6417. Joseph is the son of a fruitful one. That this signifies the spiritual church, in the supreme sense the Lord as to the Divine spiritual, is evident from the representation of Joseph, as being in the supreme sense the Lord as to the Divine spiritual, in the internal sense the spiritual kingdom and the good of faith, and in the external sense fruitfulness and multiplication (see n. 3969, 3971); and because “Joseph” denotes the fruitfulness of good and the multiplication of truth, he is called the “son of a fruitful one.” By “Joseph” is here described the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, and above by “Judah” His celestial kingdom; for there are two kingdoms which constitute heaven, the celestial and the spiritual. The celestial kingdom constitutes the inmost or third heaven; the spiritual kingdom, the middle or second heaven. To the spiritual kingdom the Lord appears as a moon; but to the celestial kingdom as a sun (n. 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 4060). It is said that by Joseph in the supreme sense is represented the Lord as to the Divine spiritual, but the case is this. The Lord is nothing else than Divine good; that which proceeds from His Divine good and flows into heaven, in His celestial kingdom is called the “Divine celestial,” and in His spiritual kingdom the “Divine spiritual;” thus the Divine celestial and the Divine spiritual are so called relatively to the receptions.

1542. That in the internal sense these things, and those that follow in this chapter, also represent the Lord, and that it is a continuation of His life from childhood, may be seen from what was said and shown in the preceding chapter, and also from what follows, but especially from the consideration that this is the Word of the Lord, and that it has come down from Him through heaven, and therefore that not even the least bit of a word has been written that does not involve heavenly arcana. That which comes from such an origin cannot possibly be of any other nature. It has been shown already that in the internal sense the Lord’s instruction when a child is treated of. There are two things with man which prevent his becoming celestial, one of which belongs to his intellectual, and the other to his will part: that which belongs to the intellectual part consists of the empty memory-knowledges he learns in childhood and youth; and that which belongs to the will part consists of pleasures from the cupidities which he favors. These are the hindrances that prevent his being able to attain to celestial things. These are first to be dispersed; and when they have been dispersed, he can then for the first time be admitted into the light of celestial things, and at last into celestial light.

[2] As the Lord was born as are other men, and was to be informed as others are, it was necessary for Him to learn memory-knowledges, which was represented and signified by Abram’s sojourn in Egypt; and that the empty memory-knowledges at last left Him, was represented by Pharaoh’s commanding his men respecting him, and by their sending him away, and his wife, and all that he had. (See the foregoing chapter, verse 20.) But that the pleasures which pertain to the things of the will, and which constitute the sensuous man, but the outermost of it, also left Him, is represented in this chapter by Lot, in that he separated himself from Abram; for Lot represents such a man.