ACV7 S37: 5633-5649

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:33 — 26.1MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

ACV7S37 Click to Print

5633. Verses 15-17. And the men took this present, and they took double silver in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. And Joseph saw Benjamin with them, and he said to him that was over his house, Bring the men to the house, and slaying slay, and make ready; for the men shall eat with me at noon. And the man did as Joseph said; and the man brought the men to Joseph’s house. “And the men took this present,” signifies that truths had with them the means for obtaining favor; “and they took double silver in their hand,” signifies also truth received in the ability; “and Benjamin,” signifies and the intermediate also; “and rose up and went down to Egypt,” signifies elevation to life to be gained by them from the interior things of memory-knowledges; “and stood before Joseph,” signifies the presence of the celestial of the spiritual there; “and Joseph saw Benjamin with them,” signifies the perception by the celestial of the spiritual of a spiritual intermediate with truths; “and he said to him that was over his house,” signifies to that which is of the external church; “Bring the men to the house,” signifies that the truths in the natural were to be introduced thither; “and slaying slay and make ready,” signifies through the goods of the exterior natural; “for the men shall eat with me at noon,” signifies that they will be conjoined when with the intermediate; “and the man did as Joseph said,” signifies bringing it about; “and the man brought the men to Joseph’s house,” signifies first introduction into the good which is from the celestial of the spiritual.

5634. And the men took this present. That this signifies that truths had with them the means for obtaining favor, is evident from the signification of “men,” as being truths (n. 3134); and from the signification of a “present,” which was given on approaching kings and priests, as being something to obtain favor (n. 5619).

5635. And they took double silver in their hand. That this signifies also truth received in the ability, is evident from what was said above (n. 5623), where the same words occur. It may also be seen there what is meant by truth received in the ability.

5636. And Benjamin. That this signifies and the intermediate also, is evident from the representation of Benjamin, as being the intermediate (see n. 5411, 5413, 5443).

5637. And rose up, and went down to Egypt. That this signifies elevation to life to be gained by them from the interior things of memory-knowledges is evident from the signification of “rising up,” as being elevation to the things of spiritual life (see n. 2401, 2785, 2912, 2927, 3171, 4103, 4881); and from the signification of “going down,” as being to life to be gained by them, for “going down” here involves the same as was meant before by the words, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, and we will live, and not die” (verse 8), by which is signified spiritual life according to degrees (n. 5605); and from the signification of “Egypt,” as being memory-knowledges (n. 1164-1165, 1186, 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966), here the interior things of memory-knowledges, because the celestial of the spiritual which is represented by Joseph was there; wherefore it is presently said that they “stood before Joseph.” The interior things of memory-knowledges are spiritual things in the natural mind, and spiritual things are there when the memory-knowledges there are enlightened by the light of heaven, and they are so enlightened when the man has faith in the doctrinal things that are from the Word, and he has this faith when he is in the good of charity; for then truths and thereby memory-knowledges are enlightened by the good of charity as by a flame. From this they have their spiritual light. Hence it may be seen what is meant by the interior things of memory-knowledges.

5638. And stood before Joseph. That this signifies the presence of the celestial of the spiritual there, is evident from the signification of “standing before” anyone, as being presence; and from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial of the spiritual (of which often before). That the celestial of the spiritual was present in both naturals was represented by Joseph’s being made lord over all Egypt. This is what is meant by the presence of the celestial of the spiritual in the interior things of memory-knowledges; for these knowledges are in the natural (see n. 5316, 5324, 5326-5328, 5333, 5337, 5373). The truths represented by Jacob’s ten sons are truths in the natural.

