5314. Verses 41-44 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from upon his hand and put it onto Joseph's hand, and clothed him in robes of fine linen, and placed a chain of gold onto his neck. And he made him ride in the second chariot that he had; and they cried out before him, Abrek! and he set him over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without you no man shall lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.

'And Pharaoh said to Joseph' means a further perception present in the natural but received from the celestial of the spiritual. 'See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt' means dominion over both parts of the natural. 'And Pharaoh took off his ring from upon his hand' means a confirmation regarding the power which belonged at first to the natural. 'And put it onto Joseph's hand' means that it yielded all that power to the celestial of the spiritual. 'And clothed him in robes of fine linen' means an outward sign denoting the celestial of the spiritual, 'robes of fine linen' being truths going forth from the Divine. 'And placed a chain of gold onto his neck' means an outward sign denoting the joining of interior things to exterior ones, good being that which effects that joining together. 'And he made him ride in the second chariot' means an outward sign that the celestial of the spiritual was the source of all the teaching about goodness and truth. 'That he had' means which is imparted through the natural. 'And they cried out before him, Abrek!' means acknowledgement coming through faith, and homage. 'And he set him over all the land of Egypt' means that its authority was as described. 'And Pharaoh said to Joseph' means further perception still. 'I am Pharaoh' means that this made the natural what it was. 'And without you shall no man lift up his hand' means that all power in the spiritual was received from the celestial of the spiritual. 'Or his foot' means all power in the natural. 'In all the land of Egypt' means in both parts of the natural.

4530. Colours are also seen in the next life whose splendour and brilliance so surpass the richness of the colours in the world that scarcely any comparison is possible. They are products of the variegation of light and shade there. And because intelligence and wisdom from the Lord exist there which are seen as light by the eyes of angels and spirits, and at the same time inwardly enlighten their understanding, the colours there are in essence variations, or one may say, modifications, of intelligence and wisdom. The colours there with which not only the flowers are adorned, different skies painted, and different rainbows produced, but also those which are manifested in other forms, I have seen so many times that I can hardly number them. Their splendour derives from the truth which belongs to intelligence, and their brilliance from the good which belongs to wisdom, while the colours themselves are products of the brightness and the dullness of these, and so are the products of light and shade, like the colourings produced in this world. Consequently the colours which are mentioned in the Word - such as those of the precious stones in Aaron's breastplate, and on his holy vestments; those in the curtains of the tent where the Ark was; those in the foundation-stones of the New Jerusalem which are described by John in the Book of Revelation; and those mentioned elsewhere in the Word - represented aspects of intelligence and wisdom, though what each represents individually will in the Lord's Divine mercy be stated in the explanations of those parts of the Word. In general to the extent that they contain splendour and derive from the shining brightness of light the colours there are products of the truth which belongs to intelligence, and to the extent they possess brilliance and derive from the purple glow of light they are products of the good which belongs to wisdom. Those colours which owe their origin to such sources also belong to the provinces of the eyes.