AC GENESIS Chapter48

1. And it came to pass after these words, that one said unto Joseph, Behold thy father is sick; and he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim.

2. And one told Jacob, and said, Behold thy son Joseph cometh unto thee; and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

3. And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Shaddai appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

4. And He said unto me, Behold I will make thee fruitful, and will cause thee to be multiplied, and will make of thee a company of peoples; and I will give this land to thy seed after thee for an eternal possession.

5. And now thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, they are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

6. And thy generation, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine; upon the name of their brethren they shall be called in their inheritance.

7. And I, in my coming from Paddan, Rachel died upon me in the land of Canaan, in the way, when there was still a tract of land to come unto Ephrath; and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath, the same is Bethlehem.

8. And Israel saw the sons of Joseph, and said, Whose are these?

9. And Joseph said unto his father, These are my sons, whom God hath given me here. And he said, Take them I pray unto me, and I will bless them.

10. And the eyes of Israel were heavy with old age; he could not see.  And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them and embraced them.

11. And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy faces; and lo God hath made me see thy seed also.

12. And Joseph brought them away from his thighs; and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

13. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand on Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand on Israel‘s right hand, and brought them near unto him.

14. And Israel put forth his right hand, and put it upon Ephraim’s head, and he was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh‘s head, he put forth his hands crosswise; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

15. And he blessed Joseph, and said, The God before whom my fathers walked, Abraham and Isaac, the God who feedeth me since I am unto this day,

16. The Angel who redeemeth me from all evil, bless the boys; and let my name be called in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow unto a multitude in the midst of the earth.

17. And Joseph saw that his father put his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, and it was evil in his eyes; and he laid hold of the hand of his father to remove it from upon Ephraim’s head upon Manasseh‘s head.

18. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

19. And his father refused, and said, I know, my son, I know; be also shall be for a people, and he also shall become great; and nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall be the fulness of the nations.

20. And he blessed them in this day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh; and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

21. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die; and God shall be with you, and shall bring you back unto the land of your fathers.

22. And I give thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

AC 6216. In this chapter the subject treated of in the Internal sense is the intellectual of the church, which is from truth, and its will, which is from good. The intellectual of the church is “Ephraim,” and the will of the church is “Manasseh.”

AC 6217. That in the church the truth of faith which is of the Intellectual is apparently in the first place, and the good of charity which is of the will is apparently in the second, is signified by Israel’s putting his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, and his left upon the head of Manasseh.

AC 6218. Verses 1, 2.  And it came to pass after these words, that one said unto Joseph, Behold thy father is sick; and he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim.  And one told Jacob, and said, Behold thy son Joseph cometh unto thee; and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.  “And it came to pass after these words,” signifies what follows from what has gone before; “that one said unto Joseph,” signifies an eminent perception; “Behold thy father is sick,” signifies what is successive of regeneration; “and he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim,” signifies the will of the church and the intellectual of the church born from the internal; “and one told Jacob,” signifies a perception from the truth of the natural; “and said, Behold thy son Joseph cometh unto thee,” signifies concerning the presence of the internal; “and Israel strengthened himself,” signifies new forces through spiritual good; “and sat upon the bed,” signifies that this was turned to the natural.

AC 6219. And it came to pass after these words.  That this signifies what follows from what has gone before, is evident from the signification of “words,” as being things; thus “after these words” denotes what follows from what has gone before.

AC 6220. That one said unto Joseph.  That this signifies an eminent perception, is evident from the signification of “saying,” as being perception (n. 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2080, 2619, 2862, 3509, 5687); that it is an eminent perception is because the subject treated of in what follows is the intellectual and the will of the church, thus its truth and good, and this from influx through the internal celestial, which is “Joseph.”

AC 6221. Behold thy father is sick.  That this signifies what is successive of regeneration, is evident from the signification of “dying,” as being resurrection into life, and regeneration (n. 3326, 3498, 3505, 4618, 4621, 6036); hence “to be sick,” which precedes, denotes what is progressive toward regeneration, thus what is successive of regeneration.  That “dying” denotes regeneration, and“ being sick” what is successive of regeneration, cannot but appear too remote to be believed; but he who knows anything about angelic thought and speech will acknowledge that it is so.  The angels know nothing of death, nor of sickness, and therefore have no idea of them, but in their place, when man reads of them, they have the idea of the continuation of life and of resurrection; and this because when man dies, he puts oil only that which had served him for use in the world, and enters into the life In which he had been with his spirit. This is the idea that presents itself to the angels when “dying” and “being sick” are read of, and likewise the idea of regeneration, because this is resurrection into life; for before this the man had been spiritually dead; but when he has been regenerated he becomes alive and a son of the resurrection. If when he lives in the body, the man himself longs for heaven, he thinks no otherwise of death and the sickness which precedes it than as being resurrection into life; for when he thinks about heaven, he withdraws himself from the idea of the body, especially when he is sick and comes near to death. From this it is plain that the spiritual idea of the death of the body is that of newness of life; therefore when the subject of resurrection or regeneration is considered In heaven, and this idea flows down and is determined into such things as are of the world, it falls only into such as these.  Thus is it with the Word, which as to each and all things has descended from the Lord and passed through heaven down into the world; in the descent it has clothed itself with forms adapted to apprehension in the three heavens, and at last with a form adapted to the apprehension of man, which is the literal sense.

AC 6222. And he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim.  That this signifies the will and the intellectual of the church born from the internal, is evident from the representation of Manasseh, as being the new will in the natural, and its quality (n. 5354); and from the representation of Ephraim, as being the new Intellectual in the natural, and its quality (n. 5354); that they were born from the Internal is signified by their being the sons of Joseph, by whom is represented the internal celestial (n. 5869, 5877).

[2] It is necessary to explain what is meant by the intellectual and the will of the church.  The Intellectual of the church is to perceive from the Word what the truth of faith is, and what the good of charity. It is known that the literal sense of the Word is of such a nature that whatever tenet a man embraces, he confirms from that sense; and this because the things of the literal sense of the Word are general vessels which receive truths, and because the quality of these vessels does not appear as through a transparency until they have received truths; thus because they are only generals, which must first be learned by man, In order that he may receive the particulars and singulars in a fit and proper manner. That the literal sense of the Word is of such a nature that whatever tenet a man embraces he confirms from that sense, is very manifest from so many heresies which have existed in the church, and still do so, each of which is confirmed by its partizans from the literal sense of the Word, and so confirmed that they thoroughly believe it to be true; and thereafter if they were to hear from heaven the very truth, they would not receive a bit of it.

[3] The reason is that they have not the intellectual of the church; for the intellectual of the church consists in a man‘s perceiving, when he reads the Word and carefully compares one passage with another, what is to be believed, and what is to be done.  This Intellectual is to be found in such men only as are enlightened by the Lord, and who In the Christian world are also called the enlightened; and this enlightenment is to be found in such men only as desire to know truths, not for the sake of reputation and glory, but for the sake of life and use.  This very enlightenment is received by the intellectual in a man, for it is the intellectual which is enlightened.  This is very evident from the fact that they who have little of the intellectual cannot possibly see such things from the Word; but have faith in those whom they believe to be enlightened.  Be it known further that they who have been regenerated, receive from the Lord an intellectual capable of being enlightened.  It is the light of heaven from the Lord which flows into the intellectual and enlightens it; for the intellectual has its light, its sight, and consequently its perception, from no other source.

