6440. 'Benjamin' means the truth of good present in the spiritual Church, which is 'Joseph'. This is clear from the representation of 'Benjamin' as the spiritual of the celestial, dealt with in 4592. Which - the spiritual of the celestial - is the truth of good. In this instance the truth of the good present in the spiritual Church, which is represented by 'Joseph' in this prophetic utterance made by Israel, is meant; for since 'Joseph' represents the spiritual Church, 6417, he also represents the good present in that Church (a Church is a Church by virtue of good). And the truth of that good is 'Benjamin'.

The idea of a "prophet" is very closely tied to the idea of the Bible itself, since the Bible was largely written by prophets. At a lower level, prophets represent people who teach from the Bible. At a higher level, they represent the Lord as He reveals himself through the Bible. Viewed in a abstract way, prophets represent the holy parts of the Bible themselves, and also represent doctrine drawn from the Bible. The reason we say "largely written by prophets" and "the holy parts of the Bible" is that not all of the books currently included in the Bible have a complete and continuous internal sense. Some -- like Job, Ruth, and Song of Solomon -- are wonderful literary pieces that got included, but which lack the systematic meanings for words and phrases. Others -- the Acts and Epistles, primarily -- are really doctrinal works, the first attempt by others to extract meaning from Jesus' life and words.