5421. 'And Joseph saw his brothers, and recognized them' means perception and recognition by the celestial of the spiritual. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing' as perception, dealt with in 2150, 3764, 4567, 4723; from the representation of 'Joseph' as the celestial of the spiritual, dealt with above in 5417; from the meaning of 'his brothers' as general truths known to the Church, also dealt with above, in 5419; and from the meaning of 'recognizing' as recognition resulting from perception. Regarding this recognition on Joseph's side and the non-recognition on his brother's side, see below in 5422, 5427, 5428.

5423. 'And spoke hard words to them' means no agreement therefore existed either. This is clear from the same explanation offered above regarding his acting as a stranger, though 'acting as a stranger' has regard to affection, which is an activity of the will, whereas 'speaking hard words' has regard to thought, which is an activity of the understanding; for in the internal sense speaking' means engaging in thought, 2271, 2287, 2619. What is internal appears to what is external to be 'a stranger' when no affection is present, and it appears 'to speak hard words' when the two are not in agreement. Such agreement exists when the internal manifests itself within the external and produces a representation of itself within this, so that no agreement exists when the internal does not manifest itself within the external and does not therefore produce any representation of itself within it. And that leads to the hardness there.