5581. 'That their father said to them' means a perception received from the things that constituted the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' in the historical narratives of the Word as perception, often dealt with already, and from the representation of Israel, to whom 'father' refers here, as the Church. For 'Israel' is the internal spiritual Church, and 'Jacob' the external Church, see 4286, 4292, 4570. The word 'father' is used because in the Word 'father' as well as 'mother' means the Church; but 'mother' means the Church so far as truth is concerned, and 'father' the Church so far as good is concerned. The reason for this is that the Church is a spiritual marriage formed from good as the father and truth as the mother.

5410. 'To buy grain from Egypt' means to make the good of truth its own through factual knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of 'buying' as making one's own, dealt with in 4397, 5374, 5406; from the meaning of 'grain' as the good of truth, dealt with in 5295; and from the meaning of 'Egypt' as factual knowledge, dealt with above in 5402.