ACV8 S32 6521-6543

Click to Print Reading 6521. Verses 7-9. And Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh; the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, and all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their babes, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen; and the army was exceeding great. "And Joseph went up to bury his father," signifies the internal toward the setting up again of the church; "and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh," signifies that it adjoined to itself the memory-knowledges of the natural; "the elders of his house," signifies that were in agreement with good; "and all the elders of the land of Egypt," signifies that were in agreement with truth; "and all the house of Joseph," signifies the celestial things of the spiritual; "and his brethren," signifies the truths thence derived; "and his father's house," signifies spiritual good; "only their babes" signifies innocence; "and their flocks" signifies charity; "and their herds," signifies practices of charity; "they left in the land of Goshen," signifies that these were in the inmost of the memory-knowledges of the church; "and there went up with him both chariots," signifies doctrinal things; "and horsemen," signifies intellectual things; "and the army was exceeding great," signifies truths and goods conjoined. 6522. And Joseph went up to bury his father. That this signifies the internal toward the setting up again of the church, is evident from the representation of Joseph, as being the internal (see n. 6499); from the signification of "being buried," as being resuscitation (n. 6516), thus a setting up again, because it is said of the church; and from the representation of Israel, who is here the "father," as being the church (n. 4286, 6426). 6523. And with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh. That this signifies that it adjoined to itself the memory-knowledges of the natural, is evident from the signification of "going up with him," as being to adjoin to himself, for as it was by command that they went up, he adjoined them to himself; and from the signification of the "servants of Pharaoh," as being the memory-knowledges of the natural. For by Pharaoh is represented the natural in general (see n. 5160, 5799, 6015); and because in the natural there are memory-knowledges, these are what are signified by his "servants," as also by the "Egyptians" (n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966, 5700, 5702, 6004). 6524. The elders of his house. That this signifies that were in agreement with good, is evident from the signification of "elders," as being the chief things of wisdom, thus those which agree with good (of which in what follows); and from the signification of "house," as being good (see n. 2559, 3652, 3720, 4982). That "elders" denote the chief things of wisdom is because in the Word "old men" signify the wise, and in a sense abstracted from person, wisdom. As the "twelve tribes of Israel" signified all truths and goods in the complex, there were set over them princes and elders, and by "princes" were signified the primary truths which are of intelligence, and by "elders" the chief things of wisdom, thus those which are of good. [2] That "princes" signify the primary truths which are of intelligence, may be seen above (n. 1482, 2089, 5044); but that "elders" signified the chief things of wisdom, and "old men," wisdom, is plain from the following passages. In David: Let them extol Jehovah in the congregation of the people, and praise Him in the assembly of the elders (Ps. 107:32); where the "congregation of the people" denotes those who are in the truths that belong to intelligence, "congregation" being predicated of truths (n. 6355), and also "people" (n. 1259, 1260, 2928, 3295, 3581); and the "assembly of the elders" denotes those who are in good, which is of wisdom; for wisdom is of life, thus of good, but intelligence is of knowledges, thus of truth (n. 1555). Again: I am wiser than the elders, because I have kept Thy commandments (Ps. 119:100); where the "elders" manifestly denote him who is wise. So in Job: In old men there is wisdom, and in length of days intelligence (Job 12:12). In Moses: Thou shalt rise up before the gray head, and honor the faces of the old man (Lev. 19:32); this was commanded because old men represented wisdom. [3] In Revelation: Upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, who had golden crowns upon their heads (Rev. 4:4); "elders" denote the things which belong to wisdom, thus those which belong to good; that "elders" denote these things is evident from the description-that they "sat on thrones, were clothed in white garments, and had crowns of gold on their heads;" for "thrones" denote the truths of intelligence from the good of wisdom (n. 5313); in like manner "white garments" (that "garments" are truths, n. 1073, 4545, 