5440. And they said, We thy servants are twelve brethren. That this signifies that all things of faith were thus conjoined together, is evident from the signification of “twelve,” as being all things, and when as here predicated of the sons of Jacob, or of the tribes named after them, and also of the apostles, all things of faith in one complex (see n. 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 2553, 3272, 3488, 3858, 3862, 3913, 3926, 3939, 4060); and from the signification of “brethren,” as being conjunction through good; for when truths are conjoined by means of good, they take on as it were a brotherhood among themselves. If when without good they appear conjoined, they nevertheless are not conjoined; for falsities of evil are always entering and disjoining them. The reason of this is that they have not one origin from which they are derived, nor one end to which they are directed. For there to be conjunction the first and the last must be conjoined; the first must be the good from which they come, and the last must be the good to which they tend. Furthermore, for truths to be conjoined, good must reign universally; for that which reigns universally, conjoins. (That a “brother” denotes the affection of good, thus good, may be seen above, n. (2360) 2360, 2524, 3303, 3459, 3803, 3815, 4121)