and widows, some hungry, thirsty, sojourners, naked, sick, bound, and so forth: hence they knew how they were indebted towards one and towards another; but, as we said, these doctrinals perished, and with them also the understanding of the Word, insomuch that no one at this day knows any other, than that by the poor, the widows, and the fatherless, in the Word, none else are meant but those who are so called; in like manner in the present case, by the hungry, the thirsty, the sojourners, the naked, the sick, and those who are in prison; when yet hereby is described charity such as it is in its essence, and the exercise thereof such as it ought to be in the life. 4956. The essence of charity towards the neighbor is the affection of good and truth, and the acknowledgment of self that it is evil and the false; yea, the neighbor is good and truth itself, and to be affected with these is to have charity. The opposite to the neighbor are evil and the false, which are held in aversion by the man of charity. He, therefore, that has charity towards the neighbor, is affected with good and truth, because they are from the Lord; and he holds in aversion what is evil and false, because it is from self; and when he does this, he is in humiliation from self-acknowledgment; and when he is in humiliation, he is in a state of reception of good and truth from the Lord. These are the properties of charity, which in the internal sense are involved in these words of the Lord: I was hungry and ye gave to me to eat; I was thirsty and ye gave to me to drink; I was a sojourner and ye gathered me, naked and ye clothed me; I was sick and ye visited me; I was in prison and ye came unto me. That these words involve the above properties of charity, no one can know but from the internal sense. The ancients, who were in possession of the doctrinals of charity, knew these things; but at this day they appear so remote, that every one wonders to hear it asserted that such things are contained in the Lord's words; and yet the angels attendant on man have no other perception of the words. By one who is hungry, they have a perception of those who from affection desire good; by one who is thirsty, of those who from affection desire truth; by a sojourner, of those who are willing to be instructed; by one who is naked, of those who acknowledge that there is nothing of good and of truth in themselves; by one who is sick, of those who acknowledge that in themselves there is nothing but evil; and by the bound or those who are in prison, of those who acknowledge that in themselves there is nothing but what is false. If these are reduced into one sense, they signify the things which we said just above. 4957. From these considerations it may appear manifest, that there were divine things in all that the Lord spoke, although they appear to those who are merely in worldly things, and especially to those who are in corporeal things, to be such as any man might say; yea, those who are in corporeal things, will say of the above words and of the rest which the Lord spoke, that there is not so much elegance in them, consequently not so much weight, as in the discourse and preaching of those of the present age, who speak with eloquence grounded in erudition; whereas their discourse and preaching is comparatively but as the husk and chaff in respect to the kernel or grain. 4958. To hunger denotes to desire good from affection, because bread in the internal sense is the good of love and of charity, and food in general is good; n. 2165, 2177, 3478, 4211, 4217, 4735. To thirst denotes to desire truth from affection, because wine and also water are the truth of faith; that wine is, see n. 1071, 1798; that water is, see n. 2702. A sojourner denotes one who is willing to be instructed, as may be scen, n. 1463, 4444. Naked denotes one who acknowledges that there is nothing of good and truth in himself; sick denotes one who is in evil; and bound or in prison denotes one who is in the false, as is evident from the several passages in the Word where they are mentioned. 4959. The Lord says those things of himself, because he is in those who answer to such description; therefore he also says, Verily I say unto you, so much as ye have done to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done to me, (verses 40, 45.) CHAPTER XXXIX. 1. AND Joseph was made to go down to Egypt; and Potiphar, Pharaoh's chamberlain, the prince of the guards, an Egyptian man, bought him out of the hand of the Ishmaelites, who made him go down there. 2. And JEHOVAH was with Joseph; and he was a man that prospered; and he was in the house of his lord the Egyptian. 3. And his lord saw that JEHOVAH was with him; and all that he did JEHOVAH prospered in his hand. 4. And Joseph found grace in his eyes, and ministered unto him; and he gave him command over his house, and whatever he had he gave into his hand. 5. And it came to pass, from the time that he gave him command in his house, and over all that he had, that JEHOVAH blessed the house of the Egyptian for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of JEHOVAH was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. 6. And he left all that he had into Joseph's hand; and h knew not anything with him except the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was beautiful in form and beautiful in aspect. 7. And it came to pass after these words, that his lord's wife lifted up her eyes to Joseph, and said, Lie with me. 8. And he refused, and said to his lord's wife, Behold, my lord knoweth not what is with me in the house; and all that he hath he hath given into my hand. 9. He himself is not greater in this house than I; and he hath not kept back anything from me except thee, because thou art his wife; and how shall I do this great evil, and sin against God? 10. And it came to pass, that she spake to Joseph day by day, and he did not give ear to her, to lie with her, to be with her. 11. And it came to pass on a certain day, he came to the house to do his work, and there was none of the men of the house there in the house. 