[4] But this intellectual, which is called the intellectual of the church, is more interior than the intellectual which comes from mere memory-knowledges, for it is a perception that the thing is so, not from the dictate of memory-knowledges and philosophy, but from the dictate of the Word In its spiritual sense.  For example, they who are in the intellectual of the church are able clearly to perceive that the Word everywhere teaches that love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor are essentials of the church; and that the life of man remains after death; and that his life is from his loves; also that faith separate from charity is not faith; and that faith avails nothing for eternal life except in so far as it is joined to the good of love to the Lord and to the good of charity toward the neighbor; consequently that these and faith must be conjoined together for there to be spiritual life.  That these are truths can be clearly perceived by those who have the intellectual enlightened, but not at all by those who have not this.

[5] It is believed that those have an intellectual in the things of the church who are skilful In confirming the tenets or doctrinals of their own church by many things, and this even to persuasion that it is so, and who also are skilful in dexterously confuting many heresies. But this is not the intellectual of the church; for to confirm a tenet is not of the intellectual, but of ingenuity in the sensuous, and it is sometimes found in the worst of men, and can also be done by those who believe nothing whatever, and also by those who are in very falsities. Nothing is more easy than for all such persons to confirm whatever they please, even to the point of persuading the simple.  But the intellectual of the church is to perceive and see, before any tenet is confirmed, whether it is true or not, and then to confirm it

[6] This is the intellectual which is represented by Ephraim; but the good of the church, which is represented by Manasseh, is the good of charity which is insinuated by the Lord into the man of the church by means of the truths of faith; for these, together with the good of charity, are what flow into the intellectual and enlighten it, and also make the intellectual and the bill constitute one mind. That both the intellectual and the will are born from the internal, may be seen from what has frequently been said and shown above; for all the affection of good and truth, by which comes enlightenment, flows from no other source, and thus is born from no other source, than the internal; that is, through the internal from the Lord.

AC 6223. And one told Jacob.  That this signifies a perception from the truth of the natural, is evident from the signification of “telling,” as being perception (n. 3608, 5601); and from the representation of Jacob, as being the truth of the natural (n. 3305, 3509, 3525, 3546, 3599, 3775, 4009, 4234, 4520, 4538, 6001).

AC 6224. And said, Behold thy son Joseph cometh unto thee. That this signifies the presence of the internal, is evident from the representation of Joseph, as being the Internal (n. 6177); and from the signification of “coming to” anyone, as being presence (n. 5934, 5941, 5947, 6063, 6089).  That “Joseph” is here the internal, and in other places the internal celestial, is in application to those things which are beneath in the natural; when it is applied to the lower things of the natural which are represented by Jacob, it is then called the “internal,” and in like manner when it is applied to Pharaoh; but when it is applied to the interior things of the natural, which are represented by Israel, and also by his ten sons, it is then called the “internal celestial,” and “internal good,” and this on account of the influx

AC 6225. And Israel strengthened himself.  That this signifies new forces through spiritual good, is evident from the signification of “strengthening himself,” as being to receive new forces; and from the representation of Israel, as being spiritual good from the natural (n. 4286, 4598, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833).  That it is through spiritual good, is because in what immediately precedes, Jacob is called “ Jacob,” and here “Israel,” for it is said, “One told Jacob, and said, Behold thy son Joseph cometh unto thee; and Israel strengthened himself;” for “Israel” is spiritual good from the natural; but “Jacob” is the truth of the natural; and the truth of the natural, which is of faith there, is confirmed (or strengthened) by means of spiritual good, which is the good of charity.  “Israel” is also the internal of the church, and “Jacob” its external (n. 4286, 4292, 4570).  The external of the church is strengthened and receives forces from no other source than its internal.  In the internal of the church are they who are in the good of charity, which is the good of faith, and also the good of truth, and likewise spiritual good, which are “Israel;” but in the external of the church are they who are in the truth of faith, and not as yet manifestly in good, but in whose truth there is nevertheless good; this truth is “Jacob.”

AC 6226. And sat upon the bed.  That this signifies that this was turned to the natural, is evident from the signification of “bed,” as being the natural (n. 6188). “Israel’s sitting upon the bed” denotes that spiritual good was turned to the natural, because by “Israel‘s bowing himself on the head of the bed” (Gen.  47:31) was signified that spiritual good turned itself to those things which are of the interior natural (n. 6188); and therefore by his removing himself thence and sitting upon the bed is signified that spiritual good turned itself to the natural.  What is meant by turning to the interior natural, and to the exterior, cannot be stated to the apprehension, because very few know that the natural is interior and exterior, and that the thought is now in the one and now in the other; and they who do not know this, do not reflect upon it, and consequently cannot have acquired knowledge of it by any experience.  And yet this is common with everyone, but with a difference; for the thought is now elevated to what is higher, and now is again let down to what is lower; thus the thought of man now looks upward, and now looks downward.

[2] Besides, everyone can see that Israel’s bowing himself on the head of the bed, and afterward sitting upon the bed, are matters too slight to be mentioned in the most holy Word, unless they enfolded some secret which can be disclosed only by means of the internal sense, consequently only by a knowledge of what each word signifies in the spiritual sense, that is, in the sense in which are the angels.  For the angels do not, like man, think from the objects of the world, of the body, and of the earth, but from those of heaven; and what the difference is between these two classes of objects is especially evident from the correspondences treated of at the end of several chapters.

AC 6227. Verses 3-7  And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Shaddai appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me.  And He said unto me, Behold I will make thee fruitful, and will cause thee to be multiplied, and will make of thee a company of peoples; and I will give this land to thy seed after thee for an eternal possession. And now thy two sons who were born to thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, they are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and simeon, they shall be mine.  And thy generation which thou begettest after them shall be thine; upon the name of their brethren they shall be called in their inheritance. And I, in my coming from Paddan, Rachel died upon me in the land of Canaan, in the way, when there was still a tract of land to come unto Ephrath; and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath, the same is Bethlehem.  “And Jacob said unto Joseph,” signifies the communication of the truth of the natural with the internal; “God Shaddai appeared unto me at Luz In the land of Canaan,” signifies the Divine appearing in the natural in a former state; “and blessed me,” signifies prediction about vivification; “add He said unto me, Behold I will make thee fruitful, and will cause thee to be multiplied,” signifies vivification through the good of charity and the truth of faith; “ and will make of thee a company of peoples,” signifies increase indefinitely; “and I will give this land to thy seed after thee for an eternal possession,” signifies the Lord‘s kingdom for those who are in that good and truth; “and now thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt,” signifies good and truth in the natural from the internal; “before I came unto thee into Egypt,” signifies before the truth of the natural was in the memory-knowledges there; “they are mine,” signifies that they are in me; “Ephraim and Manasseh,” signifies the intellectual and the will of the church; “as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine,” signifies that they shall be truth and the good of truth; “and thy generation which thou begettest after them,” signifies interior truths and goods, which are afterward; “shall be thine,” signifies that they shall be in the rational which is from the internal; “upon the name of their brethren they shall be called in their inheritance,” signifies that they would be of the quality of the truths and goods of the church, and together among them; “and I, in my coming from Paddan,” signifies from a state of knowledges; “Rachel died upon me in the land of Canaan,” signifies the end of the former affection of interior truth; “in the way, when there was still a tract of land,” signifies what is intermediate; “to come unto Ephrath,’ signifies the spiritual of the celestial in the former state; ”and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath,“ signifies the rejection of that state; ”the same is Bethlehem,“ signifies in its place a state of new affection of truth and good.

AC 6228. And Jacob said unto Joseph.  That this signifies the communication of the truth of the natural with the internal, is evident from the signification of ”saying,“ as being perception (n. 6220), and also communication (n. 3060, 4131), for that which is perceived by another is communicated; from the representation of Jacob, as being the truth of the natural (n. 6223); and from the representation of Joseph, as being the internal (n. 6224).

