Heavenly Secrets (Arcana Coelestia), Vol. VIII

CHAPTER XLIV. VERSES 3-5

5742. They were gone out of the city, not yet far off. This signifies the degree to which they had been removed, as can be understood from the preceding sections.

5743. And Joseph said unto him that was over his house. This signifies a new state of perception and influx influx: (Latin: influxus) the spiritual process where life, heat, and light flow from the Divine through the higher levels of the mind into the lower levels. This is clear because "saying" in the historical narratives of the Word signifies perception (as explained many times before). Because this is perception for the one who hears and receives it, it is simultaneously "influx" for the one who speaks; the two actions correspond to each other. (The command given to the steward denotes influx from Joseph himself, as seen in n. 5732.)

5744. Up, follow after the men. This signifies that the internal mind must now adjoin original: "adjungere", meaning to join or connect one thing to another these truths to itself. This is evident from the meaning of "following after the men and overtaking them" as a process of joining together. "Following" indicates the intent to connect, while "overtaking" indicates the connection actually being made. The remainder of this chapter describes the return of Jacob's sons, and the next chapter describes Joseph revealing his identity. Spiritually, this represents the conjunction conjunction: the marriage-like union between different levels of the soul, such as the internal and the external of the celestial of the spiritual celestial of the spiritual: a specific quality of the internal mind where truth is filled with love and goodness with truths in the natural mind. Therefore, the command to "follow the men" means the higher mind is now moving to claim the lower truths as its own.

5745. And when thou dost overtake them. This signifies a mediate adjunction A "mediate" connection is one that happens through an intermediary—in this case, Joseph’s steward—rather than directly.. This is clear from the fact that they are overtaken by the steward, who represents a middle-man or intermediate power, rather than by Joseph himself.

5746. Say unto them, Wherefore do ye return evil for good? This signifies: why has there been a turning away? This is evident because "returning evil for good" is the definition of turning away; evil is essentially the act of turning away from what is good. Those in a state of evil reject spiritual good—the good found in charity and faith. The fact that "evil" is a "turning away" is visible in the spiritual world: those who are in evil appear in the light of heaven upside down, with their feet toward the sky and their heads downward (see n. 3641). They are completely inverted and turned away from the Divine.

5747. Is not this it in which my lord drinketh? This signifies that the interior truth interior truth: truth that is not just known as a fact, but is understood and felt within the soul belonging to them was actually received from Joseph...