5639. And Joseph saw Benjamin with them. That this signifies the perception by the celestial of the spiritual of a spiritual intermediate with truths, is evident from the signification of “seeing,” as being to understand and perceive (see n. 2150, 2807, 3764, 4567, 4723, 5400); and from the representation of Jacob’s ten sons (who are meant by “with them,” that is, with whom Joseph saw Benjamin), as being truths in the natural (n. 5403, 5419, 5427, 5458, 5512); and from the representation of Benjamin, as being the intermediate (see n. 5411, 5413, 5443). That this is here called a spiritual intermediate is because the truths represented by Jacob’s ten sons were now to be conjoined with the truth from the Divine which is “Joseph,” and this conjunction is not effected without an intermediate which is spiritual; and therefore when this intermediate was perceived, it immediately follows that “Joseph said to him that was over his house, Bring the men to the house, and slaying slay, and make ready; for the men shall eat with me at noon,” by which is signified that they would be introduced and conjoined because with the intermediate.
[2] What the spiritual is relatively to the natural must be further told in a few words, because most of those who are in the Christian world are so ignorant of what the spiritual is that when they hear the term they hesitate, and say to themselves that no one knows what it is. In its essence with man the spiritual is the very affection of good and truth for the sake of good and truth, and not for the sake of self, and also the affection of what is just and fair for the sake of what is just and fair, and not for the sake of self. When a man feels in himself delight and pleasantness, and still more if he feels happiness and blessedness, from these affections, this is the spiritual in him, which comes not from the natural, but from the spiritual world or from heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord. This then is the spiritual, which when it reigns in a man, affects and as it were tinges all that he thinks, wills, and does, and causes the thoughts and the acts of his will to partake of the spiritual, until at last these also become spiritual in him, as when he passes out of the natural into the spiritual world. In a word, the affection of charity and faith, that is, of good and truth, and the delight and pleasantness, and still more the happiness and blessedness thence derived, which are felt inwardly in man and make him a man truly Christian, are the spiritual.
[3] That most men in the Christian world are ignorant of what the spiritual is, is because they make faith and not charity the essential of the church. Consequently as those few who are concerned about faith think little if at all about charity or know what it is, therefore as there is no knowledge, there is no perception of the affection which is of charity; and he who is not in the affection of charity cannot possibly know what the spiritual is. Especially is this true at the present day, when scarcely anyone has any charity, because it is the last time of the church. But be it known that in a general sense the “spiritual” means the affection both of good and of truth, and therefore heaven is called the spiritual world, and the internal sense of the Word the spiritual sense; but specifically that which is of the affection of good is called the celestial, and that which is of the affection of truth is called the spiritual.

5640. And he said to him that was over his house. That this signifies to that which is of the external church, is evident from the representation of him that was over the house, as being the external church, when he who is in the house is the internal church (see n. 1795). And as in the internal sense the thing, and not the person, is regarded (see n. 5225, 5287, 5434), therefore by “him that was over the house” is signified that which is of the external church.

5641. Bring the men to the house. That this signifies that the truths in the natural mind were to be introduced thither, is evident from the signification of “Jacob’s sons,” as being the truths of the church in the natural (see n. 5403, 5419, 5427, 5458, 5512). Their being introduced there is signified by “bringing the men to the house.”

5642. And slaying slay and make ready. That this signifies through the goods of the exterior natural, is evident from the signification of “slaying,” as involving that which is slain-an ox, a bullock, a he-goat, or other cattle-as being the goods of the natural (that an “ox” and a “bullock” are the goods of the natural may be seen above, n. 2180, 2566, 2781, 2830); here the goods of the exterior natural, because through these they were now first introduced to conjunction; for his “bringing the men to Joseph’s house” signifies the first introduction into the good which is from the celestial of the spiritual (see below n. 5645). As the “bullock” and “ox” signified the goods of the natural, everything done in regard to them also signified this good, for the one involved the other.

5643. For the men shall eat with me at noon. That this signifies that they will be conjoined when with the intermediate, is evident from the signification of “eating with,” as being to be communicated, conjoined and appropriated (n. 2187, 2343, 3168, 3513, 3596, 3832). And because they were with the spiritual intermediate, which is “Benjamin” (n. 5639), it is said “at noon;” for “noon” signifies a state of light, thus the spiritual state which comes through the intermediate (n. 1458, 3708).

5644. And the man did as Joseph said. That this signifies bringing it about, is evident without explication.

5645. And the man brought the men to Joseph’s house. That this signifies the first introduction into the good which is from the celestial of the spiritual, is evident from the signification of “bringing,” as being introduction (as above, n. 5641); from the signification of “Jacob’s sons,” as being the truths of the church in the natural (see n. 5403, 5419, 5427, 5428, 5512); from the signification of a “house,” as being good (n. 3652, 3720, 4982), and hence also the church (n. 3720), for the church is the church from good; and from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial of the spiritual (of which often above). From this it is plain that by “the man’s bringing the men to Joseph’s house” is signified that the truths in the natural were to be introduced into the good which is from the celestial of the spiritual. That the first introduction is what is signified, is because they now only ate with Joseph, and did not know him. By this is signified a general conjunction, which is the first introduction; for truth from the Divine then flows in generally, and is not discerned. But when the truth which flows in is observed, there is then a second conjunction, which is signified by Joseph’s manifesting himself to his brethren, as related in a subsequent chapter (Gen. 45).

