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Genesis 47

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1 Then Joseph went in and told Pharao, saying: My father and brethren, their sheep and their herds, and all that they possess, are come out of the land of Chanaan: and behold they stay in the land of Gessen.

2 Five men also the last of his brethren, he presented before the king:

3 And he asked them: What is your occupation? They answered: Re thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.

4 We are come to sojourn in thy land, because there is no grass for the flocks of thy servants, the famine being very grievous in the land of Chanaan: and we pray thee to give orders that we thy servants may be in the land of Gessen.

5 The king therefore said to Joseph: Thy father and thy brethren are come to thee.

6 The land of Egypt is before thee: make them dwell in the best place, and give them the land of Gessen. And if thou knowest that there are industrious men among them, make them rulers over my cattle.

7 After this Joseph brought in his to the king, and presented him before him: and he blessed him.

8 And being asked by him: How many are the days of the years of thy life?

9 He answered: The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years, few, and evil, and they are not come up to the days of the pilgrimage of my fathers.

10 And blessing the king, he went out.

11 But Joseph gave a possession to his father and his brethren in Egypt, in the best place of the land, in Ramesses, as Pharao had commanded.

12 And he nourished them, and all his father's house, allowing food to every one.

13 For in the whole world there was want of bread, and a famine had op- pressed the land: more especially of Egypt and Chanaan.

14 Out of which he gathered up all the money for the corn which they bought, and brought it into the king's treasure.

15 And when the buyers wanted money, all Egypt came to Joseph, saying: Give us bread: why should we die in thy presence, having now net money.

16 And he answered them: Bring your cattle, and for them I will give you food, if you have no money.

17 And when they had brought them, he gave them food in exchange for their horses, and sheep, and oxen, end asses and he maintained them that year for the exchange of their cattle.

18 And they came the second year, and said to him: We will not hide from our lord, how that our money is spent, and our cattle also are gone: neither art thou ignorant that we have nothing now left but our bodies and our lands.

19 Why therefore shall we die before thy eyes? we will be thins, both we and our lands: buy us to be the king's servants, and give us seed, lest for want of tillers the land be turned into a wilderness.

20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt, every man selling his possessions, because of the greatness of the famine. And he brought it into Pharao's hands:

21 And all its people from one end of the borders of Egypt, even to the other end thereof,

22 Except the land of the priests, which had been given them by the king: to whom also a certain allowance of food was given out of the public stores, and therefore they were not forced to sell their possessions.

23 Then Joseph said to the people : Be- hold as you see, both you and your lands belong to Pharao: take seed and sow the fields,

24 That you may have corn. The fifth part you shall give to the king: the other four you shall have for seed, and for food for your families and children.

25 And they answered: Our life is in thy hand: only let my lord look favourably upon us, and we will gladly serve the king.

26 From that time unto this day, in the whole land of Egypt, the fifth part is paid to the king, and it is become as a law, except the land of the priests, which was free from this covenant.

27 So Israel dwelt in Egypt, that is, in the land of Gessen, and possessed it: and grew, and was multiplied exceedingly.

28 And he lived in it seventeen years: and all the days of his life came to a hundred and forty-seven years.

29 And when he saw that the day of his death drew nigh, he called his son Joseph, and said to him: If I have found favour in thy sight, put thy hand under my thigh; and thou shalt shew me this kindness and truth, not to bury me in Egypt:

30 But I will sleep with my fathers, end thou shalt take me away out of this land, and bury me in the burying place of my ancestors. And Joseph answered him: I will do what thou hast commanded.

31 And he said: Swear then to me. And as he was swearing, Israel adored God, turning to the bed's head.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 6077

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6077. 'We have come to sojourn in the land' means a seeking to live in factual knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of 'sojourning' as receiving instruction, and also living, dealt with in 1467, 2025, so that 'coming to sojourn' means a seeking to live; and from the meaning of 'the land', in this case the land of Egypt, as the place where factual knowledge exists, and so as factual knowledge itself (it has been shown quite a number of times that 'Egypt' means factual knowledge). As to the idea that the life of truth exists within factual knowledge or that truths seek to live in factual knowledge, it should be recognized that all things in the spiritual world, and consequently all those in the natural world, seek something beyond themselves in which they can exist, acting as the cause within the effect, to the end that they may be producing something constantly. That something beyond them is so to speak the body, and what seeks to exist within it is so to speak the soul. This endeavour comes to an end only in the lowest aspects of the natural order in which inert substances occur. In the natural world this can be seen in specific examples; and it can also be seen in the spiritual world, in that there good seeks to live in truths, truths seek to live in factual knowledge, factual knowledge to live in sensory impressions, and sensory impressions in the world.

[2] As regards the specific matter of the presence of truths within factual knowledge, it should be recognized that interior truths can indeed be introduced into factual knowledge; but those truths do not have life until good exists within them. Good has life in it, but truths receive theirs from good; thus factual knowledge receives its life from good through truths. Good is in that case a kind of soul for truths, and through truths for factual knowledge, which is a kind of body. In short, charity towards the neighbour gives faith its life and soul, and through faith gives them to factual knowledge belonging to the natural mind.

[3] At the present day there are few who know that truths are distinct and separate from factual knowledge. The reason for this is that truths of faith which are rooted in charity exist with only few, and truths of faith that have no charity in them are no more than factual knowledge since they exist in the memory, no different from anything else there. But when truths of faith are rooted in charity, that is, have charity within them, they make themselves clearly distinct and separate from factual knowledge. Sometimes they lift themselves above it, in which case they look down on factual knowledge below them. This may be seen primarily from a person's state after death. In that state he can think and speak in a rational manner about the truths and goods of faith, and in a far more clear-sighted way than during his lifetime; yet he cannot draw out any factual knowledge from his memory. That knowledge exists with him as things that lie forgotten and removed from sight, even though he retains it all, see 2475-2477, 2479, 2480-2486. From this it may be seen that the truths of faith, which are essentially spiritual, are distinct and separate from factual knowledge, which is essentially natural, and that the truths of faith are lifted up from factual knowledge towards heaven by means of an affection for the good of charity.

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