Spiritual Meaning of GENESIS 17:19
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AC 2079
. Verse 19. And God said, Truly Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name Isaac, and I will set up My covenant with him for an eternal covenant, to his seed after him. "God said," signifies an answer perceived; "truly Sarah thy wife," signifies the Divine truth conjoined with good; "shall bear thee a son," signifies that the rational is from this; "and thou shalt call his name Isaac," signifies the Divine rational; "and I will set up My covenant with him," signifies union; "for an eternal covenant," signifies an eternal union; "to his seed after him," signifies those who should have faith in the Lord.
AC 2080
. God said. That this signifies an answer perceived, is evident from the signification of "saying," as being to perceive (n. 2077). And as in the preceding verse we read that "Abraham said," and this signified perception, and as here we read that " God said," or answered, it follows that this signifies an answer perceived, or an answer of perception. In all perception whatever there is both a propounding and a reply. The perception of both of these is here expressed in the historical sense by the words "Abraham said unto God," and "God said." (That "God said" denotes to perceive, may be seen above, (n. 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919); and also in this chapter repeatedly).
AC 2081
. Truly Sarah thy wife. That this signifies Divine truth conjoined with good, is evident from the representation and the consequent signification of "Sarah," as being Divine truth conjoined with good (n. 2063).
AC 2082
. Shall bear thee a son. That this signifies that the rational will be from this conjunction of Divine truth with Divine good, is evident from the signification of a "son," as being truth, here rational truth (n. 2066).
AC 2083
. And thou shalt call his name Isaac. That this signifies the Divine rational, is evident from the representation of Isaac, and also from the signification of his "name" in the internal sense. First, from the representation of Isaac: Abraham, as said in various places before, represents the Lord‘s internal man, but Isaac His rational man, and Jacob His natural man. The Lord’s internal man was Jehovah Himself. His rational man, because conceived from the influx of His internal man into the affection of memory-knowledges in the external man (n. 1896, 1902, 1910), was from the Divine thus conjoined with the Human. Hence the first rational, represented by Ishmael, was human; but it was made Divine by the Lord, and then is represented by Isaac. Secondly, from the signification of his " name:" Isaac was named from "laughter;" and as in the internal sense "laughter" signifies the affection of truth, which affection belongs to the rational, as Was shown above (n. 2072), "laughter" here signifies the Divine rational.
[2] The Lord from His own power made Divine all that was human with Him; thus not only the rational, but also the interior and the exterior sensuous part, and thereby the body itself. He thus united the Human to the Divine. That not only the rational, but also the sensuous part, and thus the whole body also, was made Divine and Jehovah, has been already shown, and may be seen by every one from the fact that He alone rose from the dead as to the body, and sits at the right hand of the Divine power both as to all the Divine and as to all the human. To sit at the right hand of the Divine power, signifies to have all sovereign power in heaven and in earth.
AC 2084
. And I will set up My covenant with him for an eternal covenant. That this signifies union, and in fact eternal union, is evident from the signification of a "covenant," as being conjunction; and when it is predicated of the Lord, as being the union of His Divine Essence with His Human Essence, and of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence. A "covenant" signifies these things (n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864)
AC 2085
. To his seed after him. That this signifies those who should have faith in the Lord, is evident from the signification of "seed," as being faith (n. 1025, 1447, 1610, 2034). Those are here signified by "seed" who have the faith of love, that is, who have love to the Lord; consequently the celestial, or those who are of the celestial church; for the seed from Isaac is treated of. But they who have the faith of charity, that is, who have charity toward the neighbor- consequently the spiritual, or those who are of the spiritual church-are signified by "Ishmael," who is treated of in the verse that now follows. (What the distinction is between the celestial and the spiritual, may be seen above, (n. 2069, 2078); and also what the distinction is between having love to the Lord and having charity toward the neighbor, (n. 2023).
GENESIS 17:19
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