5646. Verses 18-23. And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, Over the word of the silver that was returned in our bags in the beginning are we brought; to roll down upon us, and to cast himself upon us, and to take us for servants, and our asses. And they came near to the man that was over Joseph’s house, and they spoke unto him at the door of the house, and said, In me, my lord, in coming down we came down in the beginning to buy food; and it came to pass when we came to the inn and we opened our bags, and behold everyone’s silver in the mouth of his bag, our silver in its weight; and we have brought it back in our hand. And other silver have we brought down in our hand to buy food; we know not who put our silver in our bags. And he said, Peace be to you, fear not; your God, and the God of your father, gave you a hidden gift in your bags; your silver came to me. And he brought Simeon out unto them. “And the men were afraid,” signifies a drawing back; “because they were brought to Joseph’s house,” signifies because the truths that belonged to the natural were to be adjoined and subjected to the internal; “and they said, Over the word of the silver that was returned in our bags in the beginning are we brought,” signifies because truth in the exterior natural appears to be given gratuitously, they were therefore to be in subjection; “to roll down upon us and to cast himself upon us,” signifies that on this account they were to be reduced under absolute power; “and to take us for servants and our asses,” signifies until whatever is in either natural be as nothing; “and they came near to the man that was over Joseph’s house,” signifies the doctrinals of the church; “and they spoke unto him at the door of the house,” signifies taking counsel of them about introduction; “and said, In me, my lord,” signifies a testifying; “in coming down we came down in the beginning to buy food,” signifies a disposition to procure good for truths; “and it came to pass when we came to the inn and we opened our bags,” signifies introspection into the exterior natural; “and behold everyone’s silver in the mouth of his bag,” signifies that it was clearly seen that truths had been given as it were gratuitously; “our silver in its weight,” signifies truths according to each one’s state; “and we have brought it back in our hand,” signifies that what had been given gratuitously would be in submission as far as possible; “and other silver have we brought down in our hand to buy food,” signifies that there is a disposition to procure good by means of truth from another source; “we know not who put our silver in our bags,” signifies non-belief, from ignorance of the source of truth in the exterior natural; “and he said, Peace be to you, fear not,” signifies that it is well, let them not despair; “your God, and the God of your father,” signifies the Lord’s Divine Human; “gave you a hidden gift in your bags,” signifies that it was from Him without any prudence of theirs; “your silver came to me,” signifies that it will seem as truth procured by them; “and he brought Simeon out unto them,” signifies that he adjoined will to truths.

5647. And the men were afraid. That this signifies a drawing back, is evident from the signification of “being afraid,” as here being a drawing back, namely, from conjunction with the internal. Fear arises from various causes, as from danger of loss of life, of gain, honor, and reputation, also of being brought into some servitude and thus losing freedom and with it the life’s delight. This is the subject treated of in what now follows; for they were afraid lest they should be adjoined to the internal, and thereby lose their own, and with it their freedom, and with freedom the life’s delight, because this depends on freedom. This is the reason why by “the men were afraid” is signified a drawing back lest they should be adjoined. Here in few words it must be told in advance how the case is with this conjunction, that is, the conjunction of the external or natural man with the internal or spiritual. The external or natural man reigns from life’s earliest age, and knows not that there is an internal or spiritual man. When therefore the man is being reformed and from being natural or external is beginning to become spiritual or internal, the natural at first rebels, for it is taught that the natural man is to be subjugated, that is, that all its concupiscences together with the things that confirm them are to be rooted out. Hence when the natural man is left to itself, it thinks that in this way it would utterly perish; for it knows no otherwise than that the natural is everything, and it is wholly ignorant that in the spiritual there are things immeasurable and unutterable; and when the natural man so thinks, it draws back and is not willing to be subjected to the spiritual. This is what is here meant by their “fear.”