AC 6229. God Shaddai appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan.  That this signifies the Divine appearing in the natural in a former state, is evident from the signification of ”God Shaddai,“ as being the Divine, for the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, was called ”Shaddai“ (n. 3667, 5628), and that He was Jehovah, or the Lord, thus the Divine, may be seen from what is said in (Genesis 28:13, 20); from the signification of ”appeared unto me,“ as being that He appeared; from the signification of ”Luz,“ as being the natural in a former state (n. 4556); and from the signification of the ”land of Canaan,“ as being the church.  Hence it is plain that by ”God Shaddai appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan“ is signified the Divine appearing in the natural, where is the truth of the spiritual church.

AC 6230. And blessed me. That this signifies a prediction about vivification, is evident from the signification of ”blessing,“ as here being a prediction about vivification; for the blessing was that He would make him fruitful, and multiply him, and make him a company of peoples, and give the land to his seed after him for an eternal possession; all which are predictions about vivification.  Not that the posterity of Jacob were vivified; but they who are in the truth of faith and the good of charity; for these are ”Jacob“ and ”Israel“ in the internal sense.

AC 6231. And He said unto me, Behold I will make thee fruitful, and will cause thee to be multiplied.  That this signifies vivification through the good of charity and the truth of faith, is evident from the signification of ”being made fruitful,“ as being said of the good of charity, and of ”being multiplied,“ as being said of the truths of faith (n. 43, 55, 913, 983, 2846, 2847).  As these are what make man live, vivification is predicated of them.

AC 6232. And will make of thee a company of peoples.  That this signifies increase indefinitely, is evident from the signification of a ”company of peoples,“ as being truths from good without limit; for ”peoples“ signify truths (n. 1259, 1260, 3295), and ”company,“ abundance. Hence ”to make a company of peoples“ is to cause truths to increase in abundance; that it is indefinitely is because all things in the spiritual world which proceed from the Infinite, as do truths and goods, are capable of being multiplied and increasing indefinitely. That is called indefinite which cannot be defined and limited by number; nevertheless what is indefinite is finite relatively to what is infinite, and so finite that there is no ratio between the two.

[2] That truths and goods can increase indefinitely comes from the fact that they proceed from the Lord, who is infinite. That truths and goods are of this nature, may be seen from the fact that the universal heaven is in truth and good, and yet no one is in exactly the same truth and good as another.  This would still be the case if heaven were a thousand and a thousand times greater.  The same may be seen from the fact that the angels are being perfected to eternity, that is, they continually grow in good and truth, and yet cannot arrive at the grade of any perfection, because there always remains an indefinite scope; for truths are indefinite in number, and each truth has an indefinite scope within it; and so on.

[3] This is still more evident from things in nature: though men should increase in number indefinitely, still no one would have the same face as another, nor the same internal face, that is, the same mind, and not even the same tone of voice; hence it is plain that there is an indefinite variety of all things, and that there is never one thing the same as another. This variety is still more indefinite in the truths and goods that belong to the spiritual world; because one thing in the natural world corresponds to thousands and thousands in the spiritual world; and therefore the more interior things are, the more indefinite they are.

[4] That there are such indefinite things pertaining to all things in the spiritual world, and also in the natural world, is because they come forth from the Infinite, as was said above; for unless they so came forth they would never be indefinite; and therefore from the indefinite things in both worlds it is very evident that the Divine is infinite.

AC 6233. And I will give this land to thy seed after thee for an eternal possession.  That this signifies the Lord‘s kingdom for those who are in this good and truth, is evident from the signification of the ”land,“ here the land of Canaan, as being the Lord’s kingdom (n. 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705, 4240, 4447); from the signification of ”seed,“ as being the truth of faith and the good of charity (n. 1025, 1447, 1610, 1940, 2848, 3038, 3310). The ”seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob“ are those who are in goods and truths, and are called the ”sons of the kingdom,“ (n. 3373); and from the signification of an ”eternal possession,“ as being to have the Lord‘s life.  These are the ”sons of the kingdom.“

AC 6234. And now thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt. That this signifies good and truth in the natural from the internal, is evident from the representation of Manasseh and Ephraim, who here are the ”two sons,“ as being the will and the intellectual of the church in the natural, born from the internal (n. 6222), and because good is of the will, and truth is of the intellectual, by the same are signified the good and truth of the church; from the signification of ”who were born to thee,“ namely, to Joseph, as being from the internal; and from the signification of the ”land of Egypt,“ as being the natural mind, in which are the memory-knowledges of the church (n. 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301), and as being the natural (n. 6147).

AC 6235. Before I came unto thee into Egypt. That this signifies before the truth of the natural was in the memory-knowledges there, is evident from the signification of ”before I came unto thee,“ as being before it was; from the representation of Jacob, who says this of himself, as being the truth of the natural (n. 6223); and from the signification of ”Egypt,“ as being memory-knowledges in the natural (n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966, 5700, 6004).  That by Jacob and his sons coming into Egypt was represented that truths were to be insinuated into the memory-knowledges of the church, was shown in the two preceding chapters (n. 6004).

AC 6236. They are mine.  That this signifies that they are in me, is evident from the representation of Jacob, who says this of himself, as being the truth of the natural; and from the representation of Manasseh and Ephraim, as being the will and the intellectual of the church in the natural (n. 5354, 6222). That these words, ”they are mine,“ denote that they are in me, is because Jacob is the truth of the natural, thus also the natural as to truth, and in the natural are the intellectual and the will which are represented by Ephraim and Manasseh; and therefore as they are in this natural, by their ”being mine“ is signified that they are in me.  That ”Jacob“ is the natural, in the supreme sense the Lord’s Divine natural, may be seen above (n. 3305, 3509, 3525, 3576, 4009, 4538, 4570, 6098), and in the relative sense truth in the natural, thus also the natural as to truth (n. 3509, 3525, 3546); and as ”Jacob“ in general is truth in the natural, therefore his ”ten sons“ are the truths of the church there in particular (n. 5403, 5419, 5427, 5458, 5512), thus now also the ”sons of Joseph.“ By Pharaoh also is represented the natural, yet not as to truths, but as to memory-knowledges, which are lower, and into which truths can be initiated and insinuated, which was represented by the coming of Jacob and his sons into Egypt.

AC 6237. Ephraim and Manasseh. That this signifies the intellectual and the will of the church, may be seen above (n. 5354, 6222).

AC 6238. As Reuben and Simeon they shall be mine.  That this signifies that they shall be truth and the good of truth, is evident from the representation of Reuben, as being faith in the understanding, and the truth of doctrine whereby men can attain to the good of life (n. 3861, 3866), thus in general the truth of the intellectual; and from the representation of Simeon, as being faith in the will, consequently truth in act, which is the good of faith or the good of truth (n. 3869-3872, 4497, 4502, 4503, 5626, 5630), thus in general the good that belongs to the new will.  That the like are represented by Ephraim and Manasseh, is evident; but as Reuben profaned his representative (n. 4601), and Simeon defiled his (n. 4497, 4502, 4503), and as on this account they were cursed (Gen. 49:3-7), therefore they lost their birthright, and in their stead Ephraim and Manasseh the sons of Joseph were acknowledged as the firstborn. (1 Chron. 5:1). Nevertheless the representative still remained with Reuben and Simeon, for it matters not what may be the quality of the person who represents (n. 665, 1097, 4281); that is to say, there remained the representative of faith in the understanding with Reuben, and the representative of faith in the will with Simeon; but with Ephraim there was the representative of the intellectual of the church, and with Manasseh of the will of the church.

