In general, men are driven by intellect and women by affections, and because of this men in the Bible generally represent knowledge and truth and women generally represent love and the desire for good. This generally carries over into marriage, where the man's growing knowledge and understanding and the woman's desire to be good and useful are a powerful combination. In many cases in the Bible, then, "husband" refers to things of truth and understanding, much as "man" does. Magnificent things can happen in a true marriage, though, when both partners are looking to the Lord. If a husband opens his heart to his wife, it's as though she can implant her loves inside him, transforming his intellectual urges into a love of growing wise. She in turn can grow in her love of that blooming wisdom, and use it for joy in their married life and in their caring for children and others in their life. Many couples, even in heaven, stay in that state -- called "Spiritual" -- growing deeper and deeper to eternity. There is the potential, though, for the couple to be transformed: through the nurturing love of his wife the husband can pass from a love of growing wise to an actual love of wisdom itself, and the wife can be transformed from the love of her husband's wisdom into the wisdom of that love -- the actual expression of the love of the Lord they have built together. In that state -- called "Celestial" -- the husband represents love and the desire for good, and the wife represents truth and knowledge.

5619. 'And cause a gift to go down to the man' means to obtain favour. This is clear from the meaning of 'taking a gift to the man' - 'the man' being Joseph, who is called the lord of the land - as to obtain favour. It was customary in the representative Ancient Church, and so in the Jewish Church, when people went to the judges, and at a later time to the kings or priests, to present them with a gift; indeed the people were commanded to do this. The reason for the custom was that the gifts people presented to those men represented the kinds of things mankind possessed that ought to be offered to the Lord when any approach is made to Him. Such gifts are ones that a person offers in freedom and therefore ones that come truly from himself. For his freedom resides in what comes from his heart; and what comes from his heart comes from his will. Also what comes from his will comes from a desire arising out of his love; and a desire arising out of his love constitutes his freedom, thus what is truly his own, 1947, 2870-2893, 3158. Such should be the origin of any gift made by man to the Lord when making any approach to Him. This kind of gift was represented by the gifts mentioned above, for 'kings' represented the Lord as regards Divine Truth, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4581, 4966, 5044, while 'priests' represented Him as regards Divine Good, 1728, 2015(end), 3670. Those gifts also served as introductions, see 4262, which were made to obtain favour.