5952. 'And he gave them carts, according to Pharaoh's command' means that from the internal they received matters of doctrine, as seemed pleasing to them. This is clear from the representation of Joseph, the one who 'gave' the carts, as internal good, dealt with already; from the meaning of 'carts' as matters of doctrine, dealt with above in 5945; and from the meaning of 'according to Pharaoh's command' as what seemed pleasing to them - to spiritual truths, which are 'the sons of Israel' - for those truths are within the natural, which is represented by 'Pharaoh', 5160, 5799, and 'the carts', meaning matters of doctrine, were placed at their disposal. The expression 'as seemed pleasing to them' is used because the matters of doctrine that are meant by the Egyptian 'carts' are obtained from the literal sense of the Word, 5945. Which without the internal sense can be applied to any kind of good. For the Lord does not openly teach anyone truths but leads him by means of good to think what the truth is, and also imparts to the person, though he is not aware of it, a discernment and consequent adoption of a thing as being true because the Word declares it to be so, and because it squares with the Word. Thus the Lord adapts truths to accord with the individual's acceptance of good. And since all this is done by Him in accordance with each person's affection, thus in his freedom, the expression 'as seemed pleasing to them' is used.

5160. 'On Pharaoh's birthday' means when the natural was to be regenerated. This is clear from the meaning of 'being born' as being regenerated, dealt with below; and from the representation of 'Pharaoh' as the interior natural, dealt with in 5080, 5095, in this case the natural in general because among regenerate persons the agreement of the interior natural with the exterior natural causes the two to act as one. The reason 'being born' means being regenerated is that in the internal sense spiritual matters are meant, and spiritual birth is regeneration, which is also called rebirth. When therefore birth is spoken of in the Word no other birth is understood in heaven than a birth effected through water and the spirit, that is, through faith and charity. For being born again or regenerated makes a person truly human and entirely different from animals, because in this case he becomes a son and heir of the Lord's kingdom. As regards the births which are mentioned in the Word meaning spiritual births, see 1145, 1255, 3860, 3868, 4070, 4668.