3302. And they called his name Esau. That this signifies its quality, namely, the quality of the natural as to good, is evident from the signification of “calling a name,” or of “calling by name,” as being to know what the thing is, thus its quality (see n. 144, 145, 440, 768, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3237); and from the fact that all names whatever in the Word in the internal sense denote actual things (n. 1224, 1888); and such is the case with the name Esau. That “Esau” signifies the Lord’s Divine natural as to Divine good when first conceived, is evident from what has been already said, and from what follows concerning Esau, as also from other parts of the Word; but as Esau and Edom have nearly the same signification, with the difference that “Edom” is the Divine natural as to good to which are adjoined the doctrinal things of truth, therefore at verse 30, where Esau is called “Edom,” of the Lord’s Divine mercy this will be confirmed by passages from the Word.

18. The Divine of the Lord in heaven is love, for the reason that love is the receptacle of all the things of heaven, which are peace, intelligence, wisdom and happiness. For love is receptive of each and all things in agreement with it. It desires them, seeks them and imbibes them, as it were, spontaneously, for it desires unceasingly to be enriched and perfected by means of them. ¹ This, indeed, is well known to man. For with him, love as it were looks into the stores of his memory, drawing forth all things in accord with itself, collecting and arranging them in and under itself-in itself, that they may be its own, under itself, that they may be serviceable to it. Other things not in accord, it rejects and expels. That there is present in love every capacity for receiving truths in agreement with itself and the desire to conjoin them to itself has indeed been made abundantly clear by the experience of some who were taken up into heaven. Although they had been simple-minded when in the world, yet among the angels they came into angelic wisdom and heavenly blessedness. This was because they loved what is good and true for the sake of good and truth, and implanted them in their life, thereby becoming capable of receiving heaven with all that is ineffable there. But those who are in the love of self and of the world have no capacity for receiving such things. They turn from them and reject them, and at the first touch and influx of them they flee away and associate with those in hell who are in loves like their own. There were spirits who were doubtful about there being such capacities in heavenly love, and who desired to know whether it were so. They were therefore brought into a state of heavenly love, whatever opposed being for the time removed. They were then brought forward some distance where there was an angelic heaven, and from it they talked with me, saying that they perceived a more interior happiness than they could express in words, and lamenting greatly that they would be returning to their former state. Others also were taken up into heaven, and the higher or more interiorly they were exalted, the more they were admitted into intelligence and wisdom so that they could perceive what had before been incomprehensible to them. From this it is clear that love, going forth from the Lord, is the receptacle of heaven and of all things therein.

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