Spiritual Meaning of GENESIS 35:5-7
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AC 4553. Verses 5-7. And they journeyed; and a terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. And Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, this is Bethel, he and all the people that were with him. And he built there an altar, and called the place El-Bethel; because there the gods were revealed unto him when he fled from before his brother. "And they journeyed," signifies what is continuous; "and a terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob," signifies that falsities and evils could not come near; "and Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan," signifies the natural in its former state; "this is Bethel," signifies the Divine natural; "he and all the people that were with him," signifies with all that was therein; "and he built there an altar," signifies by sanctification; "and he called the place El-Bethel," signifies a holy natural; "because there the gods were revealed unto him," signifies holy truths; "when he fled from before his brother," signifies after truths were set before good.

AC 4554. And they journeyed. That this signifies what is continuous, is evident from the signification of "journeying," as being what is successive (n. 4375), thus what is continuous, namely, of progression toward interior things.

AC 4555. And a terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. That this signifies that falsities and evils could not come near, is evident from the signification of a "terror of God," as being protection; from the signification of the "cities that were round about them," as being falsities and evils, "cities" in the genuine sense being truths of doctrine, and in the opposite sense, falsities of doctrine (n. 402, 2449, 2943, 3216, 4478, 4492, 4493); the reason why "cities" here signify evils also, is that the inhabitants likewise are meant, who in the genuine sense are goods, thus in the opposite sense evils (n. 2268, 2451, 2712); and from the signification of "not pursuing after them," as being not to be able to come near.

[2] That a "terror of God" is protection, may be illustrated by what takes place in the other life; for there the hells cannot possibly come near heaven, nor evil spirits any society of heaven, because they are in terror of God. For when evil spirits approach any heavenly society, they suddenly fall into anxieties and torments; and they who have fallen into these a few times dare not approach. Their not daring is what is meant in the internal sense by a "terror of God." Not that God or the Lord terrifies them, but because they are in falsities and evils, and thus in the opposite to goods and truths; and that the falsities and evils themselves cause them to fall into anguish and torment when they approach goods and truths.

AC 4556. And Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, signifies the natural in its former state, and this is Bethel, signifies the Divine natural, as is evident from the signification of "Luz" as being the natural in its former state, or that very natural which was human. That this was made Divine is signified by, "this is Bethel." "Bethel" is the Divine natural, (n. 4089, 4539). So also in other places in the Word where "Bethel" is named it is likewise said, "Luz, this is Bethel," and "Bethel, beforetime Luz," as in Joshua: "The boundary of the lot of the sons of Benjamin between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph went forth to Luz, to the side of Luz southward, this is Bethel" (Joshua 18:11, 13). And in the book of Judges:

AC 4557. He and all the people that were with him. That this signifies with all that was therein, namely, that was in the natural, is evident from the representation of Jacob, who here is "he," as being the good therein (n. 4538); and from the signification of "people," as being truths (n. 1259, 1260, 2928, 3295, 3581); thus the "people that were with him" denotes the truths of that good. And as all things in the natural bear relation to goods and truths, by these words is here signified with all that was therein.

AC 4558. And he built there an altar. That this signifies by sanctification, is evident from the signification of an "altar," as being the principal representative of the Lord, and thence the holy of worship (n. 4541), and when predicated of the Lord, His Divine Human, and the Holy which proceeds therefrom (n. 2811). For that which in the church is the principal representative of the Lord, is also in the supreme sense the Lord Himself as to His Divine Human; for that which represents it is, in this sense, the Human Itself. That the natural was sanctified, is signified by his "building there" (that is, in Bethel) an "altar;" for by "Bethel" is signified the Divine natural (n. 4556).

AC 4559. And called the place El-Bethel. That this signifies a holy natural, is evident from the signification of "Bethel," as being the Divine natural (n. 4089, 4539, 4556); but when it is called "El-Bethel," it is not the Divine, but a holy, natural; for when the Lord made His Human Divine, He first made it holy. Between making it Divine and making it holy there is this difference that what is Divine is Jehovah Himself, but what is holy is from Jehovah. The former is the Divine being, but the latter is what comes forth therefrom. When the Lord glorified Himself, He made his Human also the Divine being, or Jehovah (n. 2156, 2329, 2921, 3023, 3035); but before He did this, He made His Human holy. Such was the process of the glorification of the Lord‘s Human. Hence also Bethel is now called "El-Bethel," applying what is signified by the "El" which is added, namely, "because there the gods were revealed to him." For "El" in the original language means "God;" but here "gods" in the plural, because in the internal sense "gods" denote holy truths (n. 4402). But in what follows it is called "Bethel," for it is said, "Jacob called the name of the place Bethel" (verse 15); and it is added, "where God spake with him," where it is in the singular. For "Bethel" in the original language is the "house of God;" but "El-Bethel" is "God the house of God." Hence it is that "El-Bethel" denotes the holy natural, and "Bethel" the Divine natural.

AC 4560. Because there the gods were revealed unto him. That this signifies holy truths, is evident from the signification of "gods," as being holy truths (n. 4402). That these were adjoined to the good represented by Jacob, is signified by the "gods there revealed to him." That the place was called "El-Bethel," and yet previously (Gen. 28:19), and again later (verse 15), "Bethel," and likewise that here when it is called "El-Bethel" it is said, "because there the gods were revealed unto him," in the plural, and afterwards (verse 15) "where God spake with him," in the singular, is a mystery, and it is evident that this mystery can be known only from the internal sense. Moreover many other mysteries are hidden herein, but these cannot be disclosed.

AC 4561. When he fled from before his brother. That this signifies after truths were set before good, is evident from the explication given above (n. 4542), where the same words occur.

Author:  E. Swedenborg (1688-1772).

Design:  I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002.

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