5836. 'It will be, when he sees that the boy is not there, that he will die' means that spiritual good will perish, that is, if the truth which is 'Benjamin' were to depart. This is clear from the representation of 'Israel' as spiritual good, dealt with previously, and from the meaning of 'dying' as ceasing to be what it once was, 494, and so perishing. As regards the perishing of good if its truth were to depart, see above in 5830, 5832, 5837.

5837. 'And your servants will cause the grey hair of your servant our father to go down in sorrow to the grave' means that the Church will be done for. This is clear from the explanation above in 5832, where similar words occur. The reason why Israel, to whom 'father' refers, here means the Church is that spiritual good, which he represents, makes the Church with a person, so much so that whether you say spiritual good or the Church it amounts to the same thing; for the two are inseparable. This is why in the Word, especially the prophetical part, 'Israel' is the spiritual Church.