Spiritual Meaning of GENESIS 31:4-13
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AC 4072. Verses 4-13. And Jacob sent, and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock. And he said unto them, I see your father‘s faces, that he is not at all toward me as yesterday and the day before; and the God of my father hath been with me. And ye know that with all my strength I have served your father. and your father hath deceived me, and hath changed my reward ten ways, and God hath not suffered him to do evil with me. If he said thus, The party-colored shall be thy reward, then all the flock bare party-colored, speckled, and grizzled. and the angel of God said unto me in the dream, Jacob; and I said, Behold me! And he said, Lift up I pray thine eyes, and see all the he-goats which leap upon the flock, party-colored, speckled, and grizzled; for I have seen all that laban doeth unto thee. I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst a pillar, where thou vowedst a vow unto me; now arise, go forth out of this land, and return unto the land of thy nativity. "And Jacob sent, and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock," signifies the adjunction of the affections of truth by the good now meant by "Jacob," and application at the time when it departed; "and he said unto them, I see your father’s faces, that he is not at all toward me as yesterday and the day before," signifies a change of state in the good signified by "Laban;" "and the God of my father hath been with me," signifies that all things which He had were from the Divine; "and ye know that with all my strength I have served your father," signifies that it was of His own power; "and your father hath deceived me and hath changed my reward ten ways," signifies the state of good toward Himself, when of Himself He applied the things of that good, and its very great change; "and God hath not suffered him to do evil with me," signifies that still it could not binder; "if he said thus, The speckled shall be thy reward, then all the flock bare speckled," signifies His freedom, and that in His freedom those things were taken by the Lord, even to evils that were adjoined to the goods; "and if he said thus, The party-colored shall be thy reward, then all the flock bare party-colored," signifies the same in the case of the falsities that were adjoined; "and God hath taken away the acquisition of your father, and hath given it to me," signifies that these were from the Divine; "and it came to pass at the time that the flock grew warm," signifies the ardor of affection that they might be conjoined; "that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream," signifies the perception of natural good in obscurity; "and behold the he-goats which leaped upon the flock were party-colored, speckled, and grizzled," signifies the effect that the natural good meant by "Jacob" should be imbued with such things from that source; "and the angel of God said unto me in the dream, Jacob; and I said, Behold me!" signifies perception from the Divine, and presence in that obscure state; "and he said, Lift up I pray thine eyes," signifies attention thereto from that which was His own; "and see all the he-goats which leap upon the flock, party-colored, speckled, and grizzled," signifies that such things should be introduced; "for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee," signifies the own of the good signified by "Laban," that it is not such as to act from itself; "I am the God of Bethel," signifies the Divine in the natural; "where thou anointedst a pilar," signifies where the good of truth is, and its boundary; "where thou vowedst a vow unto me," signifies what is holy; "now arise," signifies elevation; "go forth out of this land," signifies separation from that good; "and return unto the land of thy nativity," signifies conjunction with the Divine good of truth.

AC 4073. And Jacob sent, and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock. That this signifies the adjunction of the affections of truth by the good now meant by "Jacob," and application at the time when it departed, is evident from the representation of Jacob, as being the good of the natural, often spoken of above; and from the representation of Rachel and Leah, as being the affections of truth that are adjoined to that good; "Rachel" the affection of interior truth; and "Leah" the affection of external truth (n. 3758, 3782, 3793, 3819). That "sending to these and calling them to the field unto his flock," denotes to adjoin them to itself is manifest. "Field" signifies what is of good, and where there is good (n. 2971, 3196, 3310, 3317); and "flock" the goods and truths themselves which were now acquired, and to which the affections of truth meant by Rachel and Leah were applied when the good departed. Jacob in this chapter represents the good of the natural, in that it drew nearer to conjunction with the Divine (n. 4069), because it was in readiness to separate itself, and was in the act of separation, from the good signified by "Laban". What is said concerning Jacob (n. 3775). For representations are according to the changes of state as to good and truth; and changes of state are according to the changes of spirits and angels who are in such good and truth, as was shown above (n. 4067).

[2] When the societies of spirits and angels which are in mediate good recede, then new societies which are in a more perfect good draw near. Man‘s state is altogether according to the societies of spirits and angels in the midst of whom he is; such is his will, and such his thought. But his changes of state are quite different when he adjoins the societies to himself, or himself to them, from what they are when the societies are adjoined to him by the Lord. When he adjoins himself to them, he is in evil; but when they are adjoined to him by the Lord, he is in good. When he is in good, such good as serves for the reformation of his life flows in through the societies. What is here said in the internal sense respecting the good represented by Jacob, the affections of truth, which are "Rachel and Leah," and the application of these when he departed from the good signified by "Laban," is in exact accordance with the societies and their changes. From the societies the angels perceive the states the man has, thus the quality of his goods and truths, and consequently innumerable things which scarcely appear to the man as one general thing. Thus the angels are in the very causes, for they see and perceive the societies with the man, while the man is in the effects and does not see them, but has only an obscure perception of them, through some changes of state thence resulting; and sees nothing in regard to what is good and true, unless he is enlightened through angels by the Lord.

