Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 5938

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5938. 'Say to your brothers' means regarding the truths of the Church within the natural, that is to say, a perception regarding them. This is clear from the representation of 'Joseph's brothers' as the truths of the Church within the natural, dealt with in 5403, 5419, 5458, 5512. Here Pharaoh invites the sons of Jacob to come to Egypt together with their young children and wives, and to bring their father with them, for Pharaoh says,

Say to your brothers, Do this, and take your father, and take for yourselves from the land of Egypt carts for your young children and your wives, and bring your father, and come. But just above Joseph invites his father, not his brothers except as his father's sons, for he says,

Go up to my father, and say to him, Come down to me, do not delay. And you shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your sons, and the sons of your sons, and everything that belongs to you. Make haste, and cause my father to come down here.

The reason Pharaoh invited the sons of Jacob while Joseph invited his father is not evident except from the internal sense, which is this: The natural in general, which is represented by 'Pharaoh', has a direct communication with the truths of the Church within the natural, which are represented by 'the sons of Jacob'. Hence Pharaoh speaks about them. But the internal celestial, which is represented by 'Joseph', does not have a direct communication with the truths of the Church within the natural, which are 'the sons of Jacob'. The communication in this case is through spiritual good, which is 'Israel' their father. Hence Joseph speaks about their father.


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