Spiritual Meaning of GENESIS 27:46
previous  -  text  -  summary  -  Genesis  -  BM Home  -  Full Page

AC 3618. Verse 46. And Rebekah said to Isaac, I loathe my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob should take a woman of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, wherefore have I lives? "And Rebekah said to Isaac," signifies the Lord‘s perception from Divine truth; "I loathe my life because of the daughters of Heth," signifies the adjunction of natural truth from another source; "if Jacob should take a woman of the daughters of Heth," signifies that natural truth should not be associated therewith; "such as these, of the daughters of the land," signifies because not from that ground; "wherefore have I lives?" signifies that thus there would not be conjunction.

AC 3619. And Rebekah said to Isaac. That this signifies the Lord’s perception from Divine truth, is evident from the signification of "saying," as being to perceive; from the representation of Rebekah as being the Divine truth of the Lord‘s Divine rational; and from the representation of Isaac as being the Divine good therein; and whereas Divine good is being itself, and Divine truth is the derivative life, on which account the Lord is the Lord principally from Divine good, therefore it is said "the Lord’s perception from Divine truth." Perception from the Divine truth of the rational is from the intellectual part, whereas perception from Divine good is from the will part; but perception from the intellectual part is not of this part, but is of the inflowing will part; for the intellectual part is nothing but the will part in form. Such is the intellectual part when conjoined with the will part; but before it is so conjoined the intellectual part appears to be by itself, and the will part by itself, although this is nothing but that the external separates itself from the internal; for when the intellectual part inwardly wills and thinks anything, there is an end from the will part which makes its life, and directs the thinking there. The reason why the intellectual part has life from the end, is that the end with man is his life (n. 1909, 3570); hence it may in some measure be evident what in the representative sense is anyone‘s perception from truth, and what in the supreme sense is the Lord’s perception from Divine truth.

AC 3620. I loathe my life because of the daughters of Heth. That this signifies the adjunction of natural truth from another source, is evident from the signification of " loathing one‘s life," as being no adjunction, namely, of natural truth to the truth of the rational, for when there is not adjunction, then to the rational its life appears as if it were no life, as may be seen from what was said above (n. 3493); and from the signification of the "daughters of Heth," as being the affections of truth from what is not genuine; here, the affections of natural truth, because spoken of Jacob, by whom natural truth is represented, as before show". "Daughters" are affections, (n. 2362); and Heth" or " Hittite," is truth from what is not genuine, (n. 3470). Hence it is evident that by "I loathe my life because of the daughters of Heth," is signified that there could be no adjunction of the natural through truth which is not from what is genuine; thus that there must be the adjunction of natural truth from another source. The adjunction of natural truth is treated of in what follows, where mention is made of Jacob’s stay with Laban, namely, that truths from a common stock were adjoined thereto; and by the truths which the daughters of Heth represent, because they were not from that stock, no adjunction could be effected, since there was disparity and discordance for by the sons of Heth is represented the spiritual church among the Gentiles (n. 2913, 2986), in which, as they have not the Word, the truths are not from that origin.

AC 3621. If Jacob should take a woman of the daughters of Heth. That this signifies that natural truth should not be associated thereto, is evident from the signification of "taking a woman," as being to be associated; and from the signification of the "daughters of Heth," as being the affections of truth from what is not genuine (n. 3620); or what is the same, truth for truth without affection is not conjoined (n. 3066, 3336). How the case is with these things is evident from what was said above concerning the daughters of Heth.

AC 3622. Such as these, of the daughters of the land. That this signifies because not from that ground, that is, from truths of the genuine church, is evident from the signification of "daughters," as being churches for "daughters" signify the affections of good and truth (n. 2362); and "land" signifies the region where the church is, thus the church (n. 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 2928, 3355) thus the "daughters of the land" are the goods and truths of the church.

AC 3623. Wherefore have I lives? That this signifies that thus there would not be conjunction, is evident from the signification of "lives," as being conjunction through truths and goods; for when no truth from a common stock or genuine source could be adjoined to natural truth, then neither would there be the adjunction of the natural to the truth of the rational; thus to the rational its life would appear as no life (n. 3493, 3620); hence by the words, "wherefore have I lives?" is signified that thus there would not be conjunction. The reason why here and in other passages lives are spoken of in the plural, is that there are two faculties of life in man; one of which is called the understanding, and is of truth; and the other of which is called the will, and is of good; these two lives or faculties of life make a one when the understanding is of the will, or what is the same, when truth is of good. This is the reason why in the Hebrew tongue frequent mention is made of "life," and also of "lives." That mention is made of "lives," is evident from the following passages in Genesis:--

And Jehovah God formed man dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives, and man became a living soul (Gen. 2:7).

And out of the ground made Jehovah God to grow every tree that is desirable to the sight, and good for food and the tree of lives in the midst of the garden (Gen. 2:9).

Behold I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of lives (Gen. 6:17).

And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two, two, of all flesh wherein is the breath of lives (Gen. 7:15, n. 780).

All in whose nostrils was the breathing of the breath of lives died (Gen. 6:22).

And in David:--

I believe to see the goodness of Jehovih in the land of lives (Ps. 27:13).

Again:--

What man is he that desireth lives, and loveth days that he may see good (Ps. 34:12).

Again:--

With Thee is the fountain of lives; in Thy light shall we see light (Ps. 36:9).

In Malachi:--

My covenant was with Levi of lives and peace (Mal. 2:5).

In Jeremiah:--

Thus saith Jehovah, Behold I set before you the way of lives, and the way of death (Jer. 21:8).

In Moses:--

To love Jehovah thy God, and to obey His voice, and to cleave unto Him for He is thy lives, and the length of thy days that thou mayest dwell in the land (Deut. 30:20).

And again:--

It is not a vain word from you, because it is your lives, and through this word ye shall prolong your days upon the land (Deut. 32:47)

and in other places. "Lives" are spoken of in the plural because they are two, as was said, and yet a one; as also in the Hebrew tongue are "heavens," which are many, and yet a one; in like manner "waters," those above and those beneath (Gen. 1:6, 7, 9), which are spiritual things pertaining to the rational and the natural, and which also are to be a one through conjunction. In respect to "lives," they signify in the plural both what is of the will and what is of the understanding, consequently what is of good and what is of truth; for the life of man is nothing else than good and truth wherein is life from the Lord, inasmuch as man, without good and truth, and life therein, is no man; for man without these would not be able to will anything or think anything, all his faculty of willing being from what is good or what is not good, and his faculty of thinking from what is true or what is not true; hence man has lives, which are one life when his thinking is from his willing, that is, when the truth which is of faith is from the good which is of love.