3970. Verses 25-26 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. 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.

'It happened, when Rachel had borne Joseph' means acknowledgement of the spiritual represented by Joseph. 'That Jacob said to Laban' means the good of natural truth turned to the parallel good from a Divine origin, by means of which good interior things are joined together. 'Send me away and let me go to my own place and to my own land' means that at that time there was in the natural represented by Jacob a strong desire to arrive at a state in which it would be joined to everything Divine in the Rational. 'Give me my womenfolk' means that the affections for truth belonged to that natural. 'And my children' means as did the truths born from those affections. 'For whom I have served you' means from His own power. 'And let me go' means to be joined to everything Divine in the Rational. 'For you know my service with which I have served you' means toil and endeavour from His own power.

2586. 'For Jehovah had completely closed every womb of Abimelech's house' means sterility, that is to say, of doctrine. This is clear from the meaning of 'completely closing the womb' as preventing conception itself, and from the meaning of 'Abimelech's house' as the good that belongs to the doctrine of faith, from which it is evident that sterility is meant. The reason why in this chapter the name 'God' is used up to this point, and 'Jehovah' for the first time now, is that 'God' is used when truth is the subject but 'Jehovah' when good is the subject. Doctrine is conceived wholly from good as the father, but birth is given to it through truth as the mother, as stated several times already. Here it is the conception of it that is dealt with, and because it is conceived from good the name 'Jehovah' is used; but above it is the birth of it that is dealt with, and because it is given birth through truth the name 'God' is used, as in the previous verse, 'God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his women servants, and they gave birth'.

[2] Similarly in other places in the Word where conception is referred to, as in Isaiah,

Jehovah has called me from the womb. Jehovah who formed me from the womb has said.... I will at that time be precious to Jehovah, and my God will be my strength. Isaiah 49:1, 5.

'Strength' has reference to truth and therefore 'God' is used. In the same prophet,

Thus said Jehovah, your Maker, and He who formed you from the womb. Isaiah 44:2, 24.

And elsewhere. For the same reason also the phrase 'Abimelech's house' is used, which means the good that belongs to the doctrine of faith. As regards 'a house' meaning good, see 2048, 2233, and 'Abimelech' the doctrine of faith, 2509, 2510. The statements that 'they gave birth' and 'the wombs of Abimelech's house were closed on account of Sarah', it is evident, hold a Divine arcanum within them, but this arcanum cannot possibly be disclosed except by means of the internal sense.