5288. 'And set him over the land of Egypt' means which will set in order all that is in the natural mind. This is clear from the meaning of 'setting over something' as appointing one who will set in order, thus as setting in order; and from the meaning of 'the land of Egypt' as the natural mind, as above in 5276, 5278, 5279. The pronoun 'him' used here refers to a man with intelligence and wisdom, by whom truth and good are meant. From this it is evident that the words used here mean that truth and good will set in order all that exists in the natural it is indeed good and truth which set every single thing in order in the natural mind, for when good and truth flow in, they do so from within and in that way place every single thing in its proper position.

[2] The person who does not know about the nature of the human power of thought, or who does not know about the human ability to look at things, see what they are, analyse them, form conclusions regarding them, and finally transmit them to the will and through the will into action, will see nothing wondrous in any of this. Such a person imagines that all this happens naturally he is totally unaware of the fact that every single thought flows in from the Lord by way of heaven, and that but for that inflow from the Lord a person cannot have any thought at all, and also that as that inflow is diminished, so is his thought. Nor therefore does that person know that good flowing in from the Lord by way of heaven sets all things in order, shaping them into an image of heaven, so far as the person allows this to happen. Nor consequently does he know that such inflowing thought possesses the heavenly form. The heavenly form is the form in which the communities of heaven exist set in their proper order, a form that accords with the one which good and truth going forth from the Lord produce.

5278. 'And all the abundance of corn in the land of Egypt will be thrust into oblivion' means the removal of truth and the seeming deprivation of it in both parts of the natural. This is clear from the meaning of forgetting or 'being thrust into oblivion' as a removal and the seeming deprivation that results from this; from the meaning of 'the abundance of corn' as the multiplication of truth, that is, truth that has been multiplied, dealt with just above in 5276; and from the meaning of 'the land of Egypt' as the natural mind or a person's natural, both parts of it in this case, as just above in 5276.

[2] The reason forgetting or 'being thrust into oblivion' means a removal and seeming deprivation is that something akin to this happens to the memory and to thought that relies on it. The actual matters that a person is thinking about are immediately beneath his attention, while related matters spread out in order around them, extending to unrelated ones furthest away, which at that time are in oblivion. Matters of a contrary nature are separated from these, hanging downwards and revealing themselves underneath, where they serve to counterbalance what is above them. This ordered arrangement is effected by means of good flowing in. Such is the way in which the whole of a person's thought is ordered. The truth of this can be seen from people's thoughts in the next life. There in the light of heaven it is quite normal for people's thoughts to be presented sometimes in a visual manner, at which times the form in which those thoughts are arranged is demonstrated. From this it may be seen that 'forgetting' in the internal sense means nothing else than a removal and seeming deprivation.