34. 1712. if these words are to be taken in such an unfavorable sense as that set forth above [see WE 1679-82 and 1710], I cannot answer for these statements, for so the words were inspired into me, that is, that Jacob himself was the very one who had to be cast down from heaven [13, 67], consequently was the serpent himself who would bruise the heel of God the Messiah. If this is so, then all the preceding, from verses 11 and 12 on, must be expressed in that unfavorable sense, so as to apply to the descendants of Jacob as the serpent himself. But I myself shudder at saying or writing these things. Therefore they must be the sayings of those [spirits] who were permitted to bring them in. If they are to be taken in this sense, then it is obvious for whom Jacob set up this pillar, and many other objects, as idol worshippers do, imitative of those that have been placed in the very Church of God the Messiah. Let us now pass on to the words that follow. [Heel; Jacob; Serpent] [See WE 1713, which concludes the explanation of Gen. 35:14-15.]
[Paragraphs from The Word of the Old Testament Explained, Tome II (Genesis 35:16 to Exodus 14:28), numbered by the author from 1 to 2476, by A. Acton from 1714 to 4001.]
[See WE 1762-64, explaining Gen. 36:2-3.] 1765. So now it is clear that Esau had three wives, and in fact, one from Abraham's nearest kin, namely, a daughter of Ishmael. The other two were from families that were related, especially spiritually, that is, through faith, and indeed, to the same extent as the different levels in the Church are related, and thus in the Kingdom of God the Messiah. The innermost level is meant by the "daughter of Ishmael" - for by daughters Churches are symbolized - the next level by the "daughter of the Hivites," among whom Hamor and Shechem had been; and the outermost level by the "daughter of the Hittites." So there are three classes that are thus symbolized by those daughters, or steps of the Church from the last to the innermost, where Esau is, together with Ishmael.
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