Spiritual Meaning of GENESIS 32:9-12
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AC 4252. Verses 9-12. And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah, that saith unto me, Return unto thy land, and to thy birth, and I will do well with thee; I am less than all the mercies, and all the truth which Thou hast done with Thy servant; for in my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am in two camps. Rescue me I pray from the hand of my brother‘, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and smite me, the mother upon the sons. And Thou saidst, I will surely do well with thee, and I will make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which is not numbered for multitude. "And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah," signifies the holy of preparation and disposal; "that saith unto me, Return unto thy land, and to thy birth, and I will do well with thee," signifies for conjunction with Divine good and truth; "I am less than all the mercies, and all the truth, which Thou hast done with Thy servant," signifies humiliation in that state as to good and as to truth; "for in my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am in two camps," signifies that from little there was now much. "Rescue me I pray from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him," signifies the state relatively, because it made itself prior; "lest he come and smite me, the mother upon the sons," signifies that it is about to perish; "and Thou saidst, I will surely do well with thee," signifies that nevertheless it would then obtain life; "and I will make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which is not numbered for multitude," signifies that there would then be fructification and multiplication.

AC 4252a. And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah. That this signifies the holy of preparation and disposal, is evident from the signification of "God of my father Abraham," as being the Divine Itself of the Lord (n. 3439); and from the signification of "God of my father Isaac," as being His Divine Human (n. 3704, 4180). And because each is Jehovah, it is said, "O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah." But here is signified the holy which proceeds from the Divine, for all the holy is therefrom. That the holy is signified is because it was in the natural which is represented by Jacob wherein the good represented by Esau was not yet conjoined with truth. For the subject is now the state of the reception of good; here, the state of preparation and disposal for its being received Jacob’s supplication involves nothing else; and therefore by these words is signified the holy of preparation and disposal.

AC 4253. That saith unto me, Return unto thy land, and to thy birth, and I will do well with thee. That this signifies conjunction with Divine good and truth, is evident from what was said before (n. 4069, 4070), where are nearly the same words.

AC 4254. I am less than all the mercies, and all the truth, which Thou hast done with Thy servant. That this signifies humiliation in that state as to good and as to truth, is evident from "mercy" being predicated of the good of love, and from "truth" being predicated of the truth of faith (n. 3122). That these are words of humiliation is manifest, and from this it is evident that by them is signified humiliation in that state as to good and as to truth.

AC 4255. For in my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am in two camps. That this signifies that from little there was much, is evident from the signification of a "staff," as being power, and as being predicated of truth (n. 4013, 4015); from the signification of "Jordan," as being initiation into the knowledges of good and truth, concerning which in what follows; and from the signification of "two camps," as being goods and truths (n. 4250); for the two camps here are the people, the flock, the herd, and the camels, which he halved. From this it is evident what is signified by these words in the proximate sense, namely, that he who is represented by Jacob had but little truth when he was being initiated into knowledges, and that he afterwards had many truths and goods; or what is the same, that from little he had much. From the explications already given, it is manifest that in the internal sense the subject treated of has been the Lord, how He made the human in Himself Divine-and this by successive steps according to order-and thus His progress into intelligence and wisdom, and at last into what was Divine. From this is manifest what is meant by "from little to much."

[2] That the "Jordan" denotes initiation into the knowledges of good and truth, is because it was a boundary of the land of Canaan. That all the boundaries of that land signified things that are first and last of the Lord‘s kingdom, and those also that are first and last of His church, and thus those that are first and last of the celestial and spiritual things which constitute His kingdom and His church, may be seen above (n. 1585, 1866, 4116, 4240). Hence the Jordan, because it was a boundary, signified initiation into the knowledges of good and truth, for these are first; and at last, when the man becomes a church, or a kingdom of the Lord, they become last.

[3] That the "Jordan" signifies these things is also evident from other passages in the Word, as in David:--

"to remember from the land of Jordan" denotes from what is last, thus from what is low. Again:

where "Judah" denotes the good of celestial love, and "Israel" the good of spiritual love (n. 3654); the "sea" denotes the knowledges of truth (n. 28); "Jordan" the knowledges of good, which are said to "turn themselves backwards" when the good of love obtains the dominion; for then knowledges are regarded from this good, but not good from them-according to what has been often shown above.

