Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 3910

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3910. 'And he said, Am I in God's place' means that that good was powerless. This is clear from the meaning of 'not being in God's place' as powerlessness, for the name 'God' is derived from potentiality (posse) or power (potentia), whereas the name 'Jehovah' is derived from being (esse) or essence (essentia), see 300. Consequently 'God' is used when truth is the subject and 'Jehovah' when good is the subject, 2769, 2807, 2822, since potentiality (posse) is used in reference to truth, and being (esse) to good. Indeed it is through truth that good has any power, for it is through truth that good can effect anything that comes into being. From this it may be seen that the words 'Am I in God's place' in the internal sense mean that natural good was powerless.


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