. And it came to pass, when he drew nigh to come into Egypt. That this signifies when He began to learn, is evident from the signification of "Egypt," as being the memory-knowledge of knowledges; and when the expression "to draw nigh" is used with reference to this, it can mean nothing else.
. He said to Sarai his wife. That this signifies that He so thought concerning the truths to which celestial things were adjoined, is evident from the signification of Sarai when she is called a wife. A "wife," in the internal sense of the Word, signifies nothing else than truth conjoined with good; for the conjunction of truth with good is circumstanced precisely as is a marriage. In the Word, when a "husband" is mentioned, the husband signifies good, and the wife signifies truth; but when he is not called the husband, but the "man," then he signifies truth, and the wife signifies good: this is the constant usage in the Word, as before said (n. 915). In the passage before us, as Abram is named, Sarai his wife signifies truth. To say thus to Sarai his wife is, in the internal sense, to think so concerning the truths with which celestial things were conjoined. It is historically true that Abram so said to his wife, when journeying into Egypt; but as before said, all the historicals of the Word are representative, and all the words are significative. No other historicals are recorded in the Word, and in no other order, and no other words are used to express them, than such as in the internal sense may express these arcana.
. That " Sarai," as a wife, is the truth that was adjoined to the celestial things which were in the Lord, is evident from what has just been said concerning the signification of Sarai his wife. It is said, "the truth that was adjoined to celestial things," because the Lord possessed all truth previous to His instruction. What is celestial has truth with it, the one being inseparable from the other, as light is from flame; but this truth was stored up in the Lord’s internal man, which was Divine. The knowledges (scientifica et cognitiones) that He learned are not truths (vera seu veritates), but are only recipient vessels; just as whatever is in man‘s memory is by no means truth, although it is so called; but the truth is therein, as in vessels. These vessels were to be formed, or rather to be opened, by the Lord, through instruction in knowledges from the Word; not only that celestial things might be insinuated into them, but also that the celestial things might in this way be made Divine; for the Lord conjoined the Divine Essence with the Human Essence in order that His Human things might likewise be made Divine.
. Behold I pray, I know that thou art a woman beautiful to look upon. That this signifies that truth from a celestial origin is delightful, is evident from the signification of "a woman beautiful to look upon." All truth that is celestial, or that is produced from the celestial, is happy in the internal man, and delightful in the external, and with the celestial angels is so perceived; but it is altogether otherwise when it is not from a celestial origin. There are two kinds of happiness in the internal man, to which correspond two kinds of delight in the external man; one is of good, the other is of truth; celestial happiness and delight are of good, spiritual happiness and delight are of truth. It is also known that truth itself is attended with happiness and delight, but these are essentially such only when the truth is from what is celestial, for then the truth itself also becomes celestial, and is called celestial truth. To speak comparatively, truth is then like the light of the sun in the springtime, which has heat in its bosom, from which all things on the earth are made to vegetate, and are as it were animated. This celestial truth is the beautiful itself, or beauty itself. This is the truth which is here called "a woman beautiful to look upon." What further arcana are involved in these words, will be manifest from what follows.
GENESIS 12:11previous
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