4116. And he passed over the river. That this signifies a state wherein is conjunction, is evident from the signification of the "river," here the Euphrates, as being conjunction, namely, with the Divine. The "river" has this signification here, because it was the boundary of the land of Canaan on that side; and all the boundaries of the land of Canaan represented and thence signified what was last and what was first; what was last because there there was an ending, and what was first because there there was a beginning; for all boundaries are of such a nature as to be last to those who are going out, and first to those who are entering in. As Jacob was now entering in, that river was his first boundary, and consequently denotes conjunction, namely, in the supreme sense, with the Divine; for by the land of Canaan in the internal sense there is signified the Lord's celestial kingdom (n. 1607, 3481); and in the supreme sense the Lord's Divine Human (n. 3038, 3705). From this it is evident what is here signified by Jacob's passing over the river. (That all things in the land of Canaan were representative in accordance with their distances, situations, and boundaries, may be seen above, n. 1585, 3686; and that so were the rivers which bounded it, as the river of Egypt, the Euphrates, and the Jordan, n. 1866.)