3902. Genesis 30

1. And Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob [any children], and Rachel was jealous of her sister, and said to Jacob, Give me sons; if you do not, I am dead.

2. And Jacob flared up in anger against Rachel, and he said, Am I in God's place, who is withholding from you the fruit of the womb?

3. And she said, Behold, my maidservant Bilhah; go [in] to her, and let her bear [a child] upon my knees, and I too shall be built up from her.

4. And she gave him Bilhah her servant-girl as his wife, and Jacob went [in] to her.

5. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

6. And Rachel said, God has judged me, and also has heard my voice, and has given me a son. Therefore she called his name Dan.

7. And Bilhah, Rachel's servant-girl, conceived again and bore a second son to Jacob.

8. And Rachel said, With the wrestlings of God I have wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed. And she called his name Naphtali.

9. And Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, and she took Zilpah her servant-girl, and gave her to Jacob as his wife.

10. And Zilpah, Leah's servant-girl, bore Jacob a son.

11. And Leah said, A troop comes! And she called his name Gad.

12. And Zilpah, Leah's servant-girl, bore a second son to Jacob.

13. And Leah said, In my blessedness! for the daughters will call me blessed. And she called his name Asher.

14. And Reuben went in the days of the wheat harvest and found dudaim in the field, and brought them to Leah his mother. And Rachel said to Leah, Give me now some of your son's dudaim.

15. But she said to her, Is it a small thing for you to have taken my husband? And will you take also my son's dudaim? And Rachel said, Therefore he will lie with you this night [in return] for your son's dudaim.

16. And Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him and said, You must come [in] to me, for I have surely hired you with my son's dudaim. And he lay with her that night.

17. And God hearkened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

18. And Leah said, God has given me my reward, because I gave my servant-girl to my husband. And she called his name Issachar.

19. And Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob.

20. And Leah said, God has endowed me with a good dowry; once again my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons. And she called his name Zebulun.

21. And afterwards she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

22. And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her and opened her womb.

23. And she conceived and bore a son, and she said, God has taken away ¹ my reproach.

24. And she called his name Joseph, saying, May Jehovah add to me another son.

25. And it happened, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, Send me away and let me go to my own place and to my own land.

26. Give me my womenfolk and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service with which I have served you.

27. And Laban said to him, If now I have found grace in your eyes have learned from experience, and Jehovah has blessed me for your sake.

28. And he said, Indicate your wages to me, and I will give them.

29. And [Jacob] said to him, You know how I have served you, and how your cattle have fared with me.

30. For you had few before I came, and they have increased into a multitude; and Jehovah has blessed you since I set foot here. And now, when shall I, even I, provide for my own house?

31. And he said, What shall I give you? And Jacob said, You shall not give me anything; if you will do this one thing for me, I will return, feed, and guard your flock.

32. I will pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted member of the flock, and every black one among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the she-goats; and that will be my wages.

33. And my righteousness will answer for me on the morrow, when you come [to look] over my wages that are before you; every one that is not speckled and spotted among the she-goats, and black among the lambs, is one stolen by me.

34. And Laban said, Behold, let it be according to your word.

35. And he removed on that day the variegated and spotted he-goats, and all the speckled and spotted she-goats, every one that had white in it, and every black one among the lambs; and he gave them into the hand of his sons.

36. And he put three days' journey between himself and Jacob; and Jacob was feeding the rest of Laban's flocks.

37. And Jacob took for himself fresh rods of poplar, and hazel and plane, and stripped white strips on them - an exposing of the white which was on the rods.

38. And he set the rods which he had stripped in runners, in the troughs of water where the flocks came to drink, in front of the flocks; and they came on heat as they came to drink.

39. And the flocks came on heat at the rods, and the flocks brought forth variegated, speckled, and spotted ones.

40. And Jacob singled out the lambs, and set the faces of the flock towards the variegated, and every black one in Laban's flock; and he put his own droves apart and did not put them near Laban's flock.

41. And so it was, whenever those came on heat - those of the flock which came together first - that Jacob put the rods before the eyes of the flock in the runners, so that they would come on heat at the rods.

42. And before [the eyes of those of] the flock which came together later he did not put [the rods] in. And those which came together later were Laban's, and those which came together first were Jacob's.

43. And the man became very very prosperous, ² and he had many flocks, and servant-girls and slaves, and camels and asses.

