6295. 'He too will be a people, and he too will become great' means that truth from good also, thus the celestial man, will be increased. This is clear from the meaning of 'a people' as truth, dealt with in 1259, 1260, 3581, 4619; from the meaning of 'becoming great as being increased; and from the representation of Manasseh, about whom these things are said, as good that belongs to the will in the natural and is born from the internal, dealt with in 6234, 6238, 6267. The fact that truth from good is a mark of the celestial man is clear from what has often been stated and shown already about the celestial man. That is to say, it has been shown that the celestial man is one who, led by his will, has a concern for good, and from this for truth, and that he is different from the spiritual man, in that the latter, led by his understanding, has a concern for truth and from this for good. And since 'Manasseh' means good belonging to the will he represents the celestial man - the external celestial man or member of the external celestial Church, to be exact. For 'Manasseh' is good belonging to the will within the natural, thus within the external man, whereas 'Joseph' is the member of the internal celestial Church because he represents good belonging to the will within the rational, thus within the internal man.

[2] Let something also be said briefly about the truth of good, a mark of the celestial man. This truth is indeed called truth, but really it is good. Residing with the celestial man is the good of love to the Lord and the good of love towards the neighbour, the good of love to the Lord forming the internal part of him, the good of love towards the neighbour the external part. This being so, the members of the celestial Church in the internal part of that Church are those who are governed by love to the Lord, and those in the external part are those governed by love towards the neighbour. The good of the latter love - love towards the neighbour residing with the celestial man - is what is here being called the truth of good and is represented by 'Manasseh'. For the celestial man is one who does not reason from truth, or even about truth, since he is able to perceive from good, that is, from the Lord through good, whether something is true or not true, 202, 377, 2715, 3146, 4448. Even so, the good of charity residing with him is what is called truth, but celestial truth.

4449. 'His soul longs for your daughter; give her, I beg you, to him for a wife' means a longing to be joined to this new Church which in outward appearance was similar to the Ancient Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'the soul's longing' as a longing; from the representation of Dinah, to whom 'daughter' refers here, as the affection for truth, and therefore as the Church, for a Church is a Church by virtue of its affection for truth - such a Church being meant here by a new Church; and from the meaning of 'giving her for a wife' as a joining together, dealt with in 4434.

[2] As regards that new Church which was established among the descendants of Jacob being in outward appearance similar to the Ancient Church, it should be realized that the statutes, judgements, and laws which were prescribed through Moses for the Israelite and Jewish nation were no different from the statutes, judgements, and laws which existed in the Ancient Church, such as those concerning betrothals and marriages, concerning slaves, concerning the living creatures which were suitable for food and those which were not suitable, concerning cleansings, festivals, tabernacles, the perpetual fire, and many other things; also concerning altars, burnt offerings, sacrifices, libations, that had been received in the second Ancient Church which began with Eber. The fact that all of these were known before they were prescribed for that nation is quite evident from the historical descriptions of the Word.

[3] Take merely altars, burnt offerings, and sacrifices. Of Balaam it is recorded that he ordered them to build seven altars and to offer on them burnt offerings and sacrifices of young bulls and rams, Numbers 23:1-2, 14-15, 29. Besides this, it is said of the nations in many places, that their altars were to be destroyed; and of the prophets of Baal whom Elijah slew, that they offered sacrifices. These facts make it clear that sacrifices which were prescribed for the descendants of Jacob were not new; nor were the rest of the statutes, judgements, and laws. But because these things became idolatrous among the nations - in particular through their use of those things to worship some profane god, which resulted in them turning representatives of Divine things to what is of hell, in addition to the many: practices which they added to these - those same things were reinstated so that the representative worship of the Ancient Church might be restored. From this it becomes clear that this new Church which was established among Jacob's descendants was in outward appearance similar to the Ancient Church.