1480. 'That the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful' means that the knowledge which is comprised of cognitions is to itself highly pleasing. This is clear from what has been stated above at verse 11, to the effect that in childhood knowledge is of such a nature. Within knowledge an inclination so to speak exists - for that inclination is innate in man - which disposes it first of all to take pleasure in knowing just for the sake of knowing, and with no other end in view. This is so with everyone: his spirit takes great delight in knowing, so that it scarcely desires anything better, knowledge being its food by which it is sustained and renewed, as the external man is by earthly food. And this which nourishes his spirit is communicated to the external man to the end that the external man may be adapted so as to serve the internal. These foods exist consecutively, in the following order: Celestial food consists in every good of love and charity received from the Lord, while spiritual food consists in every truth of faith; these are the kinds of food by which angels live. From these comes the food - also celestial and spiritual, but of a lower angelic degree - by which angelic spirits live. And from this again comes celestial and spiritual food of a still lower degree, which is that of reason and from this of knowledge, by which good spirits live. Last of all comes bodily food, which is proper to man while he lives in the body. All these foods correspond to one another in a remarkable manner. From this it is also evident why and how knowledge is to itself most pleasing, for that pleasure is as appetite and taste; therefore also eating with man corresponds in the world of spirits to facts, and appetite and taste themselves to the intense desire for facts, as is clear from experience which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be presented further on.

9413. Verses 12-15 And Jehovah said to Moses, Come up to Me into the mountain, and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I shall write, to teach them. And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister, and Moses went up into ¹ the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, Sit for us in this [place], ² until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has words, ³ let him go to them. And Moses went up into ¹ the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.

'And Jehovah said to Moses' means instructions from the Lord for those restricted to the outward sense. 'Come up to Me into the mountain, and be there' means the Lord's presence with them through an intermediary. 'And I will give you tablets of stone' means the book of the law, or the Word in its entirety. 'And the law and the commandment' means truth in general and in particular. 'Which I shall write, to teach them' means for remembrance and for instruction. 'And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister' means the Word and its representative. 'And Moses went up into the mountain of God' means in the direction of heaven. 'And he said to the elders' means those restricted to the outward sense alone. 'Sit for us in this [place]' means that they are to remain with this sense. 'Until we return to you' means till there is a reply. 'And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you' means teachings of truth that are derived from that outward sense of the Word. 'He who has words, let him go to them' means that by means of those teachings falsities are to be removed. 'And Moses went up into the mountain' means towards heaven. 'And a cloud covered the mountain' means the outward aspects of the Word.

Footnotes:

5655. 'We certainly came down at the beginning to buy food' means a mind set on acquiring good for truths. This is clear from the meaning of 'coming down' as a mind set on something, that is, an intention; for a person who goes down or betakes himself to any place does so from a set purpose, the purpose being in this case to acquire good for truths, meant by 'buying food'. For 'buying' means acquiring and making one's own, 5374, 5397, 5406, 5414, 5426, while 'food' means the good of truth, 5340, 5342, in this case good for truths which are represented by 'the sons of Jacob' who spoke these words regarding themselves.