AC 6239. And thy generation which thou begettest after them. That this signifies interior truths and goods, which are afterward is evident from the signification of ”generation,“ as being the things that belong to faith and charity (n. 613, 2020, 2584), thus truths and goods; and from the signification of ”after them“ as being the interior things which are afterward.  That interior things are signified is because the things which are begotten from the internal afterward, are more interior; for those things which have been begotten previously serve successively for producing those which are begotten afterward.  more interiorly, for the internal elevates the natural to itself by degrees.  This is plain from the generation of all things of the intellectual in man; for man is first sensuous, afterward he becomes more and more interior, even until he becomes intellectual. It is the same with the new generation which is effected by means of faith and charity. Hence it is that man is perfected by degrees. See what was said above about the successive elevation toward the interiors when man is being regenerated, (n. 6183).

[2] That ”generation“ in the Word signifies the things that belong to faith and charity, is because no other generation than a spiritual one can be understood in the internal sense.  This generation is also meant in David:--

They shall fear a fear; for God is in the generation of the righteous (Ps. 14:5);

the ”generation of the righteous“ denotes truths from good, for ”righteousness“ is predicated of good.  In Isaiah:--

They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for terror; they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah (Isa. 65:23).

Again:--

Who hath wrought and done it?  Who calleth the generations from the beginning? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last I am the same (Isa. 41:4).

In Ezekiel:--

Thy tradings and thy generations are of the land of the Canaanite;thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother was a Hittite. As to thy generations, in the day when thou wast born thy navel was not cut off, and thou wast not washed with waters for My sight (Ezek. 16:3, 4);

speaking of the abominations of Jerusalem, where it is very manifest that ”generations“ are generations in a spiritual sense.

[3] Again in Isaiah:--

Awake as in the days of eternity, the generations of eternities (Isa. 51:9);

the ”days of eternity“ denote the state and time of the Most Ancient Church, of which ”eternity“ is predicated because it was in the good of love to the Lord, to which good, because it is immediately from the Lord, ”eternity“ is ascribed; ”generations of eternities“ are the goods thence derived.

[4] So in Moses:--

Remember the days of eternity, understand the years of generation and generation (Deut. 32:7);

where the ”days of eternity“ denote the state and time of the Most Ancient Church which was before the flood, and was a celestial church; the ”years of generation and generation“ denote the state and time of the Ancient Church which was after the flood, and was a spiritual church; which churches are here treated of.

[5] And in Joel:--

Judah shall abide to eternity, and Jerusalem to generation and generation (Joel 3:20);

”eternity“ is here predicated of Judah, because by Judah is represented the celestial church (n. 3881); and ”generation and generation“ is predicated of Jerusalem, because by ”Jerusalem“ is signified the  spiritual church (n. 402).

[6] In Isaiah:--

My righteousness shall be to eternity, and My salvation to generation of generations (Isa. 51:8);

where ”eternity“ is predicated of the good of love, for ”righteousness“ is predicated of this good (n. 612, 2235); and ”generation,“ of the good of faith.

[7] And in David:--

Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all eternities, and Thy dominion to all generation and generation (Ps. 145:13);

where the sense is the same; for unless ”eternity“ is predicated of what is celestial, and ”generation“ of what is spiritual, only one would be mentioned; both would be a useless repetition.

[8] The things that belong to a state of faith are also signified by the command that a bastard should not come into the congregation of Jehovah to the tenth generation (Deut. 23:2); an Ammonite and a Moabite not even to the tenth generation (Deut. 23:3), and that an Edomite and an Egyptian might come into the congregation of Jehovah in the third generation (Deut. 23:8). So in the commandment of the Decalogue, in that Jehovah God would visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons, upon the third and fourth generation with respect to those who hate Him (Exod. 20:5).

[9] That ”generations“ denote the things of faith and charity, is because in the spiritual sense no other generations can be meant than those which are of regeneration, or of one who is regenerate; in like manner as the ”births,“ ”childbearings,“ and ”conceptions“ in the Word: that these terms denote the births, childbearings, and conceptions of faith and charity (n. 1145, 1255, 3860, 3868, 4668, 5160, 5598).

AC 6240. Shall be thine.  That this signifies that they shall be in the rational, which is the internal, is evident from the fact that the internal celestial which is represented by Joseph, is in the rational (n. 4286, 4963); and therefore by ”being thine“ is signified that they shall be in the rational, as before by ”being mine“ was signified that they should be in the natural, in which is the truth of the natural which is represented by Jacob (n. 6236).  What the rational is shall be briefly told. The intellectual of the internal man is called ”rational,“ but the intellectual of the external man is called ”natural;“ thus the rational is internal, and the natural is external; and they are perfectly distinct from each other. But a truly rational man is no other than he who is called a celestial man, and who has perception of good, and from good perception of truth; whereas he who has not this perception, but only the knowledge that a thing is true because he is so instructed, and from this has conscience, is not truly a rational man, but is an interior natural man. Such are they who are of the Lord‘s spiritual church. They differ from the celestial as the light of the moon differs from the light of the sun; and therefore the Lord appears to the spiritual as a moon, but to the celestial as a sun (n. 1521, 1529-1531, 4060, 4696).

[2] Many in the world suppose that a rational man is one who can reason acutely about many things, and so join his reasonings together that his conclusions may appear like truth; but this is found in the very worst of men, who are able to reason skillfully and persuade that evils are goods, and that falsities are truths; and the reverse. But he who reflects can see that this is vicious phantasy, and not what is rational.  The rational consists in inwardly seeing and perceiving that good is good, and from this that truth is truth; for the sight and perception of such men are from heaven.  That they who are of the Lord’s spiritual church are interiorly natural, is because they only acknowledge as truth that which they have received from their parents and masters, and afterward have confirmed in themselves; and do not see inwardly, and perceive, whether it is true from any other source than that they have confirmed it in themselves. It is otherwise with the celestial; and it is from this that the latter are rational, but the former interiorly natural. The internal celestial which is represented by Joseph, is in the rational; whereas the spiritual good which is represented by Israel, is in the interior natural (n. 4286); for it is the spiritual who are represented by Israel, and the celestial who are represented by Joseph.

AC 6241. Upon the name of their brethren they shall be called in their inheritance. That this signifies that they would be of the quality of the truths and goods of the church, and together among them, is evident from the signification of a ”name,“ and of ”being called by name,“ as being the quality (n. 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, 3421); from the representation of Ephraim and Manasseh, who here are the ”brethren,“ as being the intellectual and the will of the church (n. 3969, 5354, 6222), thus truth and good (n. 6234); and from the signification of ”in their inheritance,“ as being together among them.

AC 6242. And I, in my coming from Paddan.  That this signifies from a state of knowledges, is evident from the signification of ”Paddan-aram,“ as being the interior knowledges of truth and good (n. 3664, 3680, 4107); thus ”Paddan“ is a state of knowledges.

AC 6243. Rachel died upon me in the land of Canaan. That this signifies the end of the former affection of interior truth, is evident from the signification of ”dying,“ as being to cease to be such (n. 494), and as being the end of the former representation (n. 3253, 3259, 3276, 5975); and from the representation of Rachel, as being the affection of interior truth (n. 3758, 3782, 3793, 3819).

AC 6244. In the way, when there was still a tract of land. That this signifies what is intermediate, may be seen without explication.

AC 6245. To come unto Ephrath. That this signifies the spiritual of the celestial in the former state, is evident from the signification of ”Ephrath,“ as being the spiritual of the celestial in the former state (n. 4585, 4594).

