5926. 'And he fell on the neck of Benjamin' means an inmost joining to the intermediary. This is clear from the meaning of 'the neck' as an influx, communication, and joining together, dealt with in 3542, 3695, 3725 (strictly speaking it is a joining together of celestial things and spiritual ones, 5320, 5328, thus a joining of the internal celestial, which is 'Joseph', to the spiritual of the celestial, which is 'Benjamin'; consequently 'falling on the neck' means joining very closely to oneself, which is therefore an inmost joining together); and from the representation of 'Benjamin' as the intermediary, dealt with in 5411, 5413, 5443, 5679, 5686, 5688, 5689.

5413. 'For he said, Perhaps harm may come to him' means that without the celestial of the spiritual, which is 'Joseph', that intermediary will perish. This is clear from the meaning of 'coming to harm' here as perishing. These words were spoken by Benjamin's father because he loved him and was afraid that he would perish among his brothers, as Joseph had done. But they have been quoted and incorporated into the Word because of the internal sense, which is that if the intermediary is present with external things alone without the internal it will perish, the intermediary being 'Benjamin', the external things 'the sons of Jacob', and the internal 'Joseph'. Indeed the intermediary perishes whenever it exists with external things alone without the internal, for the situation with the intermediary is this: It derives its being from what is internal and is therefore also kept in being from there; for it is brought into being when the internal beholds the external, when the affection and intention exists there to link that external to itself. Accordingly what is intermediate exists joined to the internal; and extending from the internal it is joined to the external, but not to the external without the internal. From this it is evident that if the intermediary is present with the external alone it will perish. What is more, it is a law common both to things in the spiritual world and to those in the natural world that anything prior can remain in being with what is prior to that, but not with what is posterior without what is prior to it. If it exists solely with what is posterior it will perish. The reason for this is that everything unconnected to something prior to itself is unconnected to Him who is the First, the Source of all that comes into being and is kept in being.