6750. 'And she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter' means an affection for factual knowledge. This is clear from the representation of 'Pharaoh's daughter' as a kind of religion, dealt with in 6729, but here as an affection for factual knowledge. For a third state is what this verse describes, and at this point 'daughter' means an affection, 2362, 3963, while 'Pharaoh' means factual knowledge in general, 6015, so that 'Pharaoh's daughter' means an affection for factual knowledge. This is also evident from the train of thought in the internal sense, for since Moses represents the Lord in respect of the law of God, he could not have been brought to Pharaoh's daughter and been a son to her if she meant the kind of religion that was practised, as she had done previously. Furthermore factual knowledge is what those who are being regenerated must learn first, for that knowledge is the groundwork for things that compose the understanding, and the understanding is what receives the truth of faith, 6125, and the truth of faith what receives the good of charity. From this it may be seen that factual knowledge constitutes the first level to be laid down when a person is being regenerated.

[2] Factual knowledge also constituted the first level to be laid down in the Lord when He made His Human Divine Truth or the Divine Law. This is what is meant by the Lord's being taken to Egypt when He was a young child, Matthew 2:13-14, and so by the prophecy in Hosea,

Out of Egypt have I called My Son. Hosea 11:1; Matthew 1:15.

It has been shown quite a number of times that 'Egypt' means factual knowledge. By factual knowledge however one should understand not secular knowledge but knowledge that the Church possesses, regarding which see 4749, 4964-4966, 6004. The latter kind of knowledge is also what is meant by 'Egypt' in the genuine sense. As regards its providing the level to be laid down first, see 5901.

4964. 'Was made to go down to Egypt' means to factual knowledge which the Church possessed. This is clear from the meaning of 'Egypt' as knowledge, or factual knowledge in general, dealt with in 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462. But no explanation of the essential nature of that factual knowledge properly meant by 'Egypt' has been provided as yet. In the Ancient Church there was doctrinal knowledge and there was factual knowledge. Doctrinal knowledge had regard to love to God and charity towards the neighbour, whereas factual knowledge had to do with the correspondences of the natural world with the spiritual world, and with the representations of spiritual and heavenly realities within natural and earthly ones. Such was the factual knowledge of those in the Ancient Church.

[2] Egypt was one of those parts of the world and one of those kingdoms where the Ancient Church also existed, 1138, 1385; but since in that land mainly factual knowledge was handed down from one generation to another, 'Egypt' means factual knowledge in general. This also explains why frequent reference is made to Egypt in the prophetical part of the Word, where that knowledge is meant specifically by 'Egypt'. What is more, the actual magic practised by the Egyptians had its origin in the same knowledge; for they were acquainted with the correspondences of the natural world with the spiritual, and at a later time, after the Church among them had come to an end, they misused these in magical practices. Now because such factual knowledge existed among them - that is to say, knowledge which taught correspondences, and also representatives and meaningful signs - and because this factual knowledge was the servant of the doctrinal teachings of the Church, especially in their understanding of things stated in their Word (for the Word of the Ancient Church was both prophetical and historical, like the Word that exists today, though this is a different Word, see 2686) 'he was made to go down to Egypt' consequently means made to go down to the factual knowledge which the Church possessed.

[3] Because the Lord is represented by 'Joseph' and the words 'Joseph was made to go down to Egypt' are used here, the meaning is that when the Lord was to glorify His Internal Man, that is, make it Divine, He first of all assimilated the factual knowledge possessed by the Church. Then, starting from and using that knowledge He advanced towards things increasingly interior and at length even to those that were Divine. For it pleased Him to glorify or make Himself Divine in conformity with the same kind of order as that by which He regenerates the human being or makes him spiritual, 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402. That is to say, there is a gradual advance from external ideas, which are known facts and the truths of faith, towards internal ones, which are ideas of charity towards the neighbour and of love to Him. From this one may see what is meant by the following words in Hosea,

When Israel was a boy I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. Hosea 11:1.

These words refer to the Lord, see Matthew 2:15.