6584. The sons also of Machir the son of Manasseh. That this signifies and in respect to the will and its derivatives, is evident from the representation of Manasseh, as being the will of the church (see n. 5351, 5353, 5354, 6222, 6238, 6267, 6296); and from the signification of his “sons” and “sons’ sons,” here the “sons of Machir,” as being the derivatives (n. 6583); the derivatives of the will of the church—signified by the “sons of Machir”—are goods conjoined with truths, thus also truths from good, for the truths that have been derived from good are forms of good. That the “sons of Machir” denote goods conjoined with truths is signified by their being “born on Joseph’s knees,” as presently follows; and that they denote truths from good is signified in the book of Judges: “Out of Machir shall come down lawgivers” (Judg. 5:14); “lawgivers” denote truths from good (n. 6372).

6296. And nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he. That this signifies that good from truth shall receive more increase, thus the spiritual man, is evident from the representation of Ephraim, here the “younger brother,” as being the truth of the intellectual in the natural born from the internal (see n. 6234, 6238, 6267), but here “Ephraim” is good from truth (of which in what follows); and from the signification of “becoming greater” than another, as being to receive more increase. That here “Ephraim” is good from truth, is because he represents the man of the spiritual church, but the man of the external spiritual church, as Manasseh represents the man of the external celestial church (n. 6295). Good from truth constitutes this man, that is, the man of the spiritual church. The internal of this church is what is represented by Israel, but the external by Ephraim. The man of the spiritual church differs from the man of the celestial church in this, that the good of the spiritual church is implanted in the intellectual part, but the good of the celestial church in the will part (see n. 863, 875, 895, 927, 928, 1023, 1043, 1044, 2256, 4328, 4493, 5113); therefore Ephraim represents the spiritual man, and Manasseh the celestial.

[2] That good from truth, or the spiritual man, receives more increase than the good from which is truth, or the celestial man, is because the will of man has continually been depraved, and at last so that evil has taken entire possession of it, insomuch that nothing sound (integer) has remained there. Therefore lest man should perish, the Lord provided that he might be regenerated as to the intellectual part, and thus be saved. Hence then it is that there are few with whom there is anything sound left in the will part, thus few who can become celestial men, but many who can become spiritual men; thus that the latter receive more increase than the former. This is what is signified by his “younger brother becoming greater than he.”