5597. 'And they said, The man questioned us closely about ourselves' means the clear perception this had regarding what existed within the natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'questioning' as perceiving another's thought, dealt with below; and from the representation of the ten sons of Jacob, to whom 'us' refers here, as the truths known to the Church which were present in the natural, dealt with in 5403, 5419, 5427, 5458, 5512. The reason 'questioning' means perceiving another's thought is that in heaven all thoughts are communicated, so clearly that no one needs to ask another what he thinks. This is why 'questioning' means perceiving another's thought; for things as they exist on earth become in the internal sense things as they exist in heaven.

5403. 'And Jacob said to his sons' means perception regarding truths as a general whole. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' in the historical narratives of the Word as perception, dealt with in 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2080, 2619, 2862, 3395, 3509; and from the meaning of 'sons' as the truths of faith, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 3373, 4257. Also, because they were Jacob's sons, truths as a general whole are meant; for 'the twelve sons of Jacob', like the twelve tribes, meant all aspects of faith, and so truths as a general whole, see 2129, 2130, 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060.