5316. 'See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt' means dominion over both parts of the natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'setting someone over' as dominion, and from the meaning of 'all the land of Egypt' as both parts of the natural, dealt with above in 5276. Described at greater length here is the dominion which Pharaoh transferred to Joseph over the land of Egypt. That is to say, Pharaoh divested himself of his own authority and placed the whole of Egypt under Joseph. These events happened by Divine Providence so that Joseph might come to represent the celestial of the spiritual which was the Lord's when He was in the world - the celestial of the spiritual being that by means of which the Lord exercised control over His natural and also His sensory awareness, so that step by step He could make both of these Divine. The end in view with what happened to Joseph was this: When that part of the Word in which Joseph was the subject came to be written it was to contain Divine matters, thus such matters as are most sacred in heaven and suited to the angels in heaven. For the angels there abide in the Lord because they live within the sphere of Divine Truth that goes forth from the Lord. Therefore the Divine matters in the internal sense of the Word which have to do with the Lord and the glorification of His Human stir so much affection in them that they feel all the blessedness that belongs to their wisdom and intelligence.

613. That 'members of his own generation' has to do with faith is not evident from the sense of the letter, which sense is historical. Nevertheless because they are matters of a purely internal nature here, things that have to do with faith are meant. It is also clear from the train of thought that 'generations' here means nothing else. The same occurs several times in the Word, as in Isaiah,

Let those that be of you build the waste places of old; raise up the foundations of generation upon generation, and you will be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. Isaiah 58:12.

All the details here mean things that have to do with faith. 'The waste places of old' means those on the celestial side of faith, 'the foundations of generation upon generation' at the same time meaning those on the spiritual side, and which had lapsed since ancient times. In the same prophet,

They will build up the waste places of old, they will raise up the former desolations, and they will renew the waste cities, the desolations of generation upon generation. Isaiah 61:4.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same prophet,

They will not labour in vain, and they will not generate in sudden terror; for they will be the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring with them. Isaiah 65:23.

Here also 'generating' has reference to things that have to do with faith, and 'labouring' to those that have to do with love. 'The seed of the blessed of Jehovah' has reference to the latter, 'offspring' to the former.