12. And she caught him in his garment, saying, Lie with me; and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and went forth abroad. 13. And it came to pass, that she saw he left his garment in her hand, and fled abroad. 14. And she cried to the men of her house, and said to them, saying, See ye, he hath brought to us a Hebrew man to mock us; he came to me to lie with me, and I cried with a great voice. 15. And it came to pass, that he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried; and he left his garment with me, and fled, and went forth abroad. 16. And she laid up his garment with her, until her lord came to his house. 17. And she spake to him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, whom thou hast brought to us, came to me to mock me. 18. And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled forth abroad. 19. And it came to pass, as her lord heard the words of his wife, which she spake to him, saying, According to these words thy servant did to me, that his anger was kindled. 20. And Joseph's lord took him, and gave him into the prison house, the place where the bound of the king were bound; and he was there in the prison house. 21. And JEHOVAH was with Joseph, and inclined mercy to him, and gave his grace in the eyes of the prince of the prison house. 22. And the prince of the prison house gave into Joseph's hand all that were bound, who were in the prison house; and all that they did there, he was the doer. 23. The prince of the prison-house saw not anything in his THE CONTENTS. 4960. THE subject treated of in the internal sense of this 4961. And as this was done according to divine order, that 4962. Verse 1. AND Joseph was made to go down to Egypt; and Potiphar, Pharaoh's chamberlain, the prince of the guards, an Egyptian man, bought him out of the hand of the Ishmaelites, who made him go down there. And Joseph, signifies the celes- tial of the spiritual from the rational: was made to go down to Egypt, signifies to the scientifics of the church and Potiphar, Pharaoh's chamberlain, bought him, signifies that he was among the interior of the scientifics: the prince of the guards, signifies the primaries for interpretation: an Egyptian man, signifies natural truth: out of the hand of the Ishmaelites, signifies from simple good who made him go down there, signifies that [they made him go down] from that good to those scientifics. 4963. And Joseph.-This signifies the celestial of the spi- ritual from the rational, as appears from the representation of with the world; for heaven flows in through the internal man into the external, and thence perceives what is in the world; and the external man, which is in the world, hence perceives what is in heaven: with this view man was so created. The Lord also, as to his human, had an external and an internal, because it pleased him to be born like another man. The external, or his external man, was represented by Jacob, and afterwards by Israel; but the internal man is represented by Joseph. This internal man is what is called the celestial spiritual from the rational, or, what is the same, the Lord's internal, which was human, the celestial of the spiritual from the rational. This and its glorification are treated of in this and the following chapters concerning Joseph. But what the celestial of the spiritual from the rational is, has been before explained, n. 4286, 4585, 4592, 4594, viz., that it is above the celestial of the spiritual from the natural, which is represented by Israel. The Lord indeed was born like another man; but it is well known, that he who is born a man, derives his [constituent principles] from both his father and his mother, and that his inmost is from the father, whereas the exteriors, or those which clothe that inmost, are from the mother; and what he derives from both the father and the mother, is tainted with hereditary evil. It was otherwise with the Lord: what he derived from the mother had in itself an hereditary principle such as any other man has; but that which was from the father, who was Jehovah, was divine. Hence the Lord's internal man was not like the internal of another man; for his inmost was Jehovah this therefore is the intermediate, which is called the celestial of the spiritual from the rational. Concerning this, by the divine mercy of the Lord, more will be said in what follows. 4964. Was made to go down to Egypt.-This signifies to the scientifics of the church, as appears from the signification of Egypt, as denoting science, or the scientific principle in general, see n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462; but what the quality of that scientific principle was, has not heretofore been explained. In the ancient church there were doctrinals and scientifics: the doctrinals treated of love to God and of charity towards the neighbor; but the scientifics treated of the correspondences of the natural world with the spiritual world, and of the representatives of spiritual and celestial things in things natural and terrestrial such were the scientifics of those who were in the ancient church. Egypt was among those countries and kingdoms where also the ancient church was; see n. 1238, 2385; but as scientifics principally were there taught and treated of, therefore Egypt signifies the scientific principle in general; and on this account also in the prophetic Word Egypt is so often treated of, and there specifically means such scientific principle. |