CHAPTER XLIV. VERSES 6-10

[No. 5764]

"The fathers shall not die for the sons, neither shall the sons die for the fathers; every one shall be slain in his own sin" (Deuteronomy 24:16); and in Ezekiel:
"The soul that hath sinned, it shall die, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him" (18:20).

From these passages, it is plain how the case is with what the sons of Jacob said: "with whomsoever of thy servants it be found, let him die, and we also will be to my lord for servants." But he who was sent by Joseph In this context, Joseph's steward represents the application of Divine truth in the lower, or "natural," parts of the mind. changed this judgment, and said, "he with whom it is found shall be to me a servant, and ye shall be blameless." This is repeated further on when Judah says to Joseph, "Behold we are servants to my lord, both we and he also in whose hand the cup was found." And Joseph said, "Far be it from me to do this; the man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be to me a servant; and ye, go ye up in peace to your father" (verses 16, 17).

[No. 5765]

Verses 11, 12. And they hastened, and they made every one his bag come down to the earth, and opened every man his bag. And he searched; he began at the eldest, and left off at the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin's bag.

"And they hastened," signifies impatience;
"and made every one his bag come down to the earth," signifies that they brought what was in the natural natural: the outer part of the human mind that deals with worldly things and physical reality down to things of sense sense: the lowest level of the mind, which relies entirely on the five physical senses and their immediate impressions;
"and opened every man his bag," signifies that they might thus make the matter manifest to themselves;
"and he searched," signifies investigation;
"he began at the eldest, and left off at the youngest," signifies order;
"and the cup was found in Benjamin's bag," signifies that interior truth interior truth: a higher form of truth that flows from the divine and is perceived within the soul from the celestial celestial: the highest spiritual level, characterized by pure love and direct perception of goodness was with the intermediate intermediate: a "bridge" or middle ground in the mind that connects the spiritual self with the worldly self.

[No. 5766]

And they hastened. That this signifies impatience is evident from the signification of "hastening" when persons are eager to clear themselves, as being impatience.

[No. 5767]

And they made every one his bag come down to the earth. That this signifies that they brought what was in the natural down to things of sense, is evident from the signification of "making to come down"—when it has reference to what follows—as being to bring to; and from the signification...