[4] In the book of Judges:--

"Gilead" denotes sensuous good, or pleasure, by which man is first initiated when being regenerated (n. 4117, 4124); "to dwell in the passage of the Jordan" denotes in those things which are for initiation, and which are thus the first and the last of the church and kingdom of the Lord. These were also represented by the Jordan when the sons of Israel entered into the land of Canaan (Josh. 3:14-17; 4:1-24). For by the land of Canaan was represented the kingdom of the Lord (n. 1413, 1437, 1607, 3038, 3481, 3686, 3705). And by the Jordan’s being divided, and their passing over on dry ground, was signified the removal of evils and falsities, and the admission of those who are in goods and truths. Similar is the meaning of the waters of the Jordan being divided by Elijah when he was taken up into heaven (2 Kings 2:8); and by Elisha when he entered upon the prophetic office in Elijah‘s place (2 Kings 2:14).

[5] Naaman’s being healed of his leprosy by washing himself seven times in the Jordan according to the command of Elisha (2 Kings 5:1-14), represented baptism; for baptism signifies initiation into the church and into those things which are of the church; thus regeneration and the things of regeneration. Not that anyone is regenerated by baptism, but that this is the sign of it, which he should remember. And as the things of the church are signified by baptism, and the same by the Jordan, as stated above, the people were therefore baptized in the Jordan by John (Matt. 3:6; Mark 1:5). And the Lord also willed to be Himself baptized in it by John (Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9).

[6] Because the Jordan signifies the things which are first and last of the Lord‘s kingdom and church, such as the knowledges of good and truth (for by these man is introduced), the Jordan is also mentioned as a boundary of the New Earth or Holy Land, in (Ezekiel 47:18). That the New Earth or Holy Land is the Lord’s kingdom, and also the New Church, which is the Lord‘s kingdom on the earth, may be seen above (n. 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355).

AC 4256. Rescue me I pray from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him. That this signifies the state relatively, because it made itself prior, is evident from what has been said occasionally above, especially when treating of the birthright which Jacob procured for himself by the pottage of lentiles, and of the blessing which he took away from Esau by craft. What was thereby represented and signified may be there seen, namely, that when man is being regenerated truth is apparently in the first place, and good in the second; but that good is actually in the first place and truth in the second, and is manifestly so when he is regenerate (n. 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4243, 4244, 4247). When therefore the order is being Inverted, and good is taking its prior place manifestly (that is, when it is beginning to have the dominion over truth), the natural man is in fear and distress (n. 4249), and also enters into temptations. The reason is that when truth was in the first place, that is, when it seemed to itself to have the dominion, falsities intermingled themselves; for from itself truth cannot see whether it is truth, but must see this from good; and where falsities are, there is fear at the approach of good. Moreover all who are in good begin to fear when falsities appear in light from good; for they fear falsities, and will them to be extirpated; but this is impossible if the falsities stick fast, except by Divine means from the Lord. This is the reason why those who are to be regenerated, after fear and distress come also into temptations, for temptations are the Divine means for removing the falsities. This is the most secret cause why man when being regenerated undergoes spiritual temptations. But this cause is in no way apparent to the man, because it is above the sphere of his observation, as is everything which moves, harasses, and torments the conscience.

AC 4257. Lest he come and smite me, the mother upon the sons. That this signifies that it is about to perish, is evident without explication. "To smite the mother upon the sons" was a form of speech among the ancients who were in representatives and significatives, signifying the destruction of the church and of all things that are of the church, either in general or in particular with the man who is a church. For by "mother" they understood the church (n. 289, 2691, 2717), and by "sons" the truths that are of the church (n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 3373). Hence "to smite the mother upon the sons" denotes to perish altogether. Man also perishes altogether when the church and what belongs to the church in him perishes, that is, when the affection of truth, which is properly signified by "mother," and which produces the church in man, is destroyed.

AC 4258. And Thou saidst, I will surely do well with thee. That this signifies that nevertheless it would then obtain life, is evident from the signification of "doing well," as being to obtain life. For by Jacob is represented truth; and truth has not life from itself, but from the good which flows into it, as frequently shown above. Hence it is that "doing well" here signifies obtaining life. The life of truth from good is also here treated of.

AC 4259. And I will make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which is not numbered for multitude. That this signifies that there would then be fructification and multiplication, is evident from the signification of "seed," as being the faith of charity, and also charity itself (n. 1025, 1447, 1610, 2848, 3373). That "to make this as the sand of the sea, which is not numbered for multitude," is multiplication, is manifest. Fructification is predicated of good, which is of charity; and multiplication of truth, which is of faith (n. 913, 983, 2846, 2847).

Author:  E. Swedenborg (1688-1772).

Design:  I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002.

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