AC 6246. And I buried her there in the way to Ephrath. That this signifies the rejection of that state, is evident from the signification of ”burying,“ as being rejection (n. 4564); and from the signification of ”Ephrath,“ as being the spiritual of the celestial in the former state (n. 6245).

AC 6247. The same is Bethlehem. That this signifies in its place a state of new affection of truth and good, is evident from the signification of ”Bethlehem,“ as being the spiritual of the celestial in a new state (n. 4594), thus a state of new affection of truth and good; for the spiritual of the celestial is the truth of good, thus the affection of truth from good. It is necessary to say how the case is with the contents of this verse in the internal sense. The subject treated of is the rejection of a former affection of truth, and the reception of a new one. The former affection of truth exists while man is being regenerated, but the latter, which is the new one, when he has been regenerated. In the former state the man is affected with truth for the sake of the end that he may become intelligent, but in the latter state that he may become wise; or what is the same, in the former state he is affected with truth for the sake of doctrine, but in the latter for the sake of life; when for the sake of doctrine, then from truth he looks to good; but when for the sake of life, he from good looks to truth. Thus the latter state is the inverse of the former; and therefore the former state is rejected while the man is being regenerated; and the latter, which is a new state, is received. Moreover relatively to the latter new state, the former state is impure; for when a man is affected with truth for the sake of doctrine in order that he may become intelligent, he is also at the same time affected with reputation and glory. This affection cannot then but be present, and it is also permitted as being introductory, because the man is of such a nature.  But when he is affected with truth for the sake of life, he then rejects glory and reputation as ends, and embraces the good of life, that is, charity toward the neighbor.

AC 6248. Verses 8, 9. And Israel saw the sons of Joseph, and said, Whose are these? And Joseph said unto his father, These are my sons, whom God hath given me here. And he said, Take them I pray unto me, and I will bless them. ”And Israel saw the sons of Joseph,“ signifies a perception about the intellectual and the will of the church; ”and said, Whose are these?“ signifies and about their origin; ”and Joseph said unto his father,“ signifies an answer from within; ”These are my sons, whom God hath given me here,“ signifies that they were from the internal in the natural; ”and he said, Take them I pray unto me,“ signifies that they should accede to spiritual good; ”and I will bless them,“ signifies a prediction about good and truth.

AC 6249. And Israel saw the sons of Joseph. That this signifies a perception about the intellectual and the will of the church, is evident from the signification of ”seeing,“ as being perception (n. 2150, 3764, 4403-4421, 4567, 4723, 5400); and from the representation of Ephraim and Manasseh, as being the intellectual and the will of the church, born from the internal, which is ”Joseph“ (n. 5354, 6222).

AC 6250. And said, Whose are these? That this signifies, and about their origin, namely, a perception, is evident from the signification of ”saying,“ as being perception (n. 6220); and from the signification of ”whose are these?“ as being about their origin; for in the internal sense an interrogation denotes knowledge from perception (n. 2693, 6132).

AC 6251. And Joseph said unto his father.  That this signifies an answer from within, may be seen without explication, for by ”Joseph“ is meant the internal (n. 6177); for when a man perceives, he then on making inquiry with himself about anything, also answers himself from within.  I have also observed that when spirits have made inquiry with me, they received an answer by merely looking into my thought.

AC 6252. These are my sons, whom God hath given me here. That this signifies that they were from the internal in the natural, is evident from the representation of Joseph, whose sons they were, as being the internal (n. 6177, 6224); and from the signification of the ”land of Egypt,“ meant by ”here,“ as being the natural mind (n. 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301), thus the natural.

AC 6253. And he said, Take them I pray unto me.  That this signifies that they should accede to spiritual good, is evident from the signification of ”taking them to him,“ as being that they should accede; and from the representation of Israel to whom they should accede, as being spiritual good (n. 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833).

AC 6254. And I will bless them.  That this signifies a prediction about good and truth, is evident from the signification of ”blessing,“ as being prediction (n. 6230), here about good and truth, which are represented by Manasseh and Ephraim.  As ”to bless“ is a very general expression, it signifies various things; that it signifies also a prediction, both about the good things that will happen, and about the evil, is plain in the following chapter, where Israel foretold to his sons what should befall them; to some, evil things, as to Reuben, Simeon, and Levi; and to some, good things, as to Judah and Joseph.  This prediction is called a ”blessing“ in (Gen. 49:28) of this chapter: ”This is what their father spake of them, and blessed them, everyone according to his blessing he blessed them.“ That ”blessing“ denotes prediction, is evident from the words in the first verse of the chapter:  ”Jacob called his sons, and said, Be ye gathered together, and I will tell you what shall happen to you in the extremity of the days.“

AC 6255. Verses 10-14. And the eyes of Israel were heavy with old age; he could not see.  And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them and embraced them.  And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy faces, and lo God hath made me see thy seed also. And Joseph brought them away from his thighs; and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand on Israel‘s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand on Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him. And Israel put forth his right hand, and put it upon Ephraim‘s head, and he was the younger; and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head; he put forth his hands crosswise; for Manasseh was the first born. ”And the eyes of Israel were heavy,“ signifies his obscure perception; ”with old age,“ signifies because at the end of the representation; ”he could not see,“ signifies no advertence; ”and he brought them near unto him,“ signifies presence; ”and he kissed them,“ signifies conjunction from the affection of truth‘ ”and embraced them,“ signifies conjunction from the affection of good; ”and Israel said unto Joseph,“ signifies elevation to the internal; ”I had not thought to see thy faces,“ signifies that he had had no hope of the influx of his love; ”and lo God hath made me see thy seed also,“ signifies that not only was the influx of love perceived, but also the good and truth thence derived; ”and Joseph brought them away from his thighs,“ signifies the good of the will and the truth of the intellectual in the natural from the affection of love on the part of spiritual good; ”and he bowed himself with his face to the earth,“ signifies their humiliation; ”and Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand on Israel’s left hand,“ signifies the truth of the intellectual as in the second place; ”and Manasseh in his left hand on Israel‘s right hand,“ signifies the good of the will in the first place; ”and brought them near unto him,“ signifies adjunction; ”and Israel put forth his right hand, and put it upon Ephraim’s head,“ signifies that he accounted truth as being in the first place; ”and he was the younger,“ signifies although it is in the second; ”and his left hand upon Manasseh‘s head,“ signifies that he accounted good as being in the second place; ”he put forth his hands crosswise,“ signifies thus not according to order; ”for Manasseh was the firstborn,“ signifies since indeed good is in the prior place.

AC 6256. And the eyes of Israel were heavy. That this signifies his obscure perception, is evident from the signification of ”eyes,“ as being the intellectual sight (n. 201, 4403-4421, 4083, 4086, 4339), as also ”seeing“ (n. 6249); from the representation of Israel, as being spiritual good in the natural (n. 6253); and from the signification of ”being heavy,“ when said of the eyes, as being what is obscure, thus obscure perception.  That Israel was in obscure perception when he blessed the sons of Joseph, is because he was at the end of the representation; but in general, because that spiritual good which is represented by Israel is in obscure perception; for it is from the natural, where natural light rules, but not heavenly light, in which is the spiritual and celestial good which is from the rational.  Such is the external man, which is also called natural.  When spiritual good from the natural is mentioned, they are meant who are in this good, namely, they who are of the Lord’s spiritual church, and therefore also this church is represented by Israel (n. 4286).  That the spiritual, who are they of that church, are relatively in obscurity, may be seen above (n. 2708, 2715, 2716, 2718, 2831, 2849, 2935, 2937, 3246, 3833, 4402); and being in obscurity, they also put the truth that is of faith in the first place, as here did Israel, in that he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

[2] The reason why the spiritual so believe is that they are introduced to good by means of truth (n. 2954), and when they are being introduced, they do not perceive good, because it flows into the affection of truth from within, thus not into perception until they have been regenerated. Hence also it is that they call the goods of charity the fruits of faith; and yet those are but little solicitous about fruits who assert that faith alone saves without good works, even in death‘s last hour, no matter how the man had previously lived.  It is evident that this is an obscure perception with respect to good and truth.  Nevertheless the case is as follows: those who from principles derived from doctrine set faith before charity, and yet live a life of charity, are they who are of the Lord’s spiritual church, and are saved; for in their life they set the good of charity first, but in doctrine the truth of faith.

