Genesis 37
1
And Jacob dwelt in the land where his father sojourned -- in the land of Canaan.
2
These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, fed the flock with his brethren; and he was doing service with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought to his father an evil report of them.
3
And Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was son of his old age; and he made him a vest of many colours.
4
And his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, and they hated him, and could not greet him with friendliness.
5
And Joseph dreamed a dream, and told [it] to his brethren, and they hated him yet the more.
6
And he said to them, Hear, I pray you, this dream, which I have dreamt:
7
Behold, we were binding sheaves in the fields, and lo, my sheaf rose up, and remained standing; and behold, your sheaves came round about and bowed down to my sheaf.
8
And his brethren said to him, Wilt thou indeed be a king over us? wilt thou indeed rule over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams and for his words.
9
And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamt another dream, and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.
10
And he told [it] to his father and to his brethren. And his father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream which thou hast dreamt? Shall we indeed come, I and thy mother and thy brethren, to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
11
And his brethren envied him; but his father kept the saying.
12
And his brethren went to feed their father's flock at Shechem.
13
And Israel said to Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed [the flock] at Shechem? Come, that I may send thee to them. And he said to him, Here am I.
14
And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see after the welfare of thy brethren, and after the welfare of the flock; and bring me word again. And he sent him out of the vale of Hebron; and he came towards Shechem.
15
And a man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the country; and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
16
And he said, I am seeking my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed [their flocks].
17
And the man said, They have removed from this; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them at Dothan.
18
And when they saw him from afar, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to put him to death.
19
And they said one to another, Behold, there comes that dreamer!
20
And now come and let us kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, An evil beast has devoured him; and we will see what becomes of his dreams.
21
And Reuben heard [it], and delivered him out of their hand, and said, Let us not take his life.
22
And Reuben said to them, Shed no blood: cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness; but lay no hand upon him -- in order that he might deliver him out of their hand, to bring him to his father again.
23
And it came to pass when Joseph came to his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his vest, the vest of many colours, which he had on;
24
and they took him and cast him into the pit; now the pit was empty -- there was no water in it.
25
And they sat down to eat bread; and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites came from Gilead; and their camels bore tragacanth, and balsam, and ladanum -- going to carry [it] down to Egypt.
26
And Judah said to his brethren, What profit is it that we kill our brother and secrete his blood?
27
Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites; but let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened [to him].
28
And Midianitish men, merchants, passed by; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver-pieces; and they brought Joseph to Egypt.
29
And Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph [was] not in the pit; and he rent his garments,
30
and returned to his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, where shall I go?
31
And they took Joseph's vest, and slaughtered a buck of the goats, and dipped the vest in the blood;
32
and they sent the vest of many colours and had it carried to their father, and said, This have we found: discern now whether it is thy son's vest or not.
33
And he discerned it, and said, [It is] my son's vest! an evil beast has devoured him: Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces!
34
And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
35
And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, and said, For I will go down to my son into Sheol mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
36
And the Midianites sold him into Egypt, to Potiphar, a chamberlain of Pharaoh, the captain of the life-guard.
Arcana Coelestia #8459
8459. 'Tiny like hoar frost on the earth' means truth in the form of good - uninterrupted and flowing. This is clear from the meaning of 'tiny' as a word having reference to truth, dealt with immediately above; and from the meaning of 'like hoar frost' as in the form of good. The good of truth, the good existing with a member of the spiritual Church, 8458, is compared to hoar frost because it forms more of a continuous sheet than snow. Consisting of tiny white flakes snow has reference to truth, while hoar frost, being the nearest thing to it, has reference to truth that has become good, which is the good of truth. The use of 'snow' to refer to truth is evident from the following places: In Mark,
When Jesus was transfigured His clothes became glistening, intensely white like snow. Mark 9:3.
In Matthew,
The angel 1 at the tomb - his appearance was like lightning, and his garment white as snow. Matthew 28:2-3.
In John,
I saw in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man. His head and hair were white, like white wool, like snow. Revelation 1:13-14.
In Jeremiah, The Nazirites were brighter than snow, they were whiter than milk. Lamentations 4:7.
In David,
You will purge me with hyssop and I shall become clean, You will wash me and I shall be made whiter than snow. Psalms 51:7.
In Daniel,
I saw, until thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days was seated. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool. Daniel 7:9.
In these places 'snow' has reference to truth because of its whiteness, with which clothes are compared because 'clothes' in the spiritual sense are truths, 4545, 4763, 5248, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6917, 6918. From all this it is evident what 'hoar frost' means, namely truth in the form of good. Truth in the form of good is said to be uninterrupted and flowing because truth is a form that holds good, and good is the life and so to speak soul within that form.
Footnotes:
1. Reading Angelus (The angel), which Swedenborg possibly has in his rough draft, for Angelis (To the angels)
