. And he came unto his father and said, My father; and he said, Behold me, who art thou my son? That this signifies a state of perception from the presence of that truth, is evident from the representation of Isaac, who is here the "father;" and from the representation of Jacob, who is here the "son," concerning which several times before; also from the signification of "saying," as being to perceive, concerning which likewise above. From these and from the rest of the expressions it is evident that the signification herein is a state of perception from the presence of that truth which is represented by Jacob; but what is the quality of this truth which is now represented by Jacob is manifest from the internal sense of what goes before and of what follows, namely, that in outward form it appears like the good and the truth of good which are represented by Esau and are signified by his hunting, but that it is not such in its internal form. The natural as to truth in the man who is being regenerated, that is, before he has been regenerated, appears of this character, not indeed in the sight of man, for he knows nothing about the good and truth with him during regeneration; but in the sight of the angels, who see such things in the light of heaven, Man does not even know what the good and truth of the natural are; and because he does not know this, he cannot perceive it; and because he does not perceive it in general, neither can he perceive it in particular; thus he cannot perceive the differences, and still less the changes of their state; and this being so, he can with difficulty comprehend from any description how the case is with this good and its truth. But as these matters are what are treated of in this chapter, therefore in what follows the subject is to be unfolded in so far as it can be apprehended.
. And Jacob said unto his father. That this signifies the observation of natural truth, is evident from the signification of "saying," as being to perceive, concerning which above; here, to observe, because from the natural; and from the representation of Jacob, as being natural truth, concerning which also above.
. I am Esau thy firstborn. That this signifies that it believed it was natural good itself, is evident from the representation of Esau, and from the signification of "firstborn," as being good, and indeed the natural good which is represented by Esau; for such is the case with the truth appertaining to man before he is regenerated that it is believed to be good itself: they who have perception know that it is not good, but that it is truth under the form of good; but they who have not perception know no otherwise than that it is good. This also will better appear from what follows.
. Arise I pray thee, sit, and eat of my hunting. That this signifies the truth of the affection of such good, is evident from the signification of "arising," as involving somewhat of elevation (n. 2401, 2785, 2912, 2927, 3171) and from the signification of "sitting," as involving somewhat of tranquillity from the signification of eating," as being appropriation (n. 2187, 3168); and from the signification of "hunting," as being the truth which is from good (n. 3501), hence in the present case the affection of that good from which is truth, for the things signified by "arising," "sitting," and "eating," in the internal sense belong to affection, and therefore only affection is mentioned to denote them.
. That thy soul may bless me. That this signifies conjunction, is evident from the signification of " to be blessed," as being conjunction (n. 3504, 3514, 3530).
. And Isaac said unto his son. That this signifies the perception of the rational represented by Isaac concerning the natural which is represented by Jacob; and that "to say" denotes to perceive, has often been shown before.
. And he said, Because Jehovah thy God made it come to meet my face. That this signifies providence, is also evident without explication. The providence here treated of is that during regeneration good and the derivative truth are thus disposed in order with man, that is, that they appear outwardly, or are there presented, with a face like that of genuine good and its derivative genuine truths when nevertheless they are not such, but as before said are domestic good and the derivative truths that are of service merely for the regenerating of man, thus for introducing goods and truths of a grosser nature, because such are conducive to the end.
GENESIS 27:18-20previous
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