AC 4074. And he said into them, I see your fathers faces, that he is not at all toward me as yesterday and the day before. That this signifies a change of state in the good signified by "Laban," is evident from what was said above (n. 4067) where the same words occur.

AC 4075. And the God of my father hath been with me. That this signifies that all things which He had were from the Divine, is evident from the fact that the "God of His father," when predicated of the Lord, is the Divine which He had; and that "hath been with me," signifies that all things which He had were from the Divine. When the Lord made the human in Himself Divine, He too had around Him societies of spirits and angels, for He willed that all things should be done according to order; but He summoned to Himself such as might be of service, and changed them at His good pleasure; yet He did not take from them and apply to Himself anything of good and truth, but only from the Divine. In this manner He also reduced into order both heaven and hell, and this by successive steps, until He had fully glorified Himself. That the societies of spirits and angels were capable of being of use, and yet that He took nothing from them, may be illustrated by examples.

AC 4076. And ye know that with all my strength I have served your father. That this signifies that it was from His own power, is evident from the signification of "serving," as being study (n. 3824, 3846); but as being His own power when predicated of the Lord (n. 3975, 3977); and still more so when it is said, "with all my strength."

AC 4077. And your father hath deceived me, and hath changed my reward ten ways. That this signifies the state of good toward Himself, when of Himself He applied the things of that good, and its very great change, is evident from the signification of "father," here Laban, as being mediate good; from the signification of reward," as being from Himself (n. 3996, 3999) and from the signification of "ten ways," as being a very great change "Ten" denotes very great (n. 1988); and "ways," changes. The very state of that good, when the Lord of Himself applied the things which were of that good, is referred to and implied as being changed. If now instead of the good signified by Laban," such a society of spirits and angels as are in such good is thought of, it is manifest how the case stands. The societies do not easily recede from him with whom they have been; but when he with whom they are recedes, they are indignant, and behave themselves in like manner as did Laban here toward Jacob; nay, if they perceive that any good has come to the man through their means, they say that it came to him from them; for in their indignation they speak from evil.

[2] The case is similar with every man who is being regenerated, namely, that societies are applied to him by the Lord which serve for introducing genuine goods and truths, not from themselves, but by their means; and when he who is being regenerated is transferred to other societies, those who had previously been with him are indignant. But these things do not appear to the man, because he does not believe that he is in the company of spirits and angels; but they appear manifestly to the angels, and to those also to whom of the Lord’s Divine mercy it is granted to speak with them, and to be among them as one of them. By this means it has been given me to know that such is the case.

[3] The spirits lament greatly that man does not know this, nor even that they are with him; and still more that many deny not only their presence, that also that there is a hell and a heaven. This however they ascribe to man‘s stupidity; the fact being that man has not the least of thought, nor the least of will, which does not come from the Lord by influx through spirits; and it is by them as means that the Lord governs the human race, and each person in particular.

AC 4078. And God hath not suffered him to do evil with me. That this signifies that still it could not hinder, is evident from the signification of "not suffering to do evil," when predicated of the Lord, as being not to be able to hinder For nothing can do evil to the Divine, but its influx can be hindered. All evil does this; and from this it is manifest what is here signified by "doing evil."

AC 4079. If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy reward, then all the flock bare speckled. That this signifies His freedom, and that in His freedom those things were taken by the Lord, even to evils adjoined to the goods, is evident from the state of the matter in the internal sense, which is that He had freedom to change the reward, and thus that in His freedom those things were taken That these were taken even to evils that were adjoined to the goods, is evident from the signification of the "speckled," as being goods with which evils are mingled (n. 3993, 3995, 4005).

AC 4080. And if he said thus, The party-colored shall be thy reward, then all the flock bare party-colored. That this signifies the same in the case of the falsities that were adjoined, is evident from what has just been said; and from the signification of the "party-colored," as being truths that are scattered over and mingled with evils (n. 4005); consequently falsities.

AC 4081. And God hath taken away the acquisition of your father, and hath given it to me. That this signifies that these were from the Divine, is evident from what was said and shown above (n. 4065, 4075).

AC 4082. And it came to pass at the time that the flock grew warm. That this signifies the ardor of affection that they might be conjoined, is evident from the signification of "growing warm," as being the ardor of affection and its effect (n. 4018, 4019); thus that they (that is, goods and truths) should be conjoined.

AC 4083. That I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream. That this signifies the perception of natural good in obscurity, is evident from the signification of "lifting up the eyes," as being to think and also to intend (n. 2789, 2829, 3198), thus to perceive; and from the signification of "in a dream," as being in obscurity (n. 2514, 2528). The good of the natural is "Jacob."

AC 4084. And behold the he-goats which leaped upon the flock were party-colored, speckled, and grizzled. That this signifies the effect that natural good meant by "Jacob" should be imbued with such things from that source, may be seen from what has been said on these subjects in the preceding chapter; for by means of the flock of Laban there went to Jacob the party-colored, speckled, and spotted, that is, such things as are signified thereby.

