7429. 'And the magicians said to Pharaoh' means perception and communication to those immersed in evils. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' as perception, dealt with in 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2080, 2619, 2862, 3509, 5743, and also as communication, 3060, 4131, 6228, 7291, 7381; from the meaning of 'the magicians' as those who pervert Divine order and produce something that looks the same to outward appearance, dealt with just above in 7426; and from the representation of 'Pharaoh' as those who are steeped in falsities and engage in molestation, dealt with in 6651, 6679, 6683, 7107, 7100, 7126, 7142, 7717, at this point those who are immersed in evils since they are now in a state of evil after the removal of the false reasonings, as is evident from what has gone before.

1822. That 'He said to him' means perception is clear from what has been stated above at verses 2 and 7. Perception itself is nothing else than a certain form of conversing that takes place inwardly, but which makes itself known whenever the spoken word is grasped perceptively. Every form of inward dictate, even conscience, is nothing else; but perception is a higher or more interior degree of it.