AC 6257. With old age. That this signifies because at the end of the representation, is evident from the signification of ”old age,“ as being newness of representation (n. 3254), thus the end of the former one.

AC 6258. He could not see. That this signifies no advertence, is evident from the signification of ”seeing,“ as being perception (n. 6249), thus also advertence.

AC 6259. And he brought them near unto him. That this signifies presence, is evident from the signification of ”bringing,“ as being to make present.

AC 6260. And he kissed them. That this signifies conjunction from the affection of truth, is evident from the signification of ”kissing,“ as being conjunction from affection (n. 3573, 3574, 4215, 4353, 5929). That it is from the affection of truth, is because it follows that ”he embraced them,“ by which is signified conjunction from the affection of good, for ”embracing“ denotes a more interior and therefore a closer affection than ”kissing,“ as is the affection of good compared with the affection of truth.

AC 6261. And embraced them. That this signifies conjunction from the affection of good, is evident from the signification of ”embracing,“ as being the conjunction of love (n. 4351), thus conjunction from the affection of good (n. 6260). That ”embracing“ denotes this affection is very evident from the testifying of love by an embrace, which is an act that flows from this; for every spiritual affection has a gesture in man‘s body that corresponds to it, and this gesture is representative of the affection. That this is also true of kissing is known.

AC 6262. And Israel said unto Joseph. That this signifies elevation to the internal, is evident from the signification of ”saying,“ as being perception, and also influx.  That it denotes elevation is because the subject treated of in this verse is the influx of love, and thus of good and truth from the internal, which influx is elevation to the internal; for the external cannot be in love toward the internal, except by means of influx and elevation from the internal.  For the very love which is felt in the external is of the internal, and because in order to the producing of any effect every acting must have its reacting or reciprocal, and the acting is the cause, and the reacting is the thing caused, therefore reaction is also of action, as the thing caused is of the cause; for all the force in the thing caused is from the cause. This is the case with reaction in every single thing in universal nature.

AC 6263. I had not thought to see thy faces. That this signifies that he had no hope of the influx of his love, is evident from the signification of ”faces,“ as being the interiors (n. 358, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, 4796, 4798, 5695), thus the affections, for these shine forth chiefly from the face (n. 4796, 5102), hence the ”face of God“ denotes the Divine love, consequently mercy (n. 5585); and from the signification of ”I had not thought,“ as being that he had had no hope.  That it is the influx of love which is signified by ”seeing the face,“ is also plain from what precedes and what follows.

AC 6264. And lo God hath made me see thy seed also.  That this signifies that not only was the influx of love perceived, but also good and truth thence derived, is evident from the representation of Manasseh and Ephraim, who here are the ”seed,“ as being the good of the will and the truth of the intellectual (n. 5354, 6222); and also from the signification of ”seed,“ as also being good and truth (n. 1610, 2848, 3310, 3373, 3671); and because it is said, ”I had not thought to see thy faces, and lo God hath made me see thy seed also,“ it is signified that not only was the influx of love perceived, but also the good and truth thence derived; for by ”seeing the faces“ is signified the influx of love (n. 6263).

AC 6265. And Joseph brought them away from his thighs. That this signifies the good of the will and the truth of the intellectual from the affection of love on the part of spiritual good, is evident from the representation of Joseph, as being the internal celestial (n. 5869, 5877); from the representation of Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Joseph brought away, as being the good of the will and the truth of the intellectual (n. 5354, 6222); and from the signification of ”thighs,“ as being the affection of love (n. 3021, 4277, 4280, 4575, 5050-5062).  That it was ”on the part of spiritual good“ is because they were brought away from Israel, who is spiritual good (n. 6253). By these things is signified that the internal celestial removed the good of the will and the truth of the intellectual from spiritual good, that is, from the affection of love thereof, because Israel, by whom is represented spiritual good, had caused this good and truth to approach to himself; besides their being brought to him by Joseph, by whom is represented the internal celestial; for which reason they were brought away, and were afterward brought again by Joseph, as follows.  The reason is, that there is in this way an influx of love from the internal celestial through spiritual good into them.  For this is according to order, and hence this external ritual had to be rigidly observed when they were to be blessed; for they were then being presented before the Lord, from whom is the prediction here signified by the ”blessing“ (n. 6254). Hence then it is that Joseph brought his sons from the thighs of his father, and himself afterward brought them thither.

AC 6266. And he bowed himself with his face to the earth. That this signifies their humiliation, is evident from the signification of ”bowing himself with his face to the earth,“ as being interior humiliation (n. 5682); for such bowing is a bodily act that corresponds to humiliation of mind; hence they who adore God from the heart, thus bow themselves.  It is said ”he bowed himself,“ because Joseph was in their stead, not then before Israel, but before the Lord, from whom was the blessing by Israel.  That this was done by Joseph in their stead, is because such is the case in things spiritual; the good of the will and the truth of the intellectual in the natural cannot from themselves humble themselves before the Lord, but only from the internal by means of influx; for without influx through the internal into the natural, there is nothing of will and understanding therein, and not even anything of life; for the internal is the intermediate through which is life from the Lord therein.

AC 6267. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand on Israel’s left hand.  That this signifies the truth of the intellectual as in the second place; and that Manasseh in his left hand on Israel‘s right hand signifies the good of the will in the first place, is evident from the representation of Ephraim, as being the truth of the intellectual, and from the representation of Manasseh, as being the good of the will (n. 5354, 6222); and from the signification of the ”right hand,“ as being to be in the first place; and of the ”left hand,“ as being to be in the second place; as is manifest from all the usage in life.  How the case herein is will be shown in what follows.

AC 6268. And brought them near unto him. That this signifies adjunction, is evident without explication.

AC 6269. And Israel put forth his right hand, and put it upon Ephraim’s head.  That this signifies that he accounted truth as being in the first place, is evident from the signification of ”putting forth his right hand,“ as being to account in the first place (that the ”right hand“ denotes in the first place, is manifest); and from the representation of Ephraim, as being the intellectual, thus also the truth of faith, for this dwells in man‘s intellectual part when there is sight there from the light of heaven, thus spiritual sight (n. 6222).  It is set forth in this verse (verse 14), and also in (verses 17-19), that Israel put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, and his left hand on Manasseh‘s head; and by this is signified that he accounted the truth of faith as being in the first place, and the good of charity in the second. The reason was that until he has been regenerated, the spiritual man, who is represented by Israel (n. 4286, 6256), supposes no otherwise; for he has a sensible apprehension of what the truth of faith is, but not what the good of charity is; because the latter flows in by an interior way, but the former, by an exterior way just as does memory-knowledge.

