ACV8 S17 6168-6188

CLICK TO PRINT READING 6168. Verses 27-31. And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and they had a possession therein, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; and the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were seven years, and a hundred and forty years. And the days of Israel drew near to die; and he called his son Joseph, and said to him, If I pray I have found grace in thine eyes, put I pray thy hand under my thigh, and do mercy and truth with me; bury me not I pray in Egypt; and I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their sepulcher. And he said, I will do according to thy word. And he said, Swear to me; and he sware to him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head. "And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt," signifies that spiritual good lived among the memory-knowledges which are of the church; "in the land of Goshen," signifies in the midst of them; "and they had a possession therein," signifies given and set in order in this way by the internal; "and were fruitful and multiplied exceedingly," signifies the derivative goods of charity and truths of faith; "and Jacob lived in the land of Egypt," signifies that the truth of the natural was in memory-knowledges; "seventeen years," signifies the state therein; "and the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were seven years, and a hundred and forty years," signifies the general state and its quality; "and the days of Israel drew near to die," signifies the state immediately before regeneration; "and he called his son Joseph," signifies the presence of the internal; "and said to him, If I pray I have found grace in thine eyes," signifies longing; "put I pray thy hand under my thigh," signifies a sacred binding; "and do mercy and truth with me," signifies humiliation; "bury me not I pray in Egypt," signifies regeneration not in memory-knowledges; "and I will lie with my fathers," signifies life such as the ancients had; "and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt," signifies that there may be elevation out of memory-knowledges; "and bury me in their sepulcher," signifies such regeneration; "and he said, I will do according to thy word," signifies that so it shall be done of providence by the Divine; "and he said, Swear to me," signifies that it may be irrevocable; "and he sware to him," signifies that it was irrevocable; "and Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head," signifies that he turned to those things which are of the interior natural. 6169. And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt. That this signifies that spiritual good lived among the memory-knowledges which are of the church, is evident from the signification of "dwelling," as being to live (see n. 1293, 3384, 3613, 4451); from the representation of Israel, as being spiritual good (see n. 5801, 5803, 5807, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833); and from the signification of the "land of Egypt," as being the natural mind where memory-knowledges are (n. 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301); (that "Egypt" signifies the memory-knowledges of the church may be seen above, n. 4749, 4964, 4966, 6004). 6170. In the land of Goshen. That this signifies in the midst of them, is evident from the signification of the "land of Goshen," as being the midst or inmost in the natural (see n. 5910, 6028, 6031, 6068), thus in the midst of memory-knowledges, because Goshen was the best tract of land in Egypt. 6171. And they had a possession therein. That this signifies given and set in order in this way by the internal, is evident from the signification of a "possession," as being the residence of spiritual life (see n. 6103); and as Joseph gave them this possession (verse 11), it is signified that this residence was given and set in order by the internal. That this is signified, follows from the series. 6172. And were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly. That this signifies the derivative goods of charity and truths of faith, is evident from the signification of "being fruitful," as being to bring forth the goods of charity; and from the signification of "multiplying," as being to bring forth the truths of faith (see n. 43, 55, 913, 983, 2846, 2847); for the expression "to be fruitful" comes from "fruits," which in the internal sense signify the works of charity; and "to be multiplied," from "multitude," which in the internal sense is predicated of the truths of faith; for in the Word "many" is said of truths, and "great" of goods. 6173. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt. That this signifies that the truth of the natural was in memory-knowledges, is evident from the signification of "living," as being spiritual life (see n. 5890); from the representation of Jacob, as being the truth of the natural (n. 3305, 3509, 3525, 3546, 3599, 3775, 4009, 4234, 4520, 4538); and from the signification of the "land of Egypt," as being the memory-knowledges of the church (as just above, n. 6169). 