6008. 'And Joseph will put his hand on your eyes means that the internal celestial will impart life to it. This is clear from the representation of 'Joseph' as the internal celestial, dealt with in 5869, 5877; and from the meaning of 'putting a hand on the eyes' as imparting life. For 'putting a hand on the eyes' is used to mean that the external or bodily senses will be closed and the internal senses opened, thus that a raising up will be effected and life will thereby be imparted. A hand was placed on people's eyes when they were dying because 'death' meant an awakening into life, 3498, 3505, 4618, 4621. For when a person dies he does not really die; he merely lays aside the body that has served him for his use in the world and passes into the next life in a body which serves him for his use there.

5869. 'And Joseph could not contain himself before all those standing with him' means that now everything had been prepared by the internal celestial for the joining together. This is clear from the representation of 'Joseph' as internal good, dealt with in 5805, 5826, 5827, thus the internal celestial, for the expression 'the celestial' is used to mean good that emanates from the Lord; and from the meaning of 'not being able to contain himself' as the fact that everything had been prepared for the joining together. For when someone prepares himself most eagerly to achieve some end or effect, by seeking out and organizing the means to achieve it, he can no longer contain himself once all the preparations are complete. This is the meaning of the words under consideration here. For the chapter before this dealt with the initial steps that were taken to achieve the joining together, whereas the present chapter deals with the actual joining together, see 5867. 'All those standing with him' means the kinds of things which prevent the joining together and which were therefore cast away, as stated in what follows.