Arcana Coelestia (Potts) n. 2083

Previous Number Next Number Next Translation See Latin 

2083. And thou shalt call his name Isaac. That this signifies the Divine rational, is evident from the representation of Isaac, and also from the signification of his "name" in the internal sense. First, from the representation of Isaac: Abraham, as said in various places before, represents the Lord's internal man, but Isaac His rational man, and Jacob His natural man. The Lord's internal man was Jehovah Himself. His rational man, because conceived from the influx of His internal man into the affection of memory-knowledges in the external man (see n. 1896, 1902, 1910), was from the Divine thus conjoined with the Human. Hence the first rational, represented by Ishmael, was human; but it was made Divine by the Lord, and then is represented by Isaac. Secondly, from the signification of his "name:" Isaac was named from "laughter;" and as in the internal sense "laughter" signifies the affection of truth, which affection belongs to the rational, as was shown above (n. 2072), "laughter" here signifies the Divine rational. [2] The Lord from His own power made Divine all that was human with Him; thus not only the rational, but also the interior and the exterior sensuous part, and thereby the body itself. He thus united the Human to the Divine. That not only the rational, but also the sensuous part, and thus the whole body also, was made Divine and Jehovah, has been already shown, and may be seen by everyone from the fact that He alone rose from the dead as to the body, and sits at the right hand of the Divine power both as to all the Divine and as to all the human. To sit at the right hand of the Divine power, signifies to have all sovereign power in heaven and in earth.


This page is part of the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

© 2000-2001 The Academy of the New Church