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.

9527. 'And you shall make a table' means a receptacle of heavenly blessings [that belong to the good of love]. This is clear from the meaning of 'a table' as heaven in respect of its reception of such blessings as come from the Lord there, which are the good of love and the good of faith, and the joy and bliss derived from them. These blessings are meant by 'a table' because 'food' means the heavenly blessings that belong to the good of love and faith, and the wisdom and intelligence gained from them, which in everyday language too are called heavenly food and also in the Word are meant by 'food', see 56-58, 680, 681, 1480, 4459, 4792, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562, 9003. What is more, a visual representation of those blessings is now and again made in heaven by means of a table on which all kinds of food are laid. From all this it is evident that 'a table' means a receptacle of heavenly blessings, thus heaven in respect of its reception of such blessings as come from the Lord. These blessings are also meant by 'table' in Luke,

Jesus said, I bestow on you, just as My father bestowed on Me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom. Luke 22:29-30.

And in Matthew,

Many will come from the east and the west and will recline with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 8:11.

Also in David,

I will fear no evil. You will spread a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You will make my head fat with oil; my cup will overflow. Goodness and mercy will follow me. Psalms 23:4-6.

In the contrary sense however 'table' means a receptacle of such things as exist in hell. In Isaiah,

They go astray through strong drink. They err among the seers, they are tottery in judgement. All tables are full of vomit. Whom will He teach knowledge, and whom will He cause to understand what is heard? Isaiah 28:7-9.

In the same prophet,

You who forsake Jehovah, who set a table for Gad, and fill a drink offering for Meni. Isaiah 65:11.

And in David,

They gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Their table before them will become a snare. Psalms 69:21-22.

9683. 'And you shall place the table outside the veil' means influx through heavenly blessings belonging to love. This is clear from the meaning of 'the table', on which the loaves of the Presence were laid, as the receptacle of heavenly blessings, dealt with in 9527, 9545; and from the meaning of 'outside the veil' as outside the uniting intermediary through which indirect influx comes, for 'the veil' means a uniting intermediary, 9670. And since this table was placed immediately behind the veil an influx through heavenly blessings belonging to the inmost heaven, which are forms of the good of love, is meant. The fact that this influx comes both indirectly from the Lord through the inmost heaven, and directly from Him, may be seen from the places referred to above at the end of 9682. The situation with all the good which constitutes heavenly life and so eternal life with man and with angel is that the inmost core of good is the Lord Himself and consequently the good of love which emanates directly from Him. The next in order is the good of mutual love, after this the good of charity towards the neighbour, and finally the good of faith. This is the order in which forms of good beginning with the inmost core succeed one another. From this it may be seen what the situation is with direct and indirect influx. In general a degree of good below other degrees, that is, good which is more external, is good in the measure that it holds more internal good within itself, for in the same measure is its closeness to the Lord Himself, who is the inmost good, as has been stated. But the ways in which succeeding degrees of good - more internal ones within more external - are arranged and set out varies from one person to the next according to the way they receive them, and the way each one receives them is conditioned by the spiritual and moral development of that person's life in the world; for the life everyone leads in the world remains with them forever.

[2] The Lord also flows directly into each individual person, for without this direct influx the indirect achieves nothing at all. The reception of direct influx is determined by order as it exists with man or angel, thus by Divine Truth emanating from the Divine, for this constitutes that order, 1728, 1919, 2447, 4839, 5703, 7995, 8512, 8513, 8700, 8988. True order for a person therefore is to lead a life of good which comes from the Lord, that is, to live from the Lord. The influx is constant; it enters into every single impulse of a person's will and turns it, as far as possible, in the direction of true order; for the will that is properly a person's own is constantly drawing him away from such order. The situation is as it is with a person's voluntary and involuntary powers. His voluntary powers are constantly drawing him away from order, but his involuntary ones are constantly bringing him back to it. For this reason the motion of the heart, which is involuntary, has been set free completely from the person's conscious will, as has the activity of his cerebellum; and the motion of the heart and the forces of the cerebellum control the powers of the will, preventing them from driving on beyond certain limits and wearing out the life of the body prematurely. Therefore the chief agents of both powers - of both involuntary powers and voluntary ones - have been joined and work together in the whole body. These matters have been mentioned to help to cast some light on the idea regarding the direct and indirect influx from the Lord of the celestial blessings which belong to love and the spiritual ones which belong to faith.