4763, 5248, 5954; and that "white" is predicated of truth, n. 3301, 5319). "Golden crowns upon their heads" denote the goods of wisdom; for "gold" is the good of love (n. 113, 1551, 1552, 5658), and the "head" is the celestial, where is wisdom (n. 4938, 4939, 5328, 6436). They are called "wise" who are in the third or inmost heaven, thus who are nearest the Lord; but they are called "intelligent" who are in the middle or second heaven, thus who are not so near the Lord. [4] Again: All the angels stood round about the throne, and the elders, and the four animals (Rev. 7:11); where also "elders" denote the things that belong to wisdom. So in the following passages. In Isaiah: The child will puff himself up against the old man, and the despised against the honored one (Isa. 3:5); Again: Jehovah Zebaoth shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem; and before His elders shall be glory (Isa. 24:23). In Jeremiah: My priests and mine elders expired in the city, because they have sought food for themselves wherewith to refresh their soul (Lam. 1:19). Again: Her king and her princes are among the nations, the law is not; the elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the earth, they keep silence (Lam. 2:9, 10). Again: They ravished the women in Zion, the virgins in the cities of Judah; princes were hanged up by their hand; the faces of the old were not honored; the elders have ceased from the gate (Lam. 5:11, 12, 14). In Ezekiel: Misery shall come upon misery, and rumor shall be upon rumor; therefore they shall seek a vision from the prophet; but the law hath perished from the priest, and counsel from the elders. The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with amazement (Ezek. 7:26, 27). In Zechariah: There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for multitude of days (Zech. 8:4). That the elders might represent the things that belong to wisdom, the spirit of Moses was taken and given them, whence they prophesied (Num. 11:16, et seq.). In the opposite sense "elders" denote the things that are contrary to wisdom (Ezek. 8:11, 12). 6525. And all the elders of the land of Egypt. That this signifies that were in agreement with truth, is evident from the signification of "elders," as being the chief things of wisdom, thus those which agree with good (see n. 6524), here those which agree with truth, for the things which agree with good, agree also with truth; and from the signification of the "land of Egypt," as being the natural mind where memory-knowledges are (n. 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301), thus also where truths are, for memory-knowledges are the truths of the natural mind, and when they are true, they are called truths of memory-knowledge. 6526. And all the house of Joseph. That this signifies the celestial things of the spiritual, is evident from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial of the spiritual (see n. 4286, 4592, 4963, 5307, 5331, 5332); hence the "house of Joseph" denotes the celestial things of the spiritual. 6527. And his brethren. That this signifies the truths thence derived, is evident from the representation of the sons of Israel, who here are the "brethren of Joseph," as being spiritual truths (see n. 5414, 5879, 5951); which truths are also from the internal celestial which is "Joseph," but through spiritual good, which is "Israel." 6528. And his father's house. That this signifies spiritual good, is evident from the representation of Israel, who here is the "father," as being spiritual good (see n. 3654, 4598, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833); hence his "house" denotes all those things in the complex that belong to this good. 6529. Only their babes. That this signifies innocence, is evident from the signification of "babes," as being innocence (see n. 430, 3183, 5608). 6530. And their flocks. That this signifies charity, is evident from the signification of "flocks," as being the interior good of charity (see n. 5913, 6048). 6531. And their herds. That this signifies the practices of charity, is evident from the signification of "herds," as being the exterior goods of charity (see n. 2566, 5913, 6048); thus the practices thereof, for these are the exterior goods of charity. 6532. They left in the land of Goshen. That this signifies that these were in the inmost of the memory-knowledges of the church, is evident from the signification of the "land of Goshen," as being the middle or inmost in the natural, where are the memory-knowledges of the church (see n. 5910, 6028, 6031, 6068). That the goods of innocence and charity, interior and exterior (n. 6529-6531), were in that inmost, is signified by their "leaving the little ones, the flocks, and the herds, in the land of Goshen;" for wherever things are left, there they are; thus by "they left" in the internal sense is not here signified leaving, but being there,...