10689. 'And so it was, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai' means the flow of what is inward into the outward form that the Word, the Church, and worship take. This is clear from the meaning of 'coming down' - when used in reference to Moses, who represents the outward form of the Word containing what is inward - as the flowing of the Lord through the inward level of the Word into the outward form that it takes (for this meaning of 'coming down', see 5406); from the representation of 'Moses' as the outward form that the Word, the Church, and worship take, containing what is inward, dealt with in 10563, 10571, 10607, 10614; and from the meaning of 'Mount Sinai' as heaven where the Lord is and from which the Law or the Word comes forth, dealt with in 9420.

5406. 'Go down there, and buy for us from there' means making them its own through that knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of 'going down' as an expression used to describe movement towards things that are more external, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'buying' as making one's own, dealt with in 4397, 5374. The accomplishment of this through that knowledge, factual knowledge, is meant by 'from there', that is to say, from Egypt; for 'Egypt' means factual knowledge, as shown above. Various places in the Word contain the expression to go up or to go down when a movement from one place to another is described. The reason for this usage is not that one place was higher than another but that going up describes a movement towards things that are more internal or superior, while going down describes a movement towards things that are more external or inferior. That is, 'going up' refers to movement towards things that are spiritual and heavenly since these are more internal and are believed to be superior, whereas 'going down' refers to a movement towards natural and earthly things as these are more external and also to outward appearance inferior. This explains why not only here but also everywhere else in the Word one is said to go down from the land of Canaan to Egypt and to come up from Egypt to the land of Canaan. 'The land of Canaan' means that which is heavenly, and 'Egypt' that which is natural; for in the representative sense the land of Canaan is the heavenly kingdom, and consequently celestial and spiritual forms of good and truth, which also reside more internally in a person who is the Lord's kingdom, whereas 'Egypt' in the representative sense is the natural kingdom, and consequently the forms of good and truth which belong to the external Church and exist for the most part as factual knowledge. For the use of 'going up' to describe a movement towards things that are more internal, see 4539.