4542. 'When you fled from before Esau your brother' means when truth was placed above good. This is clear from the representation of 'Esau' as the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Natural, dealt with in 3322, 3494, 3504, 3576, 3599. This meaning - when truth was placed above good - may be seen from the explanations - given at Chapter 27 of Genesis - of the events which led to Jacob's flight from Esau. The reason he fled from him was that Jacob had stolen the birthright from Esau, by which action truth's placing itself above good is meant; for in that chapter Jacob represents the truth, and Esau the good, of the Lord's Natural. The reason why truth placed itself above good was that while a person is being regenerated truth seemingly occupies the first place, but once he is regenerated good occupies the first place and truth the last, for which see 3324, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3610, 3701, 4243, 4244, 4247, 4337. This explains why 'when you fled from before Esau your brother' means when truth was placed above good.

3564. 'And he did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like the hands of Esau his brother' means that from the will which occupied an external position he perceived that it was natural good. This is evident from the fact that he did not recognize Jacob as Jacob, that is, as the truth which 'Jacob' represents, but perceived him as Esau, that is, as natural good which exists outwardly. He did so because of an influx, dealt with immediately above in 3563. For between interior good and exterior good a communication takes place by virtue of parallelism, 1831, 1832, 3514, but not between good and truth unless the influx of good into truth is such as that described immediately above.