5882. And Joseph said unto his brethren. That this signifies the perception of the new natural, is evident from the signification of “saying,” as being perception (of which see above, n. 5877); and from the representation of the sons of Jacob, as being truths in the natural (of w hich also above, n. 5877), here the natural; for they who represent truths in the natural, represent also the natural itself-as Pharaoh, who, as he represents memory-knowledges in general, because he was king of Egypt, also represents the natural itself in general (n. 5160, 5799). The truths in the natural, and the natural itself, or the natural man himself, act as a one, for truths are the contents, and the natural is the containant; and therefore in the internal sense the containant is now signified, and now the content, according to the series of the things. The reason why the sons of Jacob here represent the new natural is that in the internal sense is here described the act of conjunction, which-to speak generally-is in accordance with the things that are contained in the general explication; namely, that when there takes place a conjunction of the internal with the external, or of good with truth, there is first bestowed a capacity of perception that the man is affected with truth and thus with good, and that then a commotion is felt; next that an interior communication is given by means of influx; and so on. From this it is plain that the natural which the sons of Jacob here represent is the new natural, for its former state has been changed (n. 5881).