over the children of Israel to the power of the sword ² in the time of their disaster and in the time of the iniquity of the end. Because you said concerning the two nations and the two lands, They are mine and we will inherit them - and Jehovah is there. And you will know that I Jehovah have heard all your insults which you have uttered against the mountains of Israel. You will be a waste, Mount Seir, and all Edom. the whole of it. Ezekiel 35:2-5, 8-10, 12, 15.

Here it is quite clear that 'Edom' in the contrary sense is those who despise, reject, and insult spiritual goods and truths, meant by 'the mountains of Israel'.

[10] In the same prophet,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Surely in the fire of My jealousy have I spoken against the remnants of the nations, and against the whole of Edom, who have given My land to themselves as an inheritance with the joy of all [their] heart, with utter contempt. ³ Ezekiel 36:5.

Here similarly 'giving the land to themselves as an inheritance' stands for laying waste the Church, that is, good and truth that are the Church's.

[11] In Malachi,

The Word of Jehovah against Israel; I have loved you, said Jehovah, and you say, How have You loved us? Is not Esau Jacob's brother? And I love Jacob, and I hate Esau and am making his mountain into a waste. Malachi 1:1-3.

Here 'Esau' stands for the evil of the natural which does not accept spiritual truth, meant by 'Israel', 3305, or the doctrine of truth, meant by 'Jacob', 3305, and is for that reason 'laid waste', meant by 'hating'. For 'hating' has no other meaning, as is evident from what has been introduced above from the Word regarding Esau and Edom in the good sense. But when truth does not allow itself to be allied to good, Jacob is referred to in a contrary way, as in Hosea,

He will make a visitation on Jacob over his ways and requite him according to his deeds; in the womb he supplanted his brother. Hosea 12:2-3.

Notas de rodapé:

2009. That 'no longer will your name be called Abram' means that He will cast off the human, and that 'your name will be Abraham' means that He will put on the Divine, is clear from the meaning of 'name', also from the meaning of 'Abram', and after that of 'Abraham'. When the phrase 'your name will be' is used in the Word it means the nature of, that is, what a person's nature is going to be like, as is clear from what has been brought forward in Volume One, in 144, 145, 1754. And since 'names means the nature of, a name includes everything in its entirety within that person, for in heaven no attention is paid to someone's name, but when anyone is referred to by name, or when a name is used, a mental picture of his nature comes up, that is, of all that is his, with him and in him. This is why 'name' in the Word means the nature of. To make this matter clearer to the understanding let further confirmatory quotations from the Word be introduced, such as in the Blessing in Moses,

Jehovah bless you and keep you; Jehovah make His face ¹ shine upon you and be merciful to you; Jehovah lift up His face ¹ upon you and give you peace.

So shall they put My name upon the sons of Israel. Numbers 6:24-27.

From this it is evident what 'name' and 'putting Jehovah's name upon the sons of Israel' means, namely that Jehovah blesses, keeps, enlightens, is merciful, and gives peace, and that such is Jehovah's or the Lord's nature.

[2] In the Ten Commandments,

You shall not take the name of Jehovah your God in vain, for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless who has taken His name in vain. Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11.

Here taking God's name in vain does not mean His name but every single thing deriving from Him, and so every single thing belonging to the worship of Him, which must not be treated with disdain, still less be blasphemed and defiled by what is filthy. In the Lord's Prayer,

Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, as in heaven so on earth. Luke 11:2.

Nor in this instance is 'name' used to mean name but all things that belong to love and faith, for these are God's, or the Lord's, and derive from Him. Since the latter are holy, the Lord's kingdom comes, and His will is done on earth as it is in heaven, when they are upheld as being holy.

[3] That 'name' means such things is clear from all the places in the Old Testament Word and in the New where the word 'name' is used, as in Isaiah,

You will say on that day, Confess Jehovah, call on His name, make His deeds known among the peoples, make mention that His name is exalted. Isaiah 12:4.

Here 'calling on the name of Jehovah' and 'making mention that it is exalted' does not in any way mean making the name itself an object of worship, or believing that Jehovah is called on by the mere uttering of His name, but by knowing His nature, and so every single thing that derives from Him. In the same prophet,

Therefore in the Urim give honour to Jehovah, in the isles of the sea to the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel. Isaiah 24:15.

Here 'in the Urim give honour to Jehovah' means worship based on the holy things of love, 'in the isles of the sea to the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel' worship based on the holy things of faith.

[4] In the same prophet,

Jehovah our God, in You alone will we make mention of Your name. Isaiah 26:13.

And in the same prophet,

I will stir up one from the north, and he will come, from the rising of the sun he will call on My name. Isaiah 41:25.

Here 'making mention of' and 'calling on the name of Jehovah' is worshipping from the goods of love and the truths of faith. Those 'from the north' are people outside the Church who do not know the name of Jehovah but who do nevertheless call on His name when they are leading charitable lives one with another and venerate some deity as the Creator of the universe, for it is the worship and what constitutes it, not the name, that calling on Jehovah entails. That the Lord is also present with gentiles, see 932, 1032, 1059.

[5] In the same prophet,

The nations will see your righteousness and all the kings your glory; and you will be called by a new name which the mouth of Jehovah will announce. Isaiah 62:2.

Here 'you will be called by a new name' stands for becoming a different person, that is to say, as a result of being created anew or regenerated, and so stands for becoming such. In Micah,

All the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God for ever and eternally. Micah 4:5.

'Walking in the name of its god' clearly stands for worship that is profane, while 'walking in the name of Jehovah' stands for true worship. In Malachi,

From the rising of the sun and even to its setting, great is My name among the nations; and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure minchah, for great is My name among the nations. Malachi 1:11.

Here 'name' is not used to mean the name but the worship; and this worship is the essential nature of Jehovah or the Lord, from which He wills to be adored.

[6] In Moses,

The place which Jehovah your God chooses out of all the tribes to put His name there, and to make His name dwell there, to that place shall you bring all that I am commanding you. Deuteronomy 12:5, 11, 14; 16:2, 6, 11.

Here also 'putting His name' and 'making His name dwell there' do not mean the name but the worship, and so Jehovah's or the Lord's essential nature from which He is to be worshipped. His nature consists in the good of love and the truth of faith, it being with those who are governed by such good and truth that Jehovah's name dwells. In Jeremiah,

Go to My place which is in Shiloh where I made My name dwell at first. Jeremiah 7:12.

Here similarly 'name' stands for worship, and so for doctrine concerning true faith. It may become clear to anyone that Jehovah does not dwell with somebody who merely knows and utters His name, for without any conception and recognition of His essential nature, and without any belief in it, the name by itself is a mere verbal expression. From this it is evident that the word 'name' means the nature of, and the knowledge of that nature.

[7] In Moses,

At that time Jehovah set apart the tribe of Levi to serve Him and to bless in His name. Deuteronomy 10:8.

Here 'blessing in the name of Jehovah' is doing so not by means of the name but by means of those qualities associated with the name of Jehovah which have been referred to above. In Jeremiah,

This is His name which they will call Him, Jehovah our righteousness. Jeremiah 23:6.

Here 'name' stands for the righteousness which is the essential nature of the Lord, to whom these words refer. In Isaiah,

Jehovah called Me from the womb, from My mother's body ² He made mention of My name. Isaiah 49:1.

These words too refer to the Lord. 'Making mention of His name' is informing about His essential nature.

[8] That 'name' means the nature of is plainer still in John's Revelation,

You have a few names in Sardis, who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who conquers will be clad in white garments and I will not blot his name out of the book of life; and I will confess his name before My father and before the angels. He who conquers I will write on him the name of God, and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. Revelation 3:4-5, 12.

Here it is quite clear that name does not mean the name but the essential nature of him who conquers. 'The name in the book of life' is nothing else. Nor is 'confessing his name before My Father', and 'writing on him the name of God and of the city, and a new name'. The same applies elsewhere to the names which are said to have been written in the book of life and in heaven, Revelation 13:8; 17:8; Luke 10:20.

[9] In heaven one person is always recognized from another by his nature or character, which is expressed in the sense of the letter as 'the name', as may also become clear to anyone from the fact that on earth the mention of anybody's name presents to another a mental picture of his nature or character by which he is known and distinguished from anyone else. In the next life those mental pictures survive but names perish. More especially is this so with angels. This is why in the internal sense 'name' means the essential nature of, or the knowledge of that nature. In the same book,

On the head of Him who sat on the white horse were many jewels. He has a name written which no one knows but He Himself. He was clad in a garment dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. Revelation 19:12-13.

Here it is stated openly that His 'name' is The Word of God, thus the essential nature of Him who sat on the white horse.

[10] The fact that the name of Jehovah means the knowledge of His nature, that is to say, it means every good of love and every truth of faith, is quite clear from these words spoken by the Lord,

Righteous Father, I have known You, and these too have known that You have sent Me, for I made known to them Your name, and I will make it known that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them. John 17:25-26.

[11] And that the name of God or of the Lord means the whole doctrine of faith concerning love and charity, which is meant by 'believing in His name', is clear from these words in the same gospel,

As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name. John 1:12.

If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, keep My commandments. John 14:13-15.

Whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give it to you. These things I command you, that you love one another. John 15:16-17.

In Matthew,

Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20.

Here 'being gathered together in the Lord's name' means those who possess the doctrine of faith concerning love and charity, and so who are governed by love and charity.

[12] In the same gospel,

You will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. Matthew 10:22; 24:9-10; Mark 13:13.

Here 'for My name's sake' clearly stands for doctrine's sake. The fact that a name itself is of no avail, only that which the name embodies, that is to say, everything constituting charity and faith, is quite clear from the following in Matthew,

Did we not prophesy through Your name, and cast out demons through Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name? And then I will confess to them, I do not know you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. Matthew 7:22-23.

From this it is clear that people who make worship consist in a name, as Jews do in the name of Jehovah and Christians in the name of the Lord, are not on that account worthier than any others, for the name is of no avail. But they are worthier when their characters conform to what He has commanded; and this is the meaning of 'believing in His name'. And when they say that there is salvation in no other name than the Lord's they mean in no other doctrine, that is, in none other than mutual love, which is the true doctrine of faith, and so in none other than the Lord since all love comes from Him alone, and all faith from that love.

Notas de rodapé: