5212. 'And behold, seven heads of grain were coming up on one stalk' means facts known to the natural, which facts existed linked together. This is clear from the meaning of 'heads' or 'tips' as facts known to the natural, dealt with below, and from the meaning of 'on one stalk' as existing linked together, for all present on one stalk are linked together by their common origin. The reason facts are meant by 'heads' or 'tips' is that 'grain' means the good of the natural, 3580; for facts are the containers of natural good, just as heads are of grain. In general all truths are vessels for containing good; and so too are facts since these are truths of the lowest order. Truths of the lowest order, that is, the truths belonging to the exterior natural, are called known facts because they reside in a person's natural or external memory. They are also called such because for the most part they are dependent on the light of the world and can for that reason be presented and represented to others by the use of words, that is, by the use of ideas put into words that draw on things such as belong to the world and the light of the world. The contents of the interior memory however are not called facts but truths since these are dependent on the light of heaven. Without the aid of that light they are unintelligible, and without the use of words, that is, of ideas put into words that draw on things such as belong to heaven and the light of heaven they are inexpressible. The facts meant here by 'heads' or 'tips' are ones that are known to the Church, regarding which see 4749, 4844, 4964, 4965.

[2] The reason there were two dreams, one about seven cows, the other about seven heads of grain, was that in the internal sense both parts of the natural are dealt with, the interior natural and the exterior natural, the rebirth of the two being the subject in what follows. By 'the seven cows' are meant things in the interior natural which have been called the truths belonging to the natural, 5198; by 'the seven heads of grain' are meant the truths in the exterior natural, which are called facts.

[3] Interior facts and exterior ones are meant by 'the tips of the river Euphrates even to the river of Egypt' in Isaiah,

So it will be on that day, that Jehovah will smite from the tip of the river even to the river of Egypt, and you will be gathered one to another, O children of Israel. So it will be on that day, that a great trumpet will be blown, and they will come - those who are perishing in the land of Asshur, and those who are outcasts in the land of Egypt - and they will bow themselves down to Jehovah on the holy mountain, in Jerusalem. Isaiah 27:12-13.

'Those perishing in the land of Asshur' stands for interior truths, and 'the outcasts in the land of Egypt' for exterior truths, which are facts.

[4] Comparison with the blade, the tip or the ear, and the full grain also implies the rebirth of a person by means of factual knowledge, the truths of faith, and the good deeds of charity, in Mark,

Jesus said, The kingdom of God is like when someone casts seed onto the land. Then he sleeps and rises, by night and by day, but the seed sprouts and grows, he himself knowing not how; for the earth bears fruit of its own accord, first the blade, then the ear, after that the full grain in the ear. Once the fruit has been brought forth, he will immediately put in the sickle, because the harvest is established. Mark 4:26-29.

'The kingdom of God', which is compared to the blade, the ear, and the full grain, is heaven existing with a person through regeneration; for one who has been regenerated has the kingdom of God within him and he becomes an image of the kingdom of God, that is, of heaven. 'The blade' is factual knowledge, which comes first; 'the ear' is knowledge of what is true that develops out of that; and 'the full grain' is the good that develops out of this. In addition the laws laid down regarding gleanings, Leviticus 19:9; 23:22; regarding the freedom to pluck the ears on a companion's standing grain, Deuteronomy 23:25; and also regarding the non-eating of bread or of dried ears or of green ones before they had brought a gift to God, Leviticus 23:14, represented such things as are meant by 'ears'.

4964. 'Was made to go down to Egypt' means to factual knowledge which the Church possessed. This is clear from the meaning of 'Egypt' as knowledge, or factual knowledge in general, dealt with in 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462. But no explanation of the essential nature of that factual knowledge properly meant by 'Egypt' has been provided as yet. In the Ancient Church there was doctrinal knowledge and there was factual knowledge. Doctrinal knowledge had regard to love to God and charity towards the neighbour, whereas factual knowledge had to do with the correspondences of the natural world with the spiritual world, and with the representations of spiritual and heavenly realities within natural and earthly ones. Such was the factual knowledge of those in the Ancient Church.

[2] Egypt was one of those parts of the world and one of those kingdoms where the Ancient Church also existed, 1138, 1385; but since in that land mainly factual knowledge was handed down from one generation to another, 'Egypt' means factual knowledge in general. This also explains why frequent reference is made to Egypt in the prophetical part of the Word, where that knowledge is meant specifically by 'Egypt'. What is more, the actual magic practised by the Egyptians had its origin in the same knowledge; for they were acquainted with the correspondences of the natural world with the spiritual, and at a later time, after the Church among them had come to an end, they misused these in magical practices. Now because such factual knowledge existed among them - that is to say, knowledge which taught correspondences, and also representatives and meaningful signs - and because this factual knowledge was the servant of the doctrinal teachings of the Church, especially in their understanding of things stated in their Word (for the Word of the Ancient Church was both prophetical and historical, like the Word that exists today, though this is a different Word, see 2686) 'he was made to go down to Egypt' consequently means made to go down to the factual knowledge which the Church possessed.

[3] Because the Lord is represented by 'Joseph' and the words 'Joseph was made to go down to Egypt' are used here, the meaning is that when the Lord was to glorify His Internal Man, that is, make it Divine, He first of all assimilated the factual knowledge possessed by the Church. Then, starting from and using that knowledge He advanced towards things increasingly interior and at length even to those that were Divine. For it pleased Him to glorify or make Himself Divine in conformity with the same kind of order as that by which He regenerates the human being or makes him spiritual, 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402. That is to say, there is a gradual advance from external ideas, which are known facts and the truths of faith, towards internal ones, which are ideas of charity towards the neighbour and of love to Him. From this one may see what is meant by the following words in Hosea,

When Israel was a boy I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. Hosea 11:1.

These words refer to the Lord, see Matthew 2:15.