5504. Verses 29-34 And they came to Jacob their father, to the land of Canaan; and they pointed out to him all that was happening to them, saying, The man, the lord of the land, spoke hard words to us, and took us for men spying out the land. And we said to him, We are upright men; we are not spies. Twelve are we, brothers, the sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is today with our father in the land of Canaan. And the man, the lord of the land, said to us, By this I shall know that you are upright men: Cause one brother among you to remain with me, and take [food for] the famine of your houses, and go. And bring your youngest brother to me, and I shall know that you are not spies, that you are upright men; I will give you your brother, and you will wander through the land, trading.
'And they came' means a subsequent state of reformation. 'To Jacob their father' means the good of natural truth. 'To the land of Canaan' means which is that of the Church. 'And they pointed out to him all that was happening to them' means reflection made by the good of that truth on what was provided up to then. 'Saying' means perception. 'The man, the lord of the land, spoke' means the celestial of the spiritual ruling in the natural. 'Hard words to us' means that no joining together with this took place because no agreement existed. 'And took us for men spying out the land' means that it saw the truths known to the Church as ones existing for the sake of gain. 'And we said to him, We are upright men; we are not spies' means a denial that they were interested in the truths known to the Church for the sake of gain. 'Twelve are we, brothers' means all truths in their entirety. 'The sons of our father' means having the same origin. 'One is not' means that the Divine spiritual from which their joining together begins is not apparent. 'And the youngest is today with our father in the land of Canaan' means that from itself [the celestial of the spiritual] had a link with spiritual good. 'And the man, the lord of the land, said to us' means a discernment regarding the celestial of the spiritual ruling in the natural. 'By this I shall know that you are upright men' means its willingness, provided that they were not interested in truths for the sake of gain. 'Cause one brother among you to remain with me' means that faith in the will was to be separated from them. 'And take [food for] the famine of your houses' means that in the meantime they should provide for their own needs in that desolation. 'And go' means so that they may thereby live. 'And bring your youngest brother to me' means that if the intermediary were there the joining together would take place. 'And I shall know that you are not spies' means that they are no longer truths existing for the sake of gain. 'That you are upright men means that agreement accordingly exists. 'I will give you your brother' means that truths will thereby be made forms of good. 'And you will wander through the land, trading' means that truths from good will thereby be made fruitful and will all afford some useful purpose and lead to some form of gain.
