3690.“雅各走出别是巴”表距离神性教义事物更为遥远的生活。这从“走”（going）和“别是巴”的含义清楚可知：“走”是指生活（参看3335，3685节），因此“走出”（going out）表示更遥远的生活；“别是巴”是神性教义（参看2723，2858，2859，3466节）。由此明显可知，“雅各走出别是巴”表示距离神性教义事物更为遥远的生活。当生活在于外在真理，并由外在真理主导时，可以说生活是更遥远的，这就是那些正经历重生之人的幼年期和童年期的情形，如刚才所述（3688节）。
为充分说明这种生活什么样，以及它具有何种性质，最好对此再多说几句。圣言所包含的历史故事的一切细节都是距离本质上的神性教义事物更为遥远的真理。然而，它们仍有助于小孩子和大一点的孩子。他们通过这些故事逐渐被引入关于真理和良善的更内在教义事务，最后被引入神性事物本身；因为这些故事的至内在就含有神性在里面。当年幼的孩子阅读它们，并由于纯真而充满对它们的情感时，与他们同在的天使就处于快乐的属天状态，因为主以对内义、因而对历史事件所代表并表示的事物的情感充满这些天使。正是天使所体验的属天快乐流入年幼的孩子里面，并使他们以这些故事为乐。为了使这第一个状态，也就是那些要重生之人的幼年期和童年期的第一个状态可以存在，圣言的历史才会被给出，并以这样的方式写就：其中的每一个细节都包含神性之物在里面。
仅从这些历史故事中举出一例，就可以看出它们距离神性教义事物何等遥远。当有人刚开始仅仅知道神降临西乃山，将写有十诫的石版交给摩西，而摩西将它们打碎，于是神将这十诫又写在另两块石版上，并且他纯以这段历史为乐时，他的生活便由外在真理所主导，距离神性事物相对遥远。然而，后来，当他开始以其中所包含的诫命或戒律为乐，对它们拥有一种情感，并照之生活时，他的生活便由实际的真理所主导，但距离神性教义事物本身仍旧很远。因为他照着这些诫命所过的生活只不过是一种道德上正确的生活，生活在人类社会的所有人通过文明生活本身及其法律也都十分清楚这些戒律，如要敬拜至高无上的存在，孝敬父母，不可杀人，不可奸淫，不可偷盗。
但正在重生的人会从这种相对遥远或道德上正确的生活被引离，进入更接近神性事物的生活，也就是属灵的生活。当这一切发生时，此人便开始想知道为何这类诫命或戒律会以如此神奇的方式从天上降下来，为何神用手指头将它们写在石版上；而事实上，它们都是众所周知的，而且也写在那些从未听过圣言之人的法律里面。当进入这种思维状态时，他若属于能重生的那类人，就会被主引入还要更为内在的状态，即被引入思考其中所隐藏的更深层次事物的状态，他对这些事物还不了解。当在这种状态下阅读圣言时，他会在先知书的各处，尤其在福音书中发现，这些戒律当中的每一条都含有还要更为属天的事物在里面。
以孝敬父母这条诫命为例。他发现，当人们新生，也就是正在重生时，他们便接受另一位父，然后成为祂的儿子，并且祂就是他们要孝敬的那一位；因此，这才是隐藏在这条诫命里面更内在的含义。他还逐渐得知这新的父就是主，最后得知如何孝敬，也就是敬拜祂，并且爱祂就是敬拜祂。当一个正在重生的人拥有这个真理并照之生活时，他便处于神性教义。这时，他的状态是天使的状态，他通过这种状态将他以前所知道的事视为像阶梯那样按次序相继到来，并从神性所流出的事物；而耶和华或主就在这阶梯之上，祂的使者沿着这这阶梯上上下下。因此，他将以前乐在其中的事物看作离他自己更遥远的阶梯。十诫中的其它戒律也一样（参看2609节）。由此可见，在此由“雅各走出别是巴”所表示的距离神性教义事物更为遥远的生活是什么意思。
Potts(1905-1910) 3690
3690. And Jacob went out from Beersheba. That this signifies life more remote from Divine doctrinal things, is evident from the signification of "going," as being to live (see n. 3335, 3685); thus "going out" signifies living more remotely; and from the signification of "Beersheba" as being Divine doctrine (see n. 2723, 2858, 2859, 3466); hence it is evident that by "Jacob went out from Beersheba" is signified life more remote from Divine doctrinal things. Life is said to be more remote when it is in external truths, and is lived according to them, as is the life of the infancy and childhood of those who are being regenerated (concerning whom see above, n. 3688). [2] In order to show further what this life is, and what its quality, it may be expedient to add a few words. All the histories of the Word are truths more remote from essential Divine doctrinal things, but still are of service to little children and older children, in order that thereby they may be by degrees introduced into the interior doctrinal matters of truth and good; and at last to Divine things themselves; for within them, in their inmost, is the Divine. While children are reading them and are affected by them from innocence, the angels who are with them are in a happy celestial state, being affected from the Lord with the internal sense, consequently with those things which the historical facts represent and signify; and it is the celestial happiness of the angels that flows in and causes the delight with the children. In order that this first state may exist, that is, the first state of infancy and childhood of those to be regenerated, the histories of the Word were given, and were so written that all things therein both in general and in particular contain within them things Divine. [3] How far removed these historical matters are from Divine doctrinal things can be seen from the following example from them. When anyone first knows only that God descended on Mount Sinai, and gave tables to Moses, on which were written the Ten Commandments, and that Moses