5680. 'And they said, Your servant our father has peace' means a perception gained from there by the natural that all is well with the good from which it springs. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' as perceiving, dealt with in 1898, 1919, 2080, 2619, 2862, 3395, 3509; from the meaning of 'peace' as all being well, dealt with in 5662, 5677; and from the representation of 'Israel' as spiritual good, dealt with just above in 5678. This good is called their 'father' because the truths and forms of good present in the natural, which are represented by Israel's ten sons, spring from it as their father. And as the truths and forms of good in the natural are represented by those sons, the natural is also meant by them; for the natural is the container, while the truths and forms of good there are its contents which make one with it. From all this it is evident that 'they said, Your servant our father has peace' means a perception gained from there by the natural that all is well with the good from which it springs.

[2] The perception is said to be gained from there - from the internal represented by 'Joseph', 5648 - because every perception gained by the natural comes from the spiritual; and because it comes from the spiritual it comes from the internal, that is, from the Lord through the internal. The natural cannot possibly have any perception, nor even any life present within thought and affection, other than that which comes from the spiritual. For all things within the natural that are essentially its own are dead; but they receive life through what flows in from the spiritual world, that is, from the Lord by way Of the spiritual world. In the spiritual world everything receives life from the light flowing from the Lord, for that light holds wisdom and intelligence within. The meaning here - that the perception is gained from there, from the internal, in the natural - also follows from what has gone before in 5677.

5646. Verses 18-23 And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house; and they said, Over the matter of the silver put back in our pouches at the beginning are we brought to [this place], so that he may come down on us and fall on us, ¹ and take us as slaves, and our asses. And they came near the man who was over Joseph's house, and they spoke to him [at] ² the door (ostium) of the house. And they said, On my honour, ³ my lord, we certainly came down at the beginning to buy food. And it happened, when we came to the lodging-place and opened our pouches, that behold, each man's silver was in the mouth of his pouch, our silver in its full weight; and we are bringing it back in our hand. And we are causing other silver to come down in our hand to buy food; we do not know who put our silver in our pouches. And he said, Peace to you, do not be afraid; your God and the God of your father has given you the concealed gift in your pouches; your silver came to me. And he brought Simeon out to them.

'And the men were afraid' means a drawing back. 'Because they were brought to Joseph's house' means that the truths belonging to the natural were to be linked and made subservient to the internal. 'And they said, Over the matter of the silver put back in our pouches at the beginning are we brought to [this place]' means that because truth in the exterior natural appears to be something freely given, they were being made subservient. 'So that he may come down on us and fall on us' means that for this reason they were subjected to its absolute power and control. 'And take us as slaves, and our asses' means even to the point where whatever exists in either part of the natural is of no worth. 'And they came near the man who was over Joseph's house' means the teachings of the Church. 'And they spoke to him [at] the door of the house' means a consultation of these regarding the introduction. 'And they said, On my honour, my lord' means an attestation. 'We certainly came down at the beginning to buy food' means a mind set on acquiring good for truths. 'And it happened, when we came to the lodging-place and opened our pouches' means an inspection of the exterior natural. 'That behold, each man's silver was in the mouth of his pouch' means that it was observed that the truths had been so to speak freely given. 'Our silver in its full weight' means truths commensurate with each one's state. 'And we are bringing it back in our hand' means the submission as far as possible of what had been freely given. 'And we are causing other silver to come down in our hand to buy food' means that the mind is set on acquiring good through truth from some other source. 'We do not know who put our silver in our pouches' means an absence of faith owing to ignorance of where the truth present in the exterior natural came from. 'And he said, Peace to you, do not be afraid' means that all is well, they should not despair. 'Your God and the God of your father' means the Lord's Divine Human. 'Has given you the concealed gift in your pouches' means that it came from Him without the exercise of any prudence by them. 'Your silver came to me' means that it will seem as though truth has been acquired by them. 'And he brought Simeon out to them' means that he linked to those truths the will to practise them.

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