3972. '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. This is clear from the representation of 'Jacob' as the good of natural truth, dealt with in 3659, 3669, 3677, 3775, 3829, and from the representation of 'Laban' as a parallel good from a Divine origin, dealt with in 3612, 3665, 3778. As regards the joining together of interior things being effected by means of that good, this has been explained several times already, see 3665, 3690, and elsewhere. This good is also that which is meant by 'Laban's flock', by means of which Jacob obtained for himself his own flock - matters dealt with in what follows.

3677. 'The brother of Rebekah, Jacob and Esau's mother' means the relationship through the mother of the good of truth, represented by 'Jacob', with the truth of good, represented by 'Esau'. This is clear from the representation of 'Rebekah' as the Lord's Divine Rational as regards Divine Truth, often dealt with already, from the representation of 'Jacob' as the good of truth, or good which springs from truth in the natural, and from the representation of 'Esau' as the truth of good, or good from which truth springs in the natural, dealt with above in 3669. And seeing that all goods and truths which exist in the natural or external man are conceived and born from the rational or internal man, that is to say, from the good of the rational as the father, and from the truth of the rational as the mother, 3314, 3573, 3616, those words therefore mean a relationship through the mother of the good of truth, represented by 'Jacob', with the truth of good, represented by 'Esau'. This is exactly how they are related to one another.

[2] But to explain these things intelligibly is extremely difficult, the reason being that the most general features of this matter are not known at the present day, such as what spiritual good is and what the truth that goes with it is, and that there are countless genera of good and accompanying truth, and still more countless species, and also that there are degrees of them which are interconnected like those of blood relationships and relationships by marriage. While these very general features remain unknown a description of degrees and relationships would not be at all clear to anyone, especially at the present day when the learned have no wish to know those things. For these do not like to go beneath the surface of these matters and discuss the nature of them, only whether they exist or not. And as long as that is their state they have no wish at all to know anything about those countless kinds of good and truth.