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Genesis 43

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1 Now the land was in bitter need of food.

2 And when the grain which they had got in Egypt was all used up, their father said to them, Go again and get us a little food.

3 And Judah said to him, The man said to us with an oath, You are not to come before me again without your brother.

4 If you will let our brother go with us, we will go down and get food:

5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down: for the man said to us, You are not to come before me if your brother is not with you.

6 And Israel said, Why were you so cruel to me as to say to him that you had a brother?

7 And they said, The man put a number of questions to us about ourselves and our family, saying, Is your father still living? have you another brother? And we had to give him answers; how were we to have any idea that he would say, Come back with your brother?

8 Then Judah said to Israel, his father, Send the boy with me, and let us be up and going, so that we and you and our little ones may not come to destruction.

9 Put him into my care and make me responsible for him: if I do not give him safely back to you, let mine be the sin for ever.

10 Truly, if we had not let the time go by, we might have come back again by now.

11 Then their father Israel said to them, If it has to be so, then do this: take of the best fruits of the land in your vessels to give the man, perfumes and honey and spices and nuts:

12 And take twice as much money with you; that is to say, take back the money which was put in your bags, for it may have been an error;

13 And take your brother and go back to the man:

14 And may God, the Ruler of all, give you mercy before the man, so that he may give you back your other brother and Benjamin. If my children are to be taken from me; there is no help for it.

15 So they took what their father said for the man, and twice as much money in their hands, and Benjamin, and went on their journey to Egypt, and came before Joseph.

16 And when Joseph saw Benjamin, he said to his chief servant, Take these men into my house, and make ready a meal, for they will take food with me in the middle of the day.

17 And the servant did as Joseph said, and took the men into Joseph's house.

18 Now the men were full of fear because they had been taken into Joseph's house and they said, It is because of the money which was put back in our bags the first time; he is looking for something against us, so that he may come down on us and take us and our asses for his use.

19 So they went up to Joseph's chief servant at the door of the house,

20 And said, O my lord, we only came down the first time to get food;

21 And when we came to our night's resting-place, on opening our bags we saw that every man's money was in the mouth of his bag, all our money in full weight: and we have it with us to give it back;

22 As well as more money, with which to get food: we have no idea who put our money in our bags.

23 Then the servant said, Peace be with you: have no fear: your God, even the God of your father, has put wealth in your bags for you: I had your money. Then he let Simeon come out to them.

24 And the servant took them into Joseph's house, and gave them water for washing their feet; and he gave their asses food.

25 And they got ready the things for Joseph before he came in the middle of the day: for word was given to them that they were to have a meal there.

26 And when Joseph came in, they gave him the things which they had for him, and went down to the earth before him.

27 And he said, How are you? is your father well, the old man of whom you were talking to me? is he still living?

28 And they said, Your servant, our father, is well, he is still living. And they went down on their faces before him.

29 Then, lifting up his eyes, he saw Benjamin, his brother, his mother's son, and he said, Is this your youngest brother of whom you gave me word? And he said, God be good to you, my son.

30 Then Joseph's heart went out to his brother, and he went quickly into his room, for he was overcome with weeping.

31 Then, after washing his face, he came out, and controlling his feelings said, Put food before us.

32 And they put a meal ready for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who were with him by themselves; because the Egyptians may not take food with the Hebrews, for that would make them unclean.

33 And they were all given their seats before him in order of birth, from the oldest to the youngest: so that they were looking at one another in wonder.

34 And Joseph sent food to them from his table, but he sent five times as much to Benjamin as to any of the others. And they took wine freely with him.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 5700

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5700. And for the Egyptians, who did eat with him, alone. That this signifies the separation of the memory-knowledges which are in inverted order, is evident from the representation of the Egyptians, as being memory-knowledges that are in inverted order (of which hereafter); and from the signification of “who did eat with him alone,” as being separation (as just above, n. 5699). By the Egyptians “who did eat with him” are meant the Egyptians who ate at Joseph’s house; that they did not eat with Joseph is plain, because they ate alone. By “Egypt” or the “Egyptians” in a good sense are signified the memory-knowledges of the church (see n. 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966); but in the opposite sense are signified the memory-knowledges which are in inverted order, thus which are contrary to the truths of the church (n. 1164, 1165, 1186). In this sense “Egypt” is mentioned in many passages of the Word. That “Egypt” signifies these memory-knowledges, is because the memory-knowledges of the Ancient Church, which were representative and significative of celestial and spiritual things, and which were cultivated among the Egyptians more than among others, were turned by them into magic; whereby they completely inverted the memory-knowledges of the representative church.

[2] Memory-knowledges are said to be in inverted order when men abuse heavenly order to do evil; for heavenly order is that good be done to all. Hence it comes to pass that when they have thus inverted heavenly order, they at last deny Divine things, the things of heaven, and consequently those of charity and faith. They who become such know how to reason acutely and skillfully from memory-knowledges, because they reason from the senses, and to reason from these is to reason from such things as are external, that is, from such as are of the body and the world, which take direct hold of man’s senses and feelings. Unless such things have been illumined by the light of heaven, and thereby arranged in an entirely different order, they put the man in so great an obscurity as to heavenly things that he not only comprehends none of them, but even wholly denies, and at last rejects them, and then as far as he may, blasphemes them. When memory-knowledges are in order, they are arranged by the Lord in the form of heaven; but when they are in inverted order, they are arranged in the form of hell, and then things most false are in the midst, and those which confirm them are at the sides, while truths are without, and because they are without they can have no communication with heaven where truths reign; and therefore interior things are closed to such persons; for heaven is open by means of things interior.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for the permission to use this translation.