broke those tables, and that God wrote like commandments on other tables; while delighted solely with this history, he is in the life of external truth remote from Divine doctrinal things; but afterwards when he begins to be delighted and affected with the commandments or precepts themselves therein contained, and lives according to them, he is then in the life of truth, yet still remote from the Divine doctrinal things themselves. For a life according to the commandments is only a moral life, the precepts whereof are known to all who live in human society, from civil life itself and the laws thereof-as that the Deity is to be worshiped, and parents honored; and that murder, adultery, and theft must not be committed. [4] But he who is being regenerated is led by degrees from this more remote life (that is, moral life), into a life nearer to Divine doctrinal things; that is, into spiritual life. When this comes to pass the man begins to wonder why such commandments or precepts were sent down from heaven in so miraculous a manner, and written on tables by the finger of God, when yet they are known to every people, and are also written in the laws of those who have never heard anything from the Word. If when he comes into this state of thought he is among those who are capable of being regenerated, he is brought by the Lord into a still more interior state, namely, into a state of thinking that deeper things lie concealed therein, with which as yet he is unacquainted; and when he reads the Word in this state, he finds everywhere in the Prophets, and especially in the Evangelists, that each one of these precepts contains within it things still more heavenly. [5] For example, in respect to the honoring of parents, he now sees that when men are born anew, that is, when being regenerated, they receive another Father, and then become His sons, and that it is He who is to be honored; thus that this is the sense that lies hidden within this precept. And by degrees he learns that this new Father is the Lord; and at last that He is to be honored by being worshiped, and that He is worshiped when He is loved. When one who is being regenerated is in this truth, and in a life according to it, he is in Divine doctrine, and is then in an angelic state, and from this state looks at the things he before knew as following on in order, and as flowing from the Divine as it were according to the steps of a ladder, above which is Jehovah or the Lord; and on the steps whereof are His angels ascending and descending; thus he sees the things with which he had previously been delighted as more remote from him according to degrees. The case is the same with the other precepts of the Decalogue (see n. 2609). From this it is now evident what is meant by a life more remote from Divine doctrinal things, which is here signified by "Jacob went out from Beersheba."
Elliott(1983-1999) 3690
3690. 'Jacob went out from Beersheba' means life more remote from matters of doctrine that are Divine. This is clear from the meaning of 'going' as living, dealt with in 3335, 3685, and so of 'going away' as living more remotely; and from the meaning of 'Beersheba' as doctrine that is Divine, dealt with in 2723, 2858, 2859, 3466. From this it is evident that 'Jacob went out from Beersheba' means life more remote from matters of doctrine that are Divine. Life is said to be more remote when it consists in external truths and is governed by these, as was the case in the early and later childhood of those who are being regenerated, dealt with just above in 3688.
