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Genesis 44

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1 And he commanded him that was over his house, saying, Fill the men’s bags with food, as much they can bear, and put a man’s silver in his bag’s mouth.

2 And set my goblet, the silver goblet, in the bag’s mouth of the youngest, and the silver of his rations. And he did according·​·to the word of Joseph that he had spoken.

3 The morning gave·​·light, and the men were sent·​·away, they and their donkeys.

4 They were gone·​·out of the city, not yet far·​·away, and Joseph said to him who was over his house, Arise, pursue after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say to them, Why do you repay evil in·​·return·​·for good?

5 Is not this it in which my lord drinks, and in which foretelling he foretells? You have done·​·evil in what you have done.

6 And he overtook them, and he spoke to them these words.

7 And they said to him, Why does my lord speak according·​·to these words? Far·​·be·​·it from thy servants to do according·​·to this word.

8 Behold, the silver which we found in our bag’s mouth we returned to thee out ·of the land of Canaan; and how should we steal out ·of thy lord’s house silver or gold?

9 And with whomever of thy servants it be·​·found, let him die, and we also will be to my lord for servants.

10 And he said, Even now according·​·to your words so shall it be; he with whom it is found shall be to me a servant, and you shall be innocent.

11 And they hastened, and they made each·​·man his bag come·​·down to the earth, and opened each·​·man his bag.

12 And he searched; he began at the eldest, and completed at the youngest; and the goblet was found in the bag of Benjamin.

13 And they rent their raiment, and loaded up each man his donkey, and they returned to the city.

14 And Judah and his brothers came·​·into Joseph’s house, and he was yet there; and they fell before him to the earth.

15 And Joseph said to them, What is this deed that you have done? Knew you not that a man who is such·​·as I, foretelling foretells?

16 And Judah said, What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? And how shall we be justified? God has found out the iniquity of thy servants; behold, we are servants to my lord, both we, and he in whose hand the goblet was found.

17 And he said, Far·​·be·​·it from me to do this; the man in whose hand the goblet was found, he shall be a servant to me; and you, go· ye ·up in peace to your father.

18 And Judah approached him, and said, By·​·me*, my lord, I pray, let thy servant speak a word in the ears of my lord, and let not thine anger be·​·fierce against thy servant; for as Pharaoh, so art thou.

19 My lord asked his servants, saying, Have you a father, or a brother?

20 And we said to my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old·​·age, the youngest; and his brother is dead, and he alone remains of his mother, and his father loves him.

21 And thou saidst to thy servants, Make him come·​·down to me, and I will set my eye upon him.

22 And we said to my lord, The lad is· not ·able to leave his father; and should he leave his father, then he will die.

23 And thou saidst to thy servants, If your youngest brother come· not ·down with you, you shall not add to see my faces.

24 And it was, when we came·​·up to thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.

25 And our father said, Return ye, purchase a·​·little food for us.

26 And we said, We are· not ·able to go·​·down; if our youngest brother is·​·there with us, then will we go·​·down; for we are· not ·able to see the face of the man, and our youngest brother be not with us.

27 And thy servant my father said to us, You know that my wife gave·​·birth·​·to two sons for me.

28 And the one went·​·out from me, and I said, Surely, being·​·torn he is·​·torn apart; and I have not seen him until now.

29 And you will take this also from my faces, and harm may befall him, and you will make my gray·​·hairs go·​·down in evil to the underworld.

30 And now, as I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us, and his soul is tied into his soul,

31 and it shall be when he sees that the lad is not, that he will·​·die; and thy servants will cause the gray·​·hairs of thy servant our father go·​·down in sorrow to the underworld.

32 For thy servant was·​·surety for the lad from being with my father, saying, If I bring him not back to thee I shall sin to my father all the days.

33 And now, I pray, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a servant to my lord, and let the lad go·​·up with his brothers.