6174. Seventeen years. That this signifies the state therein, is evident from the signification of "seventeen," as being from beginning to end, or from the beginning to what is new (n. 755, 4670); and from the signification of "years," as being states (n. 487, 488, 493, 893). Thus here by the "seventeen years which Jacob lived in Egypt" is signified the beginning of a state of spiritual life in the natural among memory-knowledges even to its end. (That all numbers in the Word are significative of things, see n. 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 4495, 4670, 5265.) 6175. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were seven years and a hundred and forty years. That this signifies the general state and its quality, may be seen if the numbers "seven," "forty," and a "hundred" are unfolded. What "seven" signifies may be seen above (n. 395, 433, 716, 728, 881, 5265, 5268); what "forty" signifies (n. 730, 862, 2272, 2273); and what a "hundred" (n. 1988, 2636, 4400). But the numbers thus compounded cannot be easily unfolded, for they contain more things than can be reduced to a summary statement, and be expressed to the apprehension. These numbers in general contain the whole state of that which is represented by Jacob, and its quality. These things the angels see in one complex from the very number a hundred and forty-seven; for all numbers in the Word fall with them into ideas of things, as has been made plain to me from the fact that sometimes numbers in a long succession have appeared to me, and the angels then said that those numbers enfolded within them in succession likewise the things of which they were conversing. From this also the most ancient people, who were of the celestial church, made a computation consisting of numbers, by which were conveyed heavenly things not easily comprehensible to the ideas of the natural mind. But after their times these computations perished, together with the perception of heavenly things, and there remained only the knowledge of the general signification of the simple numbers, as "three," "six," "seven," "twelve;" and not so much of the signification of compound numbers. But at this day it is not known that the numbers in the Word signify anything except number, and therefore what has been said on the subject will perhaps be thought incredible. 6176. And the days of Israel drew near to die. That this signifies the state immediately before regeneration, is evident from the signification of "drawing near," as being to be nigh, thus immediately previous; from the signification of "days," as being states (see n. 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850); from the representation of Israel, as being spiritual good (of which above, n. 6169); and from the signification of "dying," as being to rise again and be awakened into spiritual life (n. 3326, 3498, 3505, 4618, 4621, 6036), thus to be regenerated; for he who is being regenerated rises again from spiritual death, and is awakened into new life. 6177. And he called his son Joseph. That this signifies the presence of the internal, is evident from the signification of "calling unto himself," as being to make present with himself, thus as being presence; and from the representation of Joseph, as being the internal (as frequently shown above, n. 6089, 6117, 6120, 6128, 6132, 6136, 6145, 6149, 6152, 6153, 6156, 6163, 6167). 6178. And said to him, If I pray I have found grace in thine eyes. That this signifies longing, is evident from the affection in which Jacob was when he spoke these words to Joseph. This affection is within this form of speech; for the words "If I pray I have found grace in thine eyes" are merely a form of speech by which is expressed the affection, thus the longing of the will (as also above, n. 6162). 6179. Put I pray thy hand under my thigh. That this signifies a sacred binding, is evident from the signification of "putting the hand under the thigh," as being a binding, with all power, by means of that which belongs to conjugial love; for by the "hand" is signified power (see n. 878, 3091, 4931-4937, 5328, 5544), and by the "thigh" that which is of conjugial love (n. 3021, 4277, 4280, 4575, 5050-5062). In the supreme sense the conjugial is the union of the Divine and the Divine Human In the Lord; and from this it is the union of the Divine good and the Divine truth in heaven; for that which proceeds from the Lord is the Divine truth from the Divine good. From this, heaven is heaven, and is called a "marriage," for it is the conjunction of the good and the truth there, which proceed from the Lord, that makes it. And as the Lord is the good there, and heaven is the truth thence derived, therefore in the Word the Lord is called the "bridegroom," and heaven and also the church are called the "bride;" for good and truth make a marriage, and their conjunction is what is meant by the conjugial. Hence it is plain how sacred a thing it was to be bound by means of what is conjugial,...