[2] To demonstrate more fully what that life is, and what it is like, let a further brief statement be made about it. All the details of the historical tales contained in the Word are truths more remote from the actual matters of doctrine that are Divine. Nevertheless they are of service to young and older children in that by means of those tales they are led gradually into more interior matters of doctrine concerning what is true and good, and at length into Divine ones; for inmostly those tales hold what is Divine within them. When young children read them and in innocence are filled with affection for them, the angels present with them experience a delightful heavenly state, for the Lord fills those angels with affection for the internal sense and so for the things which the events of the historical tales represent and mean. It is that heavenly delight experienced by angels which flows in and causes the young children to take delight in those tales. In order that this first state may exist, that is, the state in early and later childhood of those who are to be regenerated, the historical tales in the Word have therefore been provided and written in such a way that every single detail there contains that which is Divine within them.
[3] How remote they are from matters of doctrine that are Divine may be seen from an example taken from those historical tales. When at first someone knows merely that God came down on Mount Sinai and gave Moses the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written, and that Moses smashed them and God wrote similar commandments on another set of tablets, and this historical description in itself delights him, his life is governed by external truth and is remote from matters of doctrine that are Divine. Later on however when he starts to take delight in and have an affection for the commands or precepts there, and lives according to them, his life is now governed by actual truth; yet his life is still remote from matters of doctrine that are Divine. For the life he leads in keeping with those commands is no more than a morally correct life, the precepts of which are well known to everyone living in human society from the life of the community and from the laws existing there, such as worship of the Supreme Being, honouring parents, not committing murder, not committing adultery, and not stealing.
[4] But a person who is being regenerated is gradually led away from this more remote or morally correct life to life that comes closer to matters of doctrine that are Divine, that is, closer to spiritual life. When this happens he starts to wonder why such commands or precepts were sent down from heaven in so miraculous a fashion and why they were written on tablets with the finger of God, when they are in fact known to all peoples and are also written in the laws of those who have never heard anything from the Word. When he enters into this state of thinking he is then led by the Lord, if he belongs among those who are able to be regenerated, into a state more interior still, that is to say, into a state when he thinks that deeper things lie within which he does not as yet know. And when he reads the Word in this state he discovers in various places in the Prophets, and especially in the Gospels, that every one of those precepts contains within it things more heavenly still.
[5] In the commandment about honouring parents, for example, he discovers that when people are born anew, that is, are being regenerated, they receive another Father, and in that case become His sons, and that He is the one who is to be honoured, thus that this is the meaning which lies more interiorly in that commandment. He also gradually learns who that new Father is, namely the Lord, and at length how He is to be honoured, that is to say, worshipped, and that He is worshipped when He is loved. When a person who is being regenerated possesses this truth and lives according to it, a matter of doctrine that is Divine exists with him. His state at that time is an angelic state, and from this he now sees the things he had known previously as things which follow in order one after another and which flow from the Divine, like the steps of a stairway, at the top of which is Jehovah or the Lord, and on the steps themselves His angels going up and coming down. So he sees things that had previously delighted him as steps more remote from himself. The same may be said of the rest of the Ten Commandments, see 2609. From this one may now see what the life more remote from matters of doctrine that are Divine is, meant by the statement that Jacob went out from Beersheba.
