24. Verse 6 And God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let there be a distinguishing of the waters from the waters.

After the Spirit of God, which is the Lord's mercy, has brought out into the daylight cognitions of truth and good, and has shed the light of dawn to reveal that the Lord does exist, and that He is good itself and truth itself, and that no good or truth exists except from the Lord, a distinction is at that point made between the internal man and the external man, and so between cognitions which reside with the internal man and the facts which belong to the external man. The internal man is called 'an expanse, and the cognitions residing with the internal man are called 'the waters above the expanse', while the facts belonging to the external man are called 'the waters below the expanse'.

[2] Until his regeneration starts a person is not aware of even the existence of the internal man, let alone the identity of the internal man. Submerged in bodily and worldly concerns he imagines there is no difference between the two. Furthermore he has submerged in those same concerns the things that belong to the internal man and has made one thorough obscurity out of things that are distinct and separate. For this reason it is first said, 'Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters', and then, 'Let there be a distinguishing of the waters from the waters', and not a distinguishing of the waters. But this is followed immediately by the statement, Verses 7-8, And God made the expanse and He made a distinction between the waters that were under the expanse and the waters that were above the expanse; and it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven.

[3] The second thing therefore that a person notices when being regenerated is that he is starting to become aware of the existence of the internal man, or that what reside in the internal man are goods and truths which are the Lord's alone. And since the external man during regeneration is such as still imagines that he is the source of the good deeds he performs, or of the truth he utters, and since such a person, by means of them, is led by the Lord to do good and to speak truth as if they were his own, therefore the identification of those under the expanse comes first, and the identification of those above the expanse follows. It is also a heavenly arcanum that the Lord uses those things that are man's own - both his illusions of the senses and his desires - to lead and direct him towards the things that are goods and truths. Every single movement of regeneration is accordingly a progression from evening to morning - from external man to internal, that is, from earth to heaven. This is why the expanse, or internal man, is now called 'heaven'.

6286. Verses 17-20 And Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim's head, and it was wrong in his eyes; and he grasped his father's hand to remove it from upon Ephraim's head onto Manasseh's head. And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn; place your right hand on his head. And his father refused, and said, I know, my son, I know; he too will be a people, and he too will become great; but truly his younger brother will become greater than he, and his seed will be the fullness of nations. ¹ And he blessed them on this day, saying, In you will Israel bless, saying, May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh. And he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

'And Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim's head' means a discernment that he considered truth to occupy the first place. 'And it was wrong in his eyes' means displeasure. 'And he grasped his father's hand' means an influx into the power which his obscure discernment possessed. 'To remove it from upon Ephraim's head onto Manasseh's head' means to divert him from error. 'And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn' means a perceptible influx regarding good, that the first place belonged to this. 'Place your right hand on his head' means that good should accordingly occupy the first place. 'And his father refused' means non-compliance. 'And said, I know, my son, I know' means that though that is true the appearance is different. 'He too will be a people, and he too will become great' means that truth from good also, thus the celestial man, will be increased. 'But truly his younger brother will become greater than he' means that good from truth, thus the spiritual man, will receive even greater increase. 'And his seed will be the fullness of nations' means that truth - the truth of faith - will be predominant. 'And he blessed them on this day' means Foresight and Providence continuing for ever. 'Saying, In you will Israel bless, saying, May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh' means so that its own spiritual may reside in the truth of the understanding and the good of the will. 'And he put Ephraim before Manasseh' means that because he was spiritual he considered truth to occupy the first place.

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