CONTENTS

The previous chapter dealt, through Jacob's four sons by Leah, with the state of the Church, that is, of the person who is becoming the Church, as regards the ascent from truth which is the truth of faith towards good which is the good of love. The present chapter deals - through Jacob's sons by the servant-girls of Rachel and Leah, and through those also by Leah and lastly Rachel - with the means by which natural truth becomes joined to spiritual good, and also with the order in which this is effected with one who is being regenerated.

Fusnotat:

1164. That 'Cush' or Ethiopia means interior cognitions of the Word by which people confirm false assumptions is clear in Jeremiah,

Egypt comes up like the river, and like the rivers the waters are tossed about; and he said, I will go up, I will cover the earth, I will destroy the city and those who dwell in it. Go up, O horses, and rage, O chariots, and let the mighty men go forth, Cush and Put that handle the shield. Jeremiah 46:8-9.

In this case 'Egypt' stands for people who believe nothing they do not grasp through facts. As a result everything is subject to doubt, denial and falsification, meant by 'rising up, covering the earth, and destroying the city'. Here 'Cush' stands for the more universal and interior cognitions of the Word by which they confirm accepted false assumptions. 'Put' stands for cognitions drawn from the literal sense of the Word which are based on sensory appearances.

[2] In Ezekiel,

A sword will come upon Egypt, and there will be grief in Cush when the slain ¹ falls in Egypt; and they will take her multitude, and her foundations will be destroyed. Cush and Put and Lud and all of Ereb ² and Kub, and the sons of the land of the covenant will fall with them by the sword. Ezekiel 30:4-6.

Except from the internal sense nobody could possibly know what these statements mean. And if the names did not mean real things, these verses would have practically no meaning at all. In this case however 'Egypt' means the knowledge by means of which they wish to enter into the mysteries of faith. 'Cush and Put' are called 'her foundations' because they are cognitions drawn from the Word.

[3] In the same prophet,

On that day messengers will go forth from before Me in ships to terrify overconfident Cush, and there will be grief among them as in the day of Egypt. Ezekiel 30:9.

'Cush' stands for cognitions drawn from the Word which confirm falsities hatched out of facts. In the same prophet,

I will make the land of Egypt into waste places, an utter desolation, from the tower of Seveneh as far as the border of Cush. Ezekiel 29:10.

In this case 'Egypt' stands for facts, 'Cush' for cognitions of the interior things of the Word, which are 'the borders' beyond which knowledge does not go.

[4] In Isaiah,

The king of Asshur will lead away the captives of Egypt and the captives of Cush, boys and old men, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. And they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope, and because of Egypt their glory. Isaiah 20:4-5.

Here 'Cush' stands for cognitions drawn from the Word by which falsities obtained through facts are confirmed. 'Asshur' is reasoning which carries away those who are captive. In Nahum,

Cush was her strength, Egypt too, and that without limit; Put and the Libyans were your help. Nahum 3:9.

This refers to a vastated Church where in a similar way 'Egypt' stands for facts and 'Cush' for cognitions.

[5] 'Cush' and 'Egypt' stand simply for cognitions and knowledge which are truths useful to people whose faith is grounded in charity. 'Cush and Egypt' is used in this good sense in Isaiah,

Jehovah said, The labour of Egypt, and the wares of Cush and of the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours. They will follow after you in fetters, they will come over and bow down to you. To you they will make the supplication, God is with you only, and there is no other besides God. Isaiah 45:14.

'The labour of Egypt' stands for knowledge, 'the wares of Cush and the Sabeans' for cognitions of spiritual things which serve those who acknowledge the Lord, for all knowledge and every cognition are theirs.

[6] In Daniel,

The king of the north will have dominion over the secret hoards of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans (Put) and the Cushites will follow in his ³ steps. Daniel 11:3.

'Put and Cush' here stands for cognitions drawn from the Word, 'Egypt' for facts. In Zephaniah,

From beyond the rivers of Cush are those who adore Me. Zephaniah 3:10.

This stands for those who are beyond the range of cognitions, and so for gentiles. In David,

Noblemen will come out of Egypt, Cush will hasten [to stretch out] her hands to God. Psalms 68:31.

Here 'Egypt' stands for knowledge, and 'Cush' for cognitions.

[7] In the same author,

I will mention Rahab and Babel among those who know Me; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush. The latter was born here (in the city of God). Psalms 87:4.

'Cush' stands for cognitions drawn from the Word, hence the statement that he was 'born in the city of God'. Since 'Cush' means interior cognitions of the Word and intelligence acquired from these, it is therefore said that the second river going out of the garden of Eden encompassed the whole land of Cush. On this see what has appeared already in 117.

Fusnotat: