3670. And He will give thee the blessing of Abraham. That this signifies the conjunction of the Divine Itself with the good and truth of the natural, is evident from the signification of a “blessing,” as being conjunction (n. 3660, 3667); and from the representation of Abraham, as being the Lord’s Divine Itself which is called the “Father” (concerning which see n. 2011, 3251, 3439). And inasmuch as these words are spoken to Jacob, by whom there would be represented the Lord’s Divine natural as to the Divine good and truth therein, therefore the conjunction of the Divine Itself with the good and truth of the natural is what is signified, in the internal sense, by “He will give thee the blessing of Abraham.” In the sense of the letter, it is the possession of the land of Canaan that is meant by the “blessing of Abraham,” and also by the words which follow: “to cause thee to inherit the land of thy sojournings, which God gave unto Abraham;” and according to this sense do all apprehend the words who believe that the historicals of the Word do not contain within them things more heavenly and secret: and especially so do the Jewish nation, who on the strength of these words claim for themselves privileges above every other nation and people. Their fathers understood the words in the same manner, and especially were they so understood by Jacob, whose quality is evident from what was said just above (n. 3667), in that he would not have known Jehovah, nor have been willing to acknowledge Him, unless He had given him corporeal and worldly blessings. But that neither Abraham, nor Isaac, nor Jacob was meant, and that by Jacob is represented the Lord as to the natural which He would make Divine, is abundantly manifest from the explications given above. That it is immaterial what is the quality of the man who represents, as to whether he is evil or good, and that evil men equally with good men can represent and have represented the Lord’s Divine, may be seen above (n. 665, 1097, 1361).

[2] The same may be seen from the representatives which exist even to this day; for all kings, whoever they may be, and of whatever quality, by the royalty itself that appertains to them represent the Lord; in like manner all priests, whoever and of whatever quality they may be, by the priestly office itself. The royal and the priestly office itself is holy, whatever be the quality of him who ministers therein; and this is the reason why the Word taught by an evil man is equally holy, and also the sacrament of baptism and the Holy Supper, and other such things. And from this it is also evident that no king can possibly claim for himself anything of the sanctity that belongs to his royalty; nor any priest anything of the sanctity that belongs to his priesthood. Insofar as either claims anything thereof to himself, or attributes it to himself, so far he brands himself with the character of a spiritual thief, or with the mark of spiritual theft; and also insofar as he does evil, that is, acts contrary to what is just and equitable, and contrary to what is good and true, so far a king puts off the representative of holy royalty, and a priest the representative of holy priesthood, and represents the opposite. For this reason in the representative Jewish Church there were so many laws enjoined concerning the holiness in which priests especially should be during their ministration-on which subject, of the Lord’s Divine mercy, more will be said in what follows.

3660. And blessed him. That this signifies that thus conjunction would be effected, is evident from the signification of being “blessed,” as being to be conjoined (see n. 3504, 3514, 3530, 3565, 3584). The reason why Isaac the father now blesses Jacob the son, although he had come with guile and taken the blessing from Esau, and Isaac had shuddered at that deed (as appears from the preceding chapter (Genesis 27:33), verses 33 and 35), is that Isaac now perceived that it was the posterity of Jacob, and not that of Esau, that was to possess the land of Canaan; and therefore the blessing was confirmed by Isaac. But the guile at which Isaac shuddered signified and foretold what was deceptive in the posterity of Jacob in regard to the representatives; that is to say, that they were very far from sincerely or at heart representing the Divine or celestial things of the Lord’s kingdom, and were thus utterly unlike the Ancient Church, being merely in externals separate from what is internal, and not even in these, inasmuch as they so often fell away into open idolatries.

[2] What is meant by being conjoined, or by conjunction, here signified in the internal sense by being “blessed,” was shown above, namely, that the natural as to good and as to truth should be adjoined to the rational, or what is the same thing, the external man to the internal; for in order that the Lord might make His natural Divine, He had to implant therein such good and truth as would correspond with the good and truth of the Divine rational. Without corresponding goods and truths no conjunction is possible. There are innumerable goods and truths of the natural, or such as are proper to the natural man; so innumerable that man can scarcely know their most general kinds, in spite of the fact that when mention is made of natural good and truth it appears to man as one simple thing; for the whole natural and all that is in it is nothing else than this good and truth. And this being the case, it is evident that there are goods and truths of the natural in which the goods and truths of the rational can be, and that there are goods and truths of the natural in which the goods and truths of the rational cannot be; consequently, that there are goods and truths of the natural which can be adjoined to the goods and truths of the rational by correspondence. Such goods and truths are treated of in this and the following chapters.

[3] To know these goods and truths, and to distinguish them from one another, and also to view their qualities, and thus how they are adapted for conjunction, does not so well appear to man so long as he does not think from what is interior, or from enlightenment by the light of heaven; for in this case such things appear to him to be both obscure and undelightful. But nevertheless they are suited to the apprehension and understanding of angels, and even to the apprehension of spirits; for the thoughts of angels and spirits are not distracted by cares for worldly, corporeal, and earthly things, as they had formerly been when they lived as men in the world. Angels and spirits are in the pleasantness of intelligence and the bliss of wisdom when such things are present with them from the internal sense of the Word; for then what is Divine shines upon them, because in the supreme sense the Lord is treated of, and in the representative sense the church and regeneration; and thereby they are in the Lord’s Divine sphere, and in that of His ends and uses.