Generally in the Bible a "country" means a political subdivision ruled by a king, or sometimes a tribe with a territory ruled by a king or chieftain. Others are what we now call city-states, with surrounding farm areas. In almost all cases these countries were far smaller than our modern idea of countries, though Egypt and Assyria would be exceptions. Sometimes the word is used to refer to countryside, a wide area with no consideration of boundaries as when the twelve Israelites were sent to spy out the country.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 3816 [3], 6818, 6820, 6821; Charity 83, 85; True Christian Religion 305)

5192. 'Pharaoh' is the natural in general which has now become inactive, leaving everything to the celestial of the spiritual, which is 'Joseph'. The seven years of the abundance of corn in the land of Egypt are the factual knowledge to which good from the celestial of the spiritual can be attached, while the seven years of famine are subsequent states when no good is present within factual knowledge except that coming from the Divine celestial of the spiritual, which is received from the Lord's Divine Human. A detailed explanation of this is given in what follows below.