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.

5885. 'And he said, I am Joseph your brother' means a revelation made by means of influx. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying, I am Joseph your brother' as a revelation, as above in 5878. Influx is, it follows, the means by which that revelation is made because the internal does not act on the external in any other way, especially now since a more internal communication has been established, 5883. The revelation made by means of influx is, in the case of good, a discernment of good produced by an affection for truth, which is charity; but in the case of truth it is an acknowledgement of truth, which is faith.