AC 4085. And the angel of God said unto me in the dream, Jacob; and I said, Behold me! That this signifies perception from the Divine, and presence in that obscure state, is evident from the signification of " saying," in the historicals of the Word, as being to perceive; and from the signification of the "angel of God," as being from the Divine; for an "angel," when mentioned in the Word, signifies something of the Lord, that is, something of the Divine (n. 1925, 2319, 2821, 3039); for the reason that an angel does not speak from himself, but from the Lord, especially when he speaks in a dream, as here to Jacob. Moreover the angels are of such a disposition as to be indignant if anything of good and truth that they speak is attributed to them; and in so far as they can they remove such an idea from others, especially from man; for they know and perceive that all the good and truth which they think, will, and effect, are from the Lord, and thus from the Divine. From this it may be seen that by "angels" in the Word there is signified something of the Lord (that is, what is Divine)-and from the signification of "in a dream," as denoting in obscurity (n. 2514, 2528). Presence in the natural, and therein obscurity, is signified by Jacob’s answer.

AC 4086. And he said, Lift up I pray thine eyes. That this signifies attention thereto from that which was His own, is evident from the signification of "lifting up the eyes," as being to think and intend (n. 2789, 2829), and thus to attend to. That here the signification is that which was from His own, is manifest from its being said, "Lift up thine eyes and see" and also from the series.

AC 4087. And see all the he-goats which leap upon the flock, party-colored, speckled, and grizzled. That this signifies that such things should be introduced, thus that He should be imbued with such things, is evident from what has been said just above (n. 4084), where similar words occur.

AC 4088. For I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. That this signifies the own of the good signified by "Laban," that it is not such as to act from itself, is evident from the representation of Laban, as being mediate good, often spoken of before. That its own is not such as to act from itself, is signified by the words, "I have seen all that he doeth unto thee." That this is the signification is evident from a mental view of the subject in the internal sense, and also from the societies which are in such good, for from these the quality of this good can be manifestly seen, because they are societies of spirits which serve as means and for communication (n. 4047). These are not such as to do much from themselves and their own, but suffer themselves to be led by others, thus to good by angels, and to evil by evil spirits; as is also apparent in the story here told of Laban, especially from what follows. All this shows what is meant by the own of the good signified by "Laban," in that this good is not of such a nature as to act of itself. The internal contents of (verses 6 to 12), have been unfolded only in a summary manner, because they are similar to those which have been treated of in the foregoing chapter, where they have been explained more fully.

AC 4089. I am the God of Bethel. That this signifies the Divine in the natural, is evident from the signification of "Bethel," as being good in the ultimate of order (n. 3729), consequently in the natural; for this is the ultimate of order, because celestial and spiritual things are terminated therein. From this it is evident that the "God of Bethel" is the Divine in the natural. As "Bethel signifies good in the natural, it also signifies the knowledges of celestial things there, for these are of good.

AC 4090. Where thou anointedst a pillar. That this signifies where the good of truth is and its boundary, is evident from the signification of a "pillar," as being a holy boundary, and thus the ultimate of order, and therefore truth (n. 3727); and from the signification of "anointing" (that is, of pouring oil upon the head of the pillar, which was done by Jacob), as being to make truth good (n. 3728).

AC 4091. Where thou vowedst a vow unto me. That this signifies what is holy, is evident from the signification of "vowing a vow," as being to will that the Lord should provide; and in the supreme sense, in which it is predicated of the Lord, as being that He does provide (n. 3732); and because whatever the Lord provides proceeds from Him, and whatever proceeds from Him is holy, therefore by "vowing a vow" is here signified what is holy. That "vowing a vow" signifies that which proceeds from the Lord, and therefore that which is holy, at first sight appears too remote; but this is because it is a man who vows a vow by which he binds himself to something, or imposes something upon himself in relation to the Divine, in case he obtains his wish. But when it is the Divine Itself, or the Lord, of whom this is predicated, it is not then any vow, but is a willing and providing, that is, a doing. What therefore the Divine or the Lord does, proceeds from Him; and whatever proceeds from Him is holy.

AC 4092. Now arise. That this signifies elevation, is evident from the signification of "arising," which wherever mentioned involves elevation (n. 2401, 2785, 2912, 2927); also what elevation is, (n. 3171).

AC 4093. Go forth out of this land. That this signifies a separation from that good, namely, from that signified by "Laban," is evident without explication.

AC 4094. And return unto the land of thy nativity. That this signifies conjunction with the Divine good of truth, is evident from the signification of "returning to the land," as being to betake Himself nearer to good Divine (n. 4069); and from the signification of "nativity," as being truth (n. 4070). From this it is manifest that by "returning to the land of his nativity," is signified conjunction with the Divine good of truth.

Author:  E. Swedenborg (1688-1772).

Design:  I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002.

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