6287. 'And Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim's head' means a discernment that he considered truth to occupy the first place. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing' as understanding and discerning, dealt with in 2150, 2807, 3764, 4567, 4723, 5400; from the representation of 'Joseph' as the internal celestial, dealt with in 5869, 5877, 6224; from the representation of Israel, to whom 'father' refers here, as spiritual good from the natural; from the meaning of 'placing the right hand on the head' as considering to occupy the first place, dealt with above in 6269; and from the representation of 'Ephraim' as truth present in the understanding part within the natural, dealt with above in 6234, 6238, 6267. From all this it is evident that 'Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim's head' means a discernment by the internal celestial that spiritual good from the natural considered truth to occupy the first place. See what has been stated and shown above on these matters in 6256, 6269, 6272, 6273.

6234. 'And now your two sons born to you in the land of Egypt' means goodness and truth within the natural that come from the internal. This is clear from the representation of Manasseh and Ephraim, to whom 'two sons' refers here, as the Church's will and the Church's understanding within the natural, which are born from the internal, dealt with above in 6222 (and since good belongs to the will and truth to the understanding, the Church's goodness and truth are meant by those same sons); from the meaning of 'born to you' - to Joseph - as that come from the internal; and from the meaning of 'the land of Egypt' as the natural mind where the Church's factual knowledge resides, dealt with in 5176, 5178, 5280, 5288, 5301, and as the natural, 6147.