10557. 'And his minister Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not move away from the midst of the tent' means Divine Truth ministering meantime in the holy things of the Church and worship in place of Moses. This is clear from the representation of 'Joshua, minister of Moses' as Divine Truth ministering in place of Moses (he is called 'the son of Nun' by virtue of what is true, and 'a young man' by virtue of what is good); and from the meaning of 'did not move away from the midst of the tent' as not ceasing meantime to minister in the holy things of the Church and worship. 'Not moving away' means not ceasing meantime, and 'the tent' means the holiness of the Word, the Church, and worship, dealt with above in 10545. In paragraph 10556 immediately above it has been stated that Moses now comes to represent the head of the Israelite nation. Consequently in order that the train of thought in the internal sense might not be broken, it happened that Joshua remained in the tent during Moses' absence. For 'Joshua' represents Divine Truth in respect of some function performed by it, such as Divine Truth engaged in conflict, 8595; Divine Truth engaged in contemplation and discernment, 10454; but here Divine Truth engaged in ministering, in the absence of Moses, which is why he is called Moses' 'minister'.

10556. 'And he returned to the camp' means going back to the external in which the interest of that nation lay. This is clear from the meaning of 'the camp' as the external aspect of the Word, the Church, and worship, in which the interest of the Israelite nation lay, dealt with in 10546. Now, when Moses has returned to the camp, he no longer represents the Word but the head of the Israelite nation; for being in the camp with those whose interest lay in external things separated from what was internal means being in a similar state. It was different when he was outside that camp and pitched his tent there, far from the camp. How therefore Moses represents the head of that nation becomes clear from the internal sense of what follows through to the end of the chapter. Because Moses now takes on this representation it says that his minister Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not move away from the midst of the tent, meaning that what is being represented nevertheless continues in the tent that is outside the camp.