5648. Because they were brought to Joseph’s house. That this signifies because the truths that belong to the natural were to be adjoined and subjected to the internal, is evident from the signification of “being brought to Joseph’s house,” as being to be conjoined and subjected to the internal; for by Joseph is represented the internal, because he represents truth from the Divine, or the celestial of the spiritual (see n. 5307, 5331, 5332, 5417, 5469); and by a “house” is signified man’s internal as well as his external (n. 3128, 3538, 4973, 5023), here the internal, as it is called “Joseph’s house;” and by “being brought” (namely, to the internal) is signified to be adjoined, and therefore to be subjected. The reason is that when the natural is adjoined to the internal, it is then subjected to it; for the command which had before belonged to the natural man, then becomes the spiritual man’s; of which command, of the Lord’s Divine mercy more will be said in the following pages.
[2] A few words must here be added in regard to the internal sense. The internal sense of the Word is especially for those who are in the other life. When those who are there are with a man who is reading the Word, they perceive it according to the internal sense, and not according to the external; for they understand no human words, but only the sense of the words, and this not according to the man’s natural thoughts, but according to their thoughts which are spiritual. Into this spiritual sense the natural sense that is with the man is at once transmuted, just as one turns the language of another into his own which is different, doing it in an instant. So is the sense of natural human thought turned into spiritual, for spiritual language or speech is proper to the angels, and natural language or speech to men. That there is so sudden a change of as it were one language into the other, is because there is a correspondence of each and all things in the natural world with those in the spiritual world.
[3] Now as the internal sense of the Word is chiefly for those who are in the spiritual world, therefore such things are here mentioned in the internal sense as are for them, and as are pleasant and delightful to them. Yet the more interior such things are, the more remote are they from the apprehension of men to whom only those things which are of the world and the body are pleasant and delightful; and when this is the case, they hold in contempt the spiritual things that belong to the internal sense, and also loathe them. Let everyone explore within himself whether the things contained in the internal sense of the verses that now follow are worthless and distasteful to him, when yet they are what the angelic societies take the greatest delight in. From this it may be plain to one who reflects what a difference there is between the delights of men and the delights of angels, and also in what things the angels vest wisdom, and in what men vest it – that the angels vest wisdom in such things as man thinks worthless and holds in aversion, and that man vests wisdom in such things as the angels care nothing about, and many in such things as the angels reject and shun.

5649. And they said, Over the word of the silver that was returned in our bags in the beginning are we brought. That this signifies that because truth in the exterior natural appears to be given gratuitously, they were therefore to be in subjection, is evident from the signification of the “silver being returned,” as being truth bestowed gratuitously, (see n. 5530, 5624); from the signification of a “bag,” as being the threshold of the exterior natural (n. 5497); and from the signification of “being brought,” as being to be adjoined or subjected (as shown just above, n. 5648).
[2] The case herein is this. As it was perceived that the truths of memory-knowledge in the exterior natural were given gratuitously, and would therefore be enticed to conjoin themselves with the internal, and thereby be in subjection to it, they would as just said be deprived of their freedom, and thereby of all the delight of life. That this is the case, namely, that it is perceived that truths of memory-knowledge are bestowed gratuitously, and this in the natural mind whether exterior or interior, is quite unknown to man. The reason is that he is in no such perception; for he does not at all know what is bestowed on him gratuitously, still less what is stored up in the exterior natural, and what in the interior. The reason why he has not this perception is usually because worldly and earthly things are dear to him, and not celestial and spiritual things; and therefore he does not believe in any influx through heaven from the Lord, thus not at all that anything is given him; when yet all the truth that he rationally infers from memory-knowledges, and supposes to be of his own ability, is such as is given him. Still less can man perceive whether it is placed in the exterior natural or in the interior, because he is ignorant that the natural is twofold, namely the outer which draws near to the external senses, and the inner which draws back from them and turns to the rational.
[3] As man knows nothing about either the one or the other, he can therefore have no perception about such things; for the knowledge of a thing must come first in order that there may be a perception of it. Yet the angelic societies know and perceive these things well and clearly, not only what is bestowed on them gratuitously, but also where it is, as may be seen from the following experience. When any spirit who is in good, and hence in ability, comes into an angelic society, he comes at the same time into all the memory-knowledge and intelligence the society has, and in which he had not been before; and he then knows no otherwise than that he had known and understood it so before, and from himself. But when he reflects, he perceives that it is gratuitously bestowed on him through that angelic society by the Lord; and he also knows from the angelic society where it is, whether in the exterior or in the interior natural. For there are angelic societies that are in the exterior natural, and there are others that are in the interior natural. Yet the natural which belongs to them is not such a natural as man has; but it is a spiritual natural, which has become spiritual by having been conjoined and subjected to the spiritual.
[4] From all this it is evident that the things here related in the internal sense take place actually so in the other life, namely, that they perceive what is given them gratuitously, as well as where it is stored up, although man at this day knows nothing of such things. But in ancient times they who were of the church knew such things, being taught them by their memory-knowledges and by their doctrinals. They were interior men; but since those times men have become successively more external, insomuch that at this day they are in the body, thus in the outermost. A sign of this is that they do not even know what the spiritual and the internal are, nor believe in their existence. Nay, to such an outermost in the body have they gone away from interior things, that they do not even believe that there is a life after death, nor that there is a heaven or a hell. Nay, by receding from interior things they have gone to such an outermost, and have become so stupid in spiritual things, as to believe that man’s life is like that of beasts, and therefore that man will die in like manner; and strange to say the learned believe so more than the simple, and anyone who believes differently is accounted by them a simpleton.