8011. 'And shall be as if a native of the land' means that he shall be received as one who is in possession of that truth and good and who has been purified from filthy kinds of love. This is clear from the meaning of 'a native of the land' as one who was born within the Church and is in possession of its truth and good, consequently one who has been purified from filthy kinds of love. The expression 'a native of the land' is used because 'the land' means the Church. For the meaning of 'the land' in the Word as the Church, see 566, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 2571, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577. And the reason why 'the land' means the Church is that in the Word 'the land' refers to the land of Canaan, and 'the land of Canaan' means the Lord's kingdom and the Church, 1413, 1477, 1585, 1607, 1866, 3038, 3481, 3686, 3705, 4116, 4240, 4447, 4454, 4516, 4517, 5136, 5757, 6516. No land that is mentioned in the Word is taken by angels to mean that land but the nation inhabiting it. And in taking it to mean the nation they understand the character of that nation on the spiritual level, that is, in regard to things of the Church. It is well known that the idea of a nation's character comes to mind when a land is mentioned; for this is also what happens with a person, and especially with angels, who think in a spiritual manner about everything natural.

5624. 'And the silver that was put back in the mouth of your pouches you are to take back in your hand' means that through the truth freely given and present in the exterior natural they were to make themselves submissive as far as was possible. This is clear from the meaning of 'the silver that was put back' as truth freely given, dealt with in 5530; from the meaning of 'in the mouth of a sack' as in the opening of the exterior natural, dealt with in 5497; and from the meaning of 'in the hand' as within one's power, dealt with immediately above in 5623, thus as far as possible. Making themselves submissive through that truth is meant by the instruction that 'they were to put back' the silver; for when people in the spiritual world 'take back' truth to the Lord from whom they have received it freely they are making themselves submissive through it. But in what way they made themselves submissive through such truth is evident from the conversation, included in verses 18-24, which they had with the man who was over Joseph's house.