Swedenborg Arcana Caelestia Vol. IV (1750)

4082. "And it happened in the time of the flock's heat," signifies the ardor of affection, in order that they might be conjoined. This is evident from the signification of "to be in heat" as the ardor of affection and its effect, discussed in n. 4018, 4019, so that they might be conjoined, namely, goods and truths.

4083. "And I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream," signifies the perception of the natural good in the obscure. This is evident from the signification of "lifting up the eyes" as to think and also to notice, discussed in n. 2789, 2829, 3198—thus to perceive; and from the signification of "in a dream" as in the obscure, discussed in n. 2514, 2528. The good of the natural is Jacob.

4084. "And behold, the he-goats ascending upon the flock were ring-streaked, speckled, and grisled," signifies the effect, that the natural good understood by Jacob would be imbued with such things from that source. This can be evident from what was said in the preceding chapter about these things, for there were ceded to Jacob from Laban's flock those which were ring-streaked, speckled, and grisled—that is, those things which are signified by them.

4085. "And the Angel of God said to me in a dream, Jacob, and I said, Behold me," signifies perception from the Divine and presence in the obscure. This is evident from the signification of "to say" in the historicals of the Word, which is to perceive, discussed often before; from the signification of "the Angel of God" as being from the Divine, for an angel in the Word, where named, signifies something of the Lord, that is, something Divine (n. 1925, 2321, 2821, 3039). This is because an angel does not speak from himself, but from the Lord, especially when in a dream, as here to Jacob. Angels are also such that they are indignant if any good and truth that they speak is attributed to them, and as much as they can, they remove such an idea from others, especially from a person. For they know and perceive that all the good and truth that they think, will, and do is from the Lord, and thus from the Divine. Hence it can be evident that "angels" in the Word signify something of the Lord, that is, the Divine. And from the signification of "in a dream" as being in the obscure (discussed in n. 2514, 2528), presence in the natural, and there in the obscure, is signified by Jacob's response.

4086. "And he said, Lift up I pray your eyes," signifies attention from one's own self. This is evident from the signification of "to lift up the eyes" as to think and notice (discussed in n. 2789, 2829), thus to pay attention. That this is from one's own self here is clear from the fact that it says "lift up your eyes and see," and also from the sequence.

4087. "And see all the he-goats ascending upon the flock ring-streaked, speckled, and grisled," signifies that such things were being introduced, and thus that it was being imbued with such things. This is evident from what was said just above in n. 4084, where there are similar words.

4088. "For I have seen all that Laban does to you," signifies the selfhood of the good signified by Laban, that it is not such as if from itself. This is evident from the representation of Laban as mediate good, discussed often before. That his selfhood is not such as if from himself is signified by "I have seen all that he does to you." That this is the signification is clear from the intuition of things in the internal sense, and also from the societies that are in such good; for from these it can be clearly seen what kind of good it is. There are societies of spirits that serve as means and for communication...