5877. 'And Joseph said to his brothers' means that the internal celestial imparted a power of perception to the truths in the natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' in the historical narratives of the Word as perception, dealt with in 1898, 1919, 2080, 2619, 2862, 3395, 3509, 5687, 5743, in this case an imparting of a power of perception, dealt with below; from the representation of 'Joseph' as the internal celestial, dealt with just above in 5869; and from the representation of the ten sons of Jacob, to whom 'brothers' refers here, as the truths in the natural, dealt within 5403, 5419, 5458, 5512. The internal sense is therefore this, that the internal celestial imparted a power of perception to the truths in the natural. The reason why 'saying' here means imparting a power of perception is that the subject in what follows below is the joining of the internal celestial, which is 'Joseph', to the truths in the natural, which are 'the sons of Jacob'. And when that joining together takes place an ability to perceive is imparted - through the affection for truth and thus for good.

5419. 'And Joseph's brothers came' means the general truths known to the Church which were without any intermediary. This is clear from the meaning of 'Joseph's brothers' as general truths known to the Church, dealt with above in 5409. They lacked any intermediary because Benjamin who was the intermediary was not with them. As regards 'Benjamin' being that intermediary, see above in 5411, 5413.