34 For how shall I go·​·up to my father and the lad be not with me? Perhaps I shall see the evil that shall be found upon my father.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Arcana Coelestia # 5822

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5822. 'If our youngest brother is with us we will go down' means unless the intermediary that accomplishes the joining together is with them. This is clear from the representation of Benjamin, to whom youngest brother' refers here, as the intermediary that accomplishes the joining together, dealt with in 5411, 5413, 5443, 5639, 5688. The implications of this - that 'Benjamin' represents the intermediary between the celestial of the spiritual or internal good, which is 'Joseph', and the truths in the natural, which are 'the ten sons of Jacob', as well as representing new truth, see above in 5804, 5806, 5809 - are as follows: To be an intermediary, the intermediary must be derived both from the internal and from the external; otherwise it is not an intermediary that accomplishes a joining together.

[2] The intermediary, which 'Benjamin' represents, derives from the external or natural its existence there as new truth; for the new truth represented by him exists in the natural because it springs from spiritual good from the natural, which his father as Israel represents, 5686, 5689. But that intermediary derives from the internal the quality that 'Joseph' represents, by means of influx. This is how it is derived from both and is the reason why 'Benjamin' represents the intermediary that accomplishes the joining together, as well as representing new truth. He represents new truth when he is present with his father, the intermediary accomplishing the joining together when he is with Joseph. This is an arcanum for which no clearer explanation is possible; nor can it be understood except by those who are aware of the fact that a person has an internal and an external that are distinct and separate from each other, and who at the same time have an affection for knowing truths. The understanding part of these people's minds is lit by the light of heaven, enabling them to see what others do not see, including this arcanum.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

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Arcana Coelestia # 5688

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5688. 'Is this your youngest brother, whom you said [something about] to me?' means born after all of them, as they well knew. This is clear from the meaning of 'youngest brother' as the one born after all of them, dealt with in what follows; and from the meaning of 'whom you said to me' as that which was perceived by them. For 'saying' means that which has been perceived, see immediately above in 5687, and so means what is well known. The reason Benjamin is called here, as he in fact was, their 'youngest brother' - that is, the one born after all of them, or the youngest by birth - is that in the spiritual sense the intermediary, which 'Benjamin' represents, is likewise the one that comes last. The intermediary in a person is born last of all; for when a person is undergoing spiritual birth - that is, when he is being born again - his rational, which is his inner man, is regenerated first by the Lord, then the natural after that, the rational being the means by which the Lord regenerates the natural, 3286, 3288, 3321, 3493, 4612. Now since the intermediary must be derived from both these - both from the spiritual rational or rational that has been made new, and from the natural - and since the intermediary cannot be derived from the natural unless this too has been made new, the intermediary is inevitably born at a later stage, and then only insofar as the natural is regenerated.

[2] Everything recorded in the Word regarding the sons of Jacob happened for a providential reason, which was that the Word might be written dealing with them and their descendants. This Word was to contain heavenly realities, and in the highest sense Divine ones, which those sons in actual fact represented. This was no less so in the case of Benjamin who, being the one born last of all, represented the intermediary between the internal and the external, that is, between the celestial of the spiritual which was the Lord's when He was in the world and the natural which was also the Lord's and which He was to make Divine.

[3] Everything recorded about Joseph and his brothers represents in the highest sense the glorification of the Lord's Human, that is, the way in which the Lord made the Human within Himself Divine. The reason this is what is represented in the inmost sense is so that in its inmost sense the Word may be completely holy. A further reason is that every detail recorded may contain within itself what can pass into angelic wisdom; for it is well known that angelic wisdom so surpasses man's wisdom that man can hardly begin to comprehend any of it. The actual happiness of the angels resides in the fact that every detail has to do with the Lord; for they abide in Him. Furthermore the glorification of the Lord's Human is the pattern for a person's regeneration, which is why a person's regeneration is also presented in the internal sense at the same time as the subject of the Lord's glorification is dealt with. A person's regeneration and the countless arcana associated with it also passes into angelic wisdom and brings the angels happiness insofar as they apply those arcana to useful services, which look to a person's reformation.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.