6376. 'And the foal of his she-ass to the outstanding vine' means truth from the rational for the internal Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'the vine' as the spiritual Church, dealt with in 1069, 5113, so that 'the outstanding vine' means the internal Church (for the internal part of the Church is more outstanding than the external part of it); and from the meaning of 'the foal of a she-ass' as rational truth, dealt with in 2781. The external part of the Church is distinct and separate from the internal, in that it is located in the natural, thus in the external man, whereas the internal part is located in the rational, thus in the internal man. Members of the external Church are governed by truth, those of the internal Church by good. The former are motivated not so much by the good of charity as they are by the truth of faith, whereas the latter are motivated by the good of charity and from this by the truth of faith. Members of the internal Church are the ones meant by 'the outstanding vine', but members of the external Church are the ones meant by 'the vine'.

6112. 'And Joseph gathered up all the silver' means all factual knowledge that held truth in it and was appropriate. This is clear from the meaning of 'gathering up' as bringing together into a single whole; from the representation of 'Joseph' as the internal celestial, often dealt with already; and from the meaning of 'silver' as truth, dealt with in '551, 2954, 5658, but in this case factual knowledge that holds truth in it and is appropriate, for this silver existed, as stated in the words that immediately follow, in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan. All this shows that 'Joseph gathered up all the silver' means that the internal celestial brought together into a single whole all factual knowledge that held truth in it and that was appropriate. Factual knowledge is said to hold truth in it and to be appropriate when there are no illusions to darken it, for as long as these cannot be dispelled, factual knowledge is rendered inappropriate. The same is true of factual knowledge which has not become perverted through applications of it to falsities and to evils by others or by oneself, for once imprinted on factual knowledge such falsities and evils remain. Factual knowledge therefore which does not languish under these defects is factual knowledge that holds truth in it and is appropriate.