6286. Verses 17-20. And Joseph saw that his father put his right hand, upon the head of Ephraim, and it was evil in his eyes; and he laid hold of the hand of his father to remove it from upon Ephraim’s head upon Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know, my son, I know; he also shall be for a people, and he also shall become great; and nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall be the fullness of the nations. And he blessed them in this day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God set thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh; and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

“And Joseph saw that his father put his right hand upon the head of Ephraim,” signifies a perception that he accounted truth as being in the first place; “and it was evil in his eyes,” signifies displeasure; “and he laid hold of the hand of his father,” signifies influx into the power of his obscure perception; “to remove it from upon Ephraim’s head upon Manasseh’s head,” signifies to turn him away from error; “and Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn” signifies perceptible influx with respect to good that it has priority; “put thy right hand upon his head,” signifies that thus it should be in the first place; “and his father refused,” signifies no consent; “and said, I know, my son, I know,” signifies that so it is, but that it appears otherwise; “he also shall be for a people, and he also shall become great,” signifies that truth from good also shall be increased, thus the celestial man; “and nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he,” signifies that good from truth shall receive more increase, thus the spiritual man; “and his seed shall be the fullness of the nations,” signifies that the truth of faith shall reign; “and he blessed them in this day,” signifies foresight and providence eternally; “saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God set thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh,” signifies that his own spiritual may be in the truth of the intellectual and in the good of the will; “and he set Ephraim before Manasseh,” signifies that he accounted truth as being in the first place, because he was spiritual.

6068. And behold they are in the land of Goshen. That this signifies that they are in the midst of the natural where memory-knowledges are, is evident from the signification of “Goshen,” as being the midst or inmost in the natural (see n. 5910, 6028, 6031). As regards being in the midst of the natural, the case is this. When the goods and truths which are of the church, that is, which are from the Word of the Lord, have been acknowledged, and are received in the natural with faith, they then occupy the middle place there. For those things which are directly under the view are in the midst, but those things which are not directly under the view are at the sides. Hence those things which are in the midst appear clearly, but those which are at the sides appear obscurely. The case herein is the same as it is with the sight of the eye. Those things which are directly under the sight are in the midst, that is, in the center, and appear clearly; but those which are not directly under the sight are remote from the midst, that is, are at the sides, and appear obscurely. For the internal eye, which is the intellectual mind, and which has its sight from the light of heaven, views those things which are in the natural outside of itself, which are memory-knowledges, just as the external eye views objects or a field of objects outside of itself. The internal sight is determined to those things which afford the greatest delight and which are dear to the heart, and upon them it fixes a direct view, as also does the external sight to like things in its fields of objects. Thus the internal sight is determined to the memory-knowledges which are most in accord with the truth and good in which the man is; and then, with him, these memory-knowledges are in the midst. The reason why the internal sight looks at memory-knowledges, is that it is spiritual, and therefore is determined to spiritual things, thus to memory-knowledges, for these fall under the spiritual view.