5356. 'In the land of my affliction' means where the temptations were undergone. This is clear from the meaning of 'the land', in this case the land of Egypt, as the natural, dealt with in 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301; and from the meaning of 'affliction' as temptation, dealt with in 1846. From these meanings it is evident that 'in the land of my affliction' means in the natural where the temptations were undergone and therefore the place where truth from good was multiplied. Since that fruitfulness, or multiplication of truth from good, is brought about primarily by means of temptations, such words have therefore been used here. The reason why fruitfulness is brought about primarily by means of temptations is that temptations take away self-love and love of the world, and so evils too; and once these have been taken away, an affection for goodness and truth from the Lord flows in, see just above in 5354.

[2] Another thing temptations do is to provide a person with the kind of discernment he has about what is good and true; they provide it through the opposites that evil spirits introduce at such times. From his discernment of those opposites a person can make comparisons which enable him to see what the whole is like. For no one can know what good is unless he also knows what is not good; and he does not know what truth is unless he knows what is not true. Also, temptations serve to strengthen goods and truths; for in temptations a person battles against evils and falsities, and through being victorious in such he goes on to hold on more firmly to those goods and truths. In addition to this temptations also serve to subdue evils and falsities so completely that they do not dare to rise up again. Thus temptations serve to cast evils and falsities away to the fringes, where they hang downwards, in a limp condition. But forms of good together with truths are in the centre, and in the measure that the zeal of genuine affection is present they are raised upwards - up to heaven, towards the Lord who does the raising up.

5301. 'Which there will be in the land of Egypt' means which will exist in the natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'the land of Egypt' as the natural mind, dealt with in 5276, 5278, 5279, 5288. The expression 'the natural' is used here and in other places, and by it the natural mind is meant. For the human being has two minds, the rational mind and the natural mind. The rational mind belongs to the internal man, whereas the natural mind belongs to the external man; and it is the natural mind or external man that is meant when simply 'the natural' is used. The mind is a person's true self, as will be seen in what is spoken about next.