860. From these considerations it also becomes clear that all regeneration advances from evening to morning, as is mentioned six times in Genesis 1 where the regeneration of man is the subject. Here the evening is described in verses 2-3, the morning in verses 4-5. The present verse describes the first ray of light or the morning of this state as 'the tops of the mountains appearing'.

6178. 'And he said to him, If now I have found favour in your eyes' means a desire. This is clear from the emotion that stirred Jacob when he addressed these words to Joseph. That emotion is contained in this stock phrase, for 'If now I have found favour in your eyes' is purely a stock phrase that serves to express emotion, thus the desire of the will, as also above in 6162.