6638. 'Who came to Egypt with Jacob' means after truths have been introduced into factual knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of 'Egypt' as factual knowledge, dealt with in 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966, 5700, 5702, 6004, 6015, 6125; from the representation of 'Jacob' as truth, and also good, in the natural, or the natural as regards truth and good, dealt with in 3305, 3509, 3525, 3546, 3576, 3599, 3659, 3669, 3677, 3775, 3829, 4009, 4134, 4286, 4337, 4538, 5506, 5533, 5535, 6001, 6236. The fact that 'coming to Egypt' means being introduced into factual knowledge may be recognized from the explanations of the contents in those chapters where the journeying of the sons of Jacob to Egypt to buy grain is dealt with, and after that their arrival there together with Jacob. For what the situation is when truths known to the Church are introduced into factual knowledge, see 6004, 6023, 6052, 6071, 6077. From all this it is evident that by 'the sons of Israel who came to Egypt' are meant truths that