[2] But they who are not being regenerated say absolutely that faith is in the first place, that is to say, that it is the essential of the church, because in this way they can live as they desire, and still say that they have hope of salvation.  Hence also at this day charity has so disappeared that the nature of it is known to scarcely anyone, and consequently so has faith, for the one is not possible without the other.  If charity were in the first place, and faith in the second, the aspect of the church would be different; for then no others would be called Christians than those who live a life according to the truth of faith, that is, a life of charity; and they would then also know what charity is.  Then too they would not make a number of churches by making a distinction among them according to opinions about the truths of faith; but they would say that there is one church, in which are all who are in the good of life, not only those within the region where the churches are, but also those who are outside of it.  In this manner the church would be in illustration about such things as belong to the Lord’s kingdom; for charity enlightens, and never faith without charity; and the errors that are brought in by means of faith separated would be clearly seen.

[3] Hence it is evident how different an aspect the church would have if the good of charity were in the first place, that is, were the essential, and the truth of faith in the second, that is, its formal.  The aspect of the church would then be like that of the Ancient Church, which made the church consist in charity, and had no other doctrinals of the church than those of charity: from this they had wisdom from the Lord.  The quality of that church is described in these words in Moses:--

Jehovah led him about, He instructed him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, He took him, He bare him upon His wings; Jehovah alone did lead him, neither was there any strange god with him. He made him ride on the high places of the earth, and fed him with the increase of the fields; He made him suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flint of the rock; butter of the herd, and milk of the Seek, with fat of lambs, and of rams the sons of Bashan, and of he-goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and of the blood of the grape thou drinkest pure wine (Deut. 32:10-14).

Wherefore they who were of that church are in heaven, and in all happiness and glory there.

AC 6270. And he was the younger. That this signifies although it is in the second place, is evident from the signification of the ”younger,“ as being to be in the second place.

AC 6271. And his left hand upon Manasseh‘s head. That this signifies that he accounted good as being in the second place, is evident from the signification of ”putting his left hand,“ as being to account in the second place; and from the representation of Manasseh, as being the will, thus also the good of charity.  How the case herein is may be seen above (n. 6269).

AC 6272. He put forth his hands crosswise. That this signifies, thus not according to order, is evident from the signification of ”putting forth the hands crosswise,“ as being not according to order; for thereby he makes the younger the firstborn, and the reverse; consequently the truth of faith prior and higher; and the good of charity posterior and lower; for ”birthright“ denotes priority and superiority (n. 3325). It is evident how much evil this introduces into the church; for thereby its people get into such obscurity that they do not know what good is, thus neither what truth is; for good is like flame, and truth like the light from it: if you take away the flame, the light also perishes; and if any light appears, it is like a deceptive light that is not from flame.  Hence it is that churches are at variance with one another, and dispute about truth, and one congregation asserts a thing to be true, which another asserts to be false. And what is still worse, when once they have set faith in the prior place in the assemblage of the church, they next begin to separate faith from charity, and to make the latter of comparatively no account, and thus to care nothing for the life, a thing to which man naturally inclines.  Hence the church perishes, for it is the life which makes the church with man, but not doctrine without life; thus not confidence, which is eminent faith; for genuine confidence is possible with those only who are in charity, from which is the life of confidence. Moreover the good of charity is actually the firstborn, that is, in the prior place, and the truth of faith appears to be so, (n. 3324, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4243, 4244, 4247, 4337, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 4977).

AC 6273. For Manasseh was the firstborn. That this signifies since indeed good is in the prior place, is evident from the representation of Manasseh, as being the good that is of the will; and from the signification of ”birthright,“ as being priority and superiority (n. 3325), thus the ”firstborn“ is one who is in the prior place.  Who cannot see from natural light alone, provided it is enlightened a little, that good is in the prior place, as is also man’s will; and that truth is in the posterior place, as is also man‘s thinking?  And also that man’s will causes him to think one way and not another, consequently that the good with a man causes this or that to be true; thus that truth is in the second place, and good in the first? Think and reflect whether the truth that is of faith can take root except in good, and whether faith is faith unless it is therein rooted. Hence you may conclude what is primary or essential to the church, that is, to the man in whom the church is.

AC 6274.  Verses 15, 16. And he blessed Joseph, and said, The God before whom my fathers walked, Abraham and Isaac, the God who feedeth me since I am, unto this day, the Angel who redeemeth me from all evil, bless the boys; and let my name be called in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow unto a multitude in the midst of the earth. ”And he blessed Joseph,“ signifies a prediction with respect to the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will having life from the internal; ”and said, The God before whom my fathers walked, Abraham and Isaac,“ signifies the Divine from which internal good and internal truth had life; ”the God who feedeth me,“ signifies this Divine vivifying the good of spiritual truth from the natural; ”since I am, unto this day,“ signifies continually; ”the Angel who redeemeth me from all evil,“ signifies the Lord‘s Divine Human, by which is effected deliverance from hell; ”bless the boys,“ signifies give them to have truth and good; ”and let my name be called in them,“ signifies that in them should be the quality of the good of spiritual truth from the natural; ”and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,“ signifies and the quality of internal good and truth; ”and let them grow unto a multitude in the midst of the earth,“ signifies extension from the inmost.

AC 6275. And he blessed Joseph. That this signifies a prediction with respect to the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will having life from the internal, is evident from the signification of ”blessing,“ as being prediction (n. 6230, 6254) and from the representation of Ephraim and Manasseh, who here are ”Joseph,“ as being the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will in the natural, born from the internal (n. 6234, 6249). That by ”Joseph“ are meant his sons, is evident from the blessing itself, in which it is said, ”The Angel who redeemeth me from all evil, bless the boys, and let my name be called in them;“ and the reason is that this good and truth in the natural, represented by Manasseh and Ephraim, are the very internal there. The internal and the external are indeed distinct from each other; but in the natural, where they are together, the internal is as in its own adapt form, which form does nothing from itself, but only from the internal within it; thus it is merely acted upon. The case herein is like the efficient in the effect: the efficient and the effect are distinct from each other, yet the efficient is in the effect as in its own adapted form, and through it acts as cause in the sphere where the effect is produced. In man the like is the case with the good and truth in the natural, born from the internal; for the internal clothes itself with such things as belong to the natural, in order that it may be there and lead a life there; but the things with which it clothes itself are nothing but coverings, which of themselves do nothing at all.

AC 6276. And said, The God before whom my father walked, Abraham and Isaac. That this signifies the Divine from which internal good and internal truth had life, is evident from the signification of ”God,“ as being the Divine; from the signification of” walking,“ as being to live, or to have life (n. 519, 1794); from the representation of Abraham, as being in the supreme sense the Lord’s Divine Itself; and from the representation of Isaac, as being His Divine rational, thus the internal human - for Jacob is the Lord‘s Divine natural, or His external human (n. 2011, 3245, 3305, 3439, 4615).  But in the representative sense ”Abraham“ is internal good, and ”Isaac“ internal truth (n. 3703, 6098, 6185). That these things in the representative sense are signified by ”Abraham and Isaac,“ is because that good and truth which are in the Lord’s kingdom proceed from His Divine and Divine Human; and make the Lord Himself to be there; thus He Himself is His kingdom.

AC 6277. The God who feedeth me.  That this signifies this Divine vivifying the good of spiritual truth from the natural, is evident from the signification of ”feeding,“ as being to vivify.  That ”to feed“ is to instruct, (n. 6044) is because a ”pasture“ is that which sustains the spiritual life of man (n. 6078); but ”feeding“ and a” pasture“ are there said of a flock, whereas ”feeding“ is here said of Jacob - that he was sustained with food and the necessaries of life; by which in the internal sense the like is signified; for that which sustains and vivifies the life of the body, in the internal sense signifies that which sustains the spiritual life and vivifies it.  That Israel represents spiritual good from the natural, has been shown above (n. 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833); and because this good which Israel represents is the good of truth, therefore the good of spiritual truth is here signified; for in the genuine sense ”Israel“ is the spiritual church, and the good of this church is the good of truth; because those who belong to this church are instructed about good by means of truth, and when they do according to the truth in which they are instructed, then this truth is called good. This is the good which is called the good of truth, and is represented by Israel.

