6728. Verses 5-9 And the daughter of Pharaoh went down to wash at the river; and her maidservants were going along the side of the river. And she saw the box in the middle of the weed, and sent her servant-girl; and she took it. And she opened it, and saw him, the child; and behold, the boy was crying. And she took pity on him, and said, This is one of the children of the Hebrews. And his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call you a woman, a wet nurse, from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the girl went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Take to yourself this child and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages. And the woman took the child and nursed him.

'And the daughter of Pharaoh went down' means the kind of religion practised there. 'To wash at the river' means worship involving the use of falsity. 'And her maidservants were going along the side of the river' means things which minister to this kind of religion involving the use of falsity. 'And she saw the box in the middle of the weed' means a discernment of the crude form of truth among false factual knowledge. 'And sent her servant-girl' means that which was of service. 'And she took it' means an eagerness to know. 'And she opened it, and saw him, the child' means an investigation to find out what it was like, and the discernment that it was truth originating in the Divine. 'And behold, the boy was crying' means sadness. 'And she took pity on him' means being alerted by the Divine. 'And said, This is one of the children of the Hebrews' means that it belonged to the true Church. 'And his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter' means the Church's truth alongside the kind of religion there. 'Shall I go and call you a woman, a wet nurse, from the Hebrew women?' means a perception that good from the true Church should be instilled into it. 'And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go' means consent given by the kind of religion there. 'And the girl went and called the child's mother' means that the Church's truth of good linked things of the Church to it. 'And Pharaoh's daughter said to her' means consent given by the kind of religion there. 'Take to yourself this child' means that she should link him to herself. 'And nurse him for me' means that she should instill into him good compatible with that kind of religion. 'And I will give you your wages' means the reward. 'And the woman took the child and nursed him' means that good from the Church was instilled into him.

2449. That 'He overthrew those cities' means that all truths were separated from them so that they might possess falsities alone is clear from the meaning of 'cities' as matters of doctrine, and so as truths, for truths make up matters of doctrine, dealt with in 402, 2268, 2428. These are said to be 'overthrown' when falsities stand in place of truths, here when all truths have been separated from them, as well as all goods - goods too being dealt with in this verse, since the subject is the final state of those inside the Church who are governed by falsities and evils.

[2] This also is what their state comes to be, which, so that the nature of it may be known, must be described briefly. All who enter the next life are taken back to a life similar to that which they were leading during their lifetime., Then in the case of the good evils and falsities are separated so that the Lord may raise these people up by means of goods and truths into heaven; but in the case of the evil goods and truths are separated so that those evil ones may be carried away by means of evils and falsities into hell, see 2119, in exact accord with the Lord's words in Matthew,

To him who has, it will be given, so that he may have more abundantly; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Matthew 13:12.

And elsewhere in the gospel,

To everyone who has, it will be given, so that he may have in abundance; but from him who has not, it will be taken away. Matthew 25:29; Luke 8:18; 19:24-26; Mark 4:24-25.

The same is meant by the following words which appear in Matthew,

Let both grow together until the harvest; and at the time of harvest I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. The harvest is the close of the age. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. Matthew 13:30, 39-40.

The same point is made in the description of the net thrown into the sea gathering fish of various kinds, and how after that the good were sorted into vessels while the bad were thrown away; and this is how it will be at the close of the age, Matthew 13:47-50. What 'the close' is and that for the Church it entails events like these, see 1857, 2243.

[3] The reason why evils and falsities are separated in the case of people who are good is that the latter may not be left suspended between evils and goods and so that they may be raised up by means of goods into heaven. And the reason why goods and truths are separated in the case of the evil is so that they do not lead the upright astray by means of any goods present with them, and so that by means of their evils they may withdraw to the evil in hell. For in the next life such is the communication of all ideas comprising thought, and of all affections, that goods are communicated with the good, and evils with the evil, 1388-1390. Consequently unless separation took place countless harmful things would result, in addition to the fact that association together would not otherwise be possible. Yet all things are associated together in a very wonderful way, in heaven according to all the variations of love to the Lord and of mutual love, and consequently of faith, 685, 1394, and in hell according to all the variations of evil desires and of delusions resulting from these, 695, 1322. It should be recognized however that separation does not mean complete removal, for nothing anybody has once possessed is totally removed from him.