5417. 'And Joseph, he was the governor over the land' means that the celestial of the spiritual, or truth from the Divine, reigned in the natural where factual knowledge resided. This is clear from the representation of 'Joseph' as the celestial of the spiritual, dealt with in 4286, 4963, 5249, 5307, 5331, 5332 (as regards the celestial of the spiritual being truth from the Divine, this will be seen below); from the meaning of 'the governor' as the one who reigned; and from the meaning of 'the land', in this case the land of Egypt, as the natural mind, and so the natural, dealt with in 5176, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301. Regarding the fact that the celestial of the spiritual reigned within the natural where factual knowledge resided, see 5313; and the fact that 'Egypt' in the internal sense means factual knowledge, see 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966. The reason why the celestial of the spiritual is truth from the Divine is that, until it had been fully glorified, the Lord's Internal Human - being the receptacle of His Divine - was the celestial of the spiritual. It has to be called this because no other terms or thought-forms exist to describe it. This receptacle or recipient of the Divine is the same as truth from the Divine; and 'Joseph' is that truth, see 4723, 4727.

5278. 'And all the abundance of corn in the land of Egypt will be thrust into oblivion' means the removal of truth and the seeming deprivation of it in both parts of the natural. This is clear from the meaning of forgetting or 'being thrust into oblivion' as a removal and the seeming deprivation that results from this; from the meaning of 'the abundance of corn' as the multiplication of truth, that is, truth that has been multiplied, dealt with just above in 5276; and from the meaning of 'the land of Egypt' as the natural mind or a person's natural, both parts of it in this case, as just above in 5276.

[2] The reason forgetting or 'being thrust into oblivion' means a removal and seeming deprivation is that something akin to this happens to the memory and to thought that relies on it. The actual matters that a person is thinking about are immediately beneath his attention, while related matters spread out in order around them, extending to unrelated ones furthest away, which at that time are in oblivion. Matters of a contrary nature are separated from these, hanging downwards and revealing themselves underneath, where they serve to counterbalance what is above them. This ordered arrangement is effected by means of good flowing in. Such is the way in which the whole of a person's thought is ordered. The truth of this can be seen from people's thoughts in the next life. There in the light of heaven it is quite normal for people's thoughts to be presented sometimes in a visual manner, at which times the form in which those thoughts are arranged is demonstrated. From this it may be seen that 'forgetting' in the internal sense means nothing else than a removal and seeming deprivation.