Latin(1748-1756) 3690
3690. `Exivit Jacob e Beersheba': quod significet vitam remotiorem a doctrinalibus Divinis, constat a significatione `ire' quod sit vivere, de qua n. 3335, 3685; ita `exire' quod sit vivere remotius; et ex significatione `Beersheba' quod sit doctrina Divina, de qua n. 2723, 2858, 2859, 3466; inde patet quod per `exivit Jacob {1}e Beersheba' significetur vita remotior a doctrinalibus Divinis; vita remotior dicitur quando illa est in veris externis, et secundum illa vivitur, sicut est vita infantiae (c)et pueritiae eorum qui regenerantur, de quibus mox supra n. 3688 {2}. [2] Ut {3}amplius pateat quid et qualis illa vita, adhuc paucis dicendum est: omnia historica Verbi sunt vera remotiora a doctrinalibus ipsis Divinis, at usque inserviunt infantibus et pueris ut per illa introducantur in doctrinalia veri et boni interiora, per gradus, et tandem (x)ad ipsa Divina; intime enim in illis est Divinum; {4}cum infantes illa legunt et illis ex innocentia afficiuntur, tunc angeli apud illos in statu amoeno caelesti sunt, nam ii a Domino afficiuntur sensu interno, proinde illis quae historica repraesentant et significant; amoenitas caelestis angelorum est quae influit et facit delectationem apud infantes; ut is status primus sit, seu infantiae et pueritiae regenerandorum, ideo historica Verbi data sunt, ac ita conscripta ut omnia et singula etiam ibi in se Divina contineant. [3] Quantum illa remota sunt a doctrinalibus Divinis, patere potest ab exemplo ex historicis illis: qui primum modo novit quod Deus descenderit super montem Sinai, et dederit Mosi tabulas quibus inscripta fuerunt decem mandata, et quod Moses illas fregerit, ac Deus super aliis tabulis similia scripserit, is cum solum historico hoc delectatur, in vita veri externi est, remota a doctrinalibus Divinis: postea autem cum incipit delectari et affici ipsis mandatis seu praeceptis quae ibi, ac secundum illa vivit, tunc in vita veri, at usque adhuc remota ab ipsis doctrinalibus Divinis est; vita enim secundum illa est solum vita moralis, cujus praecepta omnibus qui in societate humana sunt, ex ipsa vita civili et legibus ibi notae; sicut quod Numen colendum, parentes honorandi, non occidendum, non adulterandum, non furandum; [4] sed qui regeneratur, a vita hac remotiore seu a vita morali per gradus inducitur in vitam propiorem doctrinalibus Divinis, hoc est, in vitam spiritualem; cum hoc fit, tunc mirari incipit cur talia mandata seu praecepta cum tanto miraculo e caelo demissa fuerint, et digito Dei inscripta tabulis, cum tamen unicuique populo nota sunt, et quoque scripta in legibus illorum qui nusquam aliquid e Verbo audiverunt; cum in hunc cogitationis statum venit, si inter illos est qui regenerari possunt, in interiorem statum adhuc a Domino perducitur, nempe in illum ut cogitet quod altiora inibi lateant, quae adhuc non novit; et cum Verbum in eo statu legit, tunc passim apud Prophetas, et imprimis apud Evangelistas, invenit quod singula illa praecepta (t)in se caelestiora contineant; sicut quod honorandi parentes, quod cum e novo nascuntur, hoc est, cum regenerantur, alium Patrem accipiant, [5] et quod tunc Illius filii fiant, et quod Ille sit qui honorandus, ita quod is sensus sit qui interius in illo praecepto latet; per gradus etiam discit quis novus ille Pater, quod nempe sit Dominus, et tandem quomodo Ille honorandus, quod nempe colendus, et quod tunc colatur quando amatur; cum ille qui regeneratur, in hoc vero est, et in vita secundum illud, tunc in doctrinali Divino est; (m)et tunc est in statu angelico, et inde {5}spectat illa quae prius noverat, sicut succedentia ordine, et sicut fluentia ex Divino quasi secundum gradus scalae, supra quam Jehovah seu Dominus est, et super gradibus angeli {6}Ipsius qui ascendunt et descendunt; ita videt illa quibus prius delectatus fuerat, secundum gradus remotiora a se:(n) similiter se habet cum reliquis praeceptis decalogi, videatur n. 2609; inde nunc constare potest quid sit vita doctrinalibus Divinis remotior, quae significatur per quod `exivit Jacob e Beersheba.' @1 i et$ @2 i a Domino$ @3 Dei$ @4 i et$ @5 i a Domino$ @6 Dei$