5902. 'And He has established me as father to Pharaoh' means that now the natural was dependent on him. This is clear from the representation of 'Pharaoh' as the natural in general, dealt with in 5160, 5799. Dependence on him is meant by the words 'established as father', for sons are dependent on their father. In the proper sense 'father' means good, 2803, 3703, 3704, 5581; and since everything both in the internal man and in the external is dependent on good, God's establishing him as father to Pharaoh accordingly means that the natural was dependent on him, on good. For 'Joseph' represents the internal celestial, which is internal good, 5805, 5826, 5827, 5869, 5877. This good flows in and brings order to all things in the natural, and at length causes the natural to be dependent on it.

5581. 'That their father said to them' means a perception received from the things that constituted the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' in the historical narratives of the Word as perception, often dealt with already, and from the representation of Israel, to whom 'father' refers here, as the Church. For 'Israel' is the internal spiritual Church, and 'Jacob' the external Church, see 4286, 4292, 4570. The word 'father' is used because in the Word 'father' as well as 'mother' means the Church; but 'mother' means the Church so far as truth is concerned, and 'father' the Church so far as good is concerned. The reason for this is that the Church is a spiritual marriage formed from good as the father and truth as the mother.