AC 6278. Since I am, unto this day. That this signifies continually, is evident from the signification of ”today“ and ”to this day,“ as being what is perpetual and eternal (n. 2838, 4304, 6165); here therefore ”since I am, unto this day“ signifies continually, namely, vivifying, which is ”feeding“ (n. 6277).

AC 6279. The Angel who redeemeth me from all evil. That this signifies the Lord‘s Divine Human by which is effected deliverance from hell, is evident from the signification of ”angel,“ as being the Lord’s Divine Human; from the signification of ”redeeming,“ as being to deliver; and from the signification of ”evil,“ as being hell.  The reason why ”evil“ denotes hell is that hell itself is nothing but evil; for whether you say that all in hell are evil, or that hell is evil, it is the same.  In the spiritual sense, when ”evil“ is mentioned, hell is meant, for they who are in the spiritual sense, as are the angels in heaven, think and speak abstractedly from persons, because universally, and therefore to them evil is hell.  It is the same with ”sin,“ when thereby is meant the ruling evil, as in Genesis:--

Jehovah said unto Cain, If thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door; and unto thee is his desire, and thou shall rule over him (Gen. 4:6, 7);

where ”sin“ denotes hell, which is at hand when a man does evil.  The very evil with man is nothing else than hell, for it inflows therefrom, and the man is then a hell in the least form, as also is everyone there.  So on the other hand, the very good in man is nothing else than heaven in him; for good flows in through heaven from the Lord; and the man who is in good, is heaven in the smallest image, as also is everyone in heaven.

AC 6280. That the ”redeeming Angel“ is the Lord as to the Divine Human, is evident from the fact that by assuming the Human and making it Divine the Lord redeemed man, that is, delivered him from hell; whence the Lord as to His Divine Human is called the ”Redeemer.“ That the Divine Human is called the ”Angel“ is because the word ”angel“ means ”sent,“ and the Lord as to the Divine Human is said to be ”sent,“ as is plain from many passages in the Word of the Evangelists. Moreover before the Lord‘s coming into the world the Divine Human was Jehovah Himself flowing in through heaven when He spake the Word; for Jehovah was above the heavens, but that which passed from Him through the heavens was at that time the Divine Human; for by the influx of Jehovah into heaven, He set forth a man, and the very Divine thence derived was a Divine man. This then is the Divine Human from eternity, and is what is called ”Sent,“ by which is meant proceeding, and this is the same as ”Angel.“

[2] But as Jehovah by this Divine Human of His, could not flow in any longer with men, because they had so far removed themselves from this Divine, He therefore took on the Human and made it Divine, and thus by influx from this into heaven He could reach even those of the human race who would receive the good of charity and the truth of faith from the Divine Human, which was thus made visible, and could thus deliver them from hell, which could not possibly have been effected in any other way.  This deliverance is that which is called ”redemption,“ and the Divine Human Itself, which delivered or redeemed, is what is called the ”redeeming Angel.“

[3] But be it known that in respect to the Divine Human, as well as in respect to the Divine Itself, the Lord is above heaven; for He is the Sun which illumines heaven; thus that heaven is far beneath Him.  The Divine Human which is in heaven is the Divine truth which proceeds from Him, which is the light from Him as a sun. In respect to His essence the Lord is not Divine truth, for this is from Him as light from the sun, but He is Divine good itself, one with Jehovah.

[4] The Lord’s Divine Human is called ”Angel“ in other places also in the Word, as when He appeared to Moses in the bush, of which it is written in Exodus:--

When Moses came to the mountain of God, unto Horeb, the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. Jehovah saw that Moses turned aside to see, therefore God called unto him out of the midst of the bush. And he said further, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Exod. 3:1, 2, 4, 6);

it is the Lord‘s Divine Human which is here called the ”Angel of Jehovah,“ and it is plainly said that it was Jehovah Himself.  That Jehovah was there in the Divine Human may be seen from the fact that the Divine Itself could Such appear except through the Divine Human; according to the Lord’s words in John: ”No one hath ever seen God, the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath set Him forth“ (John 1:18); and in another place: ”Ye have neither ever heard the voice of the Father, nor seen His shape“ (John 5:37).

[5] Moreover the Lord as to the Divine Human is called the ”Angel“ where it treats of leading the people into the land of Canaan, of which we read in Exodus:--

Behold I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee unto the place which I have prepared. Beware thou of His faces, for He will not bear your transgression, because My name is in the midst of Him (Exod. 23:20, 21, 23);

that the ”Angel“ in this passage is the Divine Human, is evident from the fact that it is said, ”because My name is in the midst of Him,“ that is, Jehovah Himself is.  By ”My name“ is signified the quality of Jehovah which is in the Divine Human. The Lord as to the Divine Human is the ”name of Jehovah,“ (n. 2628); and the ”name of God“ is His quality, as also everything in one complex by means of which God is worshiped, (n. 2724, 3006).

[6] In Isaiah:--

In all their distress He had distress, and the Angel of His faces will deliver them; in His love and in His indulgence He redeemed them, and He took them, and carried them all the days of eternity (Isa. 63:9);

that the ”Angel of the faces of Jehovah“ is the Lord as to the Divine Human, is manifest, for it is said that ”He redeemed them.“

[7] In Malachi:--

Behold the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come unto His temple, even the Angel of the covenant whom ye desire; Behold He cometh, saith Jehovah Zebaoth. But who shall endure the day of His coming, and who shall stand when He appeareth?  Then shall the meat-offering of Judah and Jerusalem be sweet to Jehovah, as in the days of eternity, and as in former years (Mal. 3:1, 2, 4);

that the ”Angel of the covenant“ is the Lord as to the Divine Human is very evident, for the subject treated of is His coming; the ”offering of Judah and Jerusalem being then sweet to Jehovah“ signifies that worship from love and faith in Him will then he sweet. That by ”Judah“ here is not meant Judah, nor by ”Jerusalem“ Jerusalem, is clearly evident; for neither then nor afterward was the offering of Judah and Jerusalem sweet.  That the ”days of eternity“ are the states of the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial; and that the ”former years“ are the states of the Ancient Church, which was spiritual, may be seen above (n. 6239).  moreover by an ”angel“ in the Word, in the internal sense, is not signified an angel, but something Divine in the Lord (n. 1925, 2319, 2821, 3039, 4085).

AC 6281. As regards ”redeeming,“ in the proper sense this signifies to restore and appropriate to Himself that which had been His; and it is predicated of slavery, of death, and of evil; when of slavery, they are meant who have been enslaved, in the spiritual sense enslaved by hell; when of death, they are meant who are in condemnation; and when of evil, as here, they are meant who are in hell, for the evil from which the angel redeems is hell (n. 6279).  As the Lord delivered man from these evils by making the Human in Himself Divine, therefore His Divine Human is called in the Word the ”Redeemer,“ as in Isaiah:--

I aid thee, saith Jehovah, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 41:14).

Again:--

Thus hath said Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One (Isa. 49:7, 26).

Again:--

Jehovah Zebaoth is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called (Isa.  54:5).

In these passages, the Divine Itself, which is called ”Jehovah,“ is distinguished from the Divine Human, which is called the ”Redeemer the Holy One of Israel.“

[2] But that it is Jehovah Himself in the Divine Human, is evident from the following passages.  In Is