Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 6024

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6024. Verses 8-27 And these are the names of the sons of Israel who were coming to Egypt - of Jacob and his sons: Jacob's firstborn was Reuben. And the sons of Reuben were Enoch,a and Pallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. And the sons of Levi were Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. And the sons of Judah were Er and Onan, and Shelah, and Perez, and Zerah; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. And the sons of Issachar were Tola and Puvah, and Job and Shimron. And the sons of Zebulun were Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, and Dinah his daughter. All the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty-three. And the sons of Gad were Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni and Ezbon, Eri and Arodi, and Areli. And the sons of Asher were Jimnah, and Jishvah, and Jishvi, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob. They were sixteen souls. The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife, were Joseph and Benjamin. And born to Joseph in the land of Egypt were those whom Asenath the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On bore to him, Manasseh and Ephraim. And the sons of Benjamin were Bela and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, Ehi and Rosh, Muppim and Huppim, and Ard. These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob; all the souls were fourteen. And the sons of Dan were Hushim. And the sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, and Cuni, and Jezer and Shillem. These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob. All the souls were seven. Every soul coming with Jacob to Egypt - those who came out of his thigh, not counting Jacob's sons' wives - all the souls were sixty-six. And Joseph's sons who were born to him in Egypt were two souls; all the souls belonging to the house of Jacob who was coming to Egypt were seventy.

[2] 'And these are the names of the sons of Israel who were coming to Egypt' means the essential nature of the truths from the spiritual in their order, which were gathered into the Church's factual knowledge. 'Jacob and his sons' means the truth of the natural in general and the truths of the natural in particular. 'Jacob's firstborn was Reuben' means faith in the understanding, which seemingly occupies first place. 'And the sons of Reuben were Enoch, and Pallu, and Hezron, and Carmi' means teachings regarding faith in general. 'And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar' means faith in the will, and teachings regarding it in general. 'And Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman' means a teaching that did not spring from a genuine source. 'And the sons of Levi were Gershon and Kohath and Merari' means spiritual love, and teachings regarding it in general.

[3] 'And the sons of Judah were Er and Onan and Shelah, and Perez and Zerah' means celestial love, and teachings regarding it. 'And Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan' means that falsity and evil were wiped out. 'And the sons of Perez were Hezron, and Hamul' means the truths of that good, which are forms of the good of charity. 'And the sons of Issachar were Tola, and Puvah, and Job, and Shimron' means heavenly conjugial love, and teachings regarding it. 'And the sons of Zebulun were Sered, and Elon and Jahleel' means the heavenly marriage, and teachings regarding it. 'These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram' means that those things sprang from a spiritual affection in the natural through cognitions of goodness and truth. 'And Dinah his daughter' means the Church. 'Every soul of his sons and his daughters were thirty-three' means the state in which spiritual life existed, and the essential nature of it.

[4] 'And the sons of Gad were Ziphion and Haggi, Shuni and Ezbon, Eri and Arodi and Areli' means the good of faith and the deeds that are a product of it, and teachings regarding them. 'And the sons of Asher were Jimnah and Jishvah, and Jishvi, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel' means the happiness of eternal life and the delight supplied by affections, and teachings regarding them. 'These were the sons of Zilpah' means that these things belong to the external Church. 'Whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter' means received from the affection for external good. 'And these she bore to Jacob' means that they were begotten by the natural. 'They were sixteen souls' means their state and essential nature.

[5] 'The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife' means things that are born from a heavenly affection. 'Joseph and Benjamin' means the internal aspect of the Church, 'Joseph' its good, 'Benjamin' truth from that good. 'And born to Joseph in the land of Egypt' means infernal celestial and spiritual entities within the natural. 'Were those whom Asenath the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On bore to him' means born from the marriage of good wedded to truth and truth to good. 'Manasseh and Ephraim' means a new area of will and a new associated area of understanding, which the Church possesses. 'And the sons of Benjamin were Bela and Becher and Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, Ehi and Rosh, Muppim and Huppim and Ard' means the spiritual internal, and teachings regarding it. 'These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob' means that those things were born from a celestial affection. 'All the souls were fourteen' means their state and essential nature. 'And the sons of Dan were Hushim' means the holiness of faith and the good of life, and teaching regarding them. 'And the sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem' means temptations in which victory was won, and teachings regarding them. 'These were the sons of Bilhah' means that they belong to the internal Church. 'Whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter' means received from the affection for internal good. 'All the souls were seven' means their state and essential nature.

[6] 'Every soul coming with Jacob to Egypt' means all the truths and forms of good that were introduced into the Church's factual knowledge. 'Who came out of his thigh' means which were born of the marriage. 'Not counting Jacob's sons' wives' means quite apart from the affections for things not born of the marriage. 'All the souls were sixty-six' means their state and essential nature. 'And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt' means celestial and spiritual entities within the natural. 'Were two souls' means the resulting new areas of will and understanding, which the Church possesses. 'All the souls belonging to the house of Jacob who was coming to Egypt were seventy' means the entire number in their proper order.

Notes

a In most English versions this name appears as Hanoch, but in the Latin, as in the original Hebrew, the spelling is the same as that of the one mentioned in Gen 4:17, 18; 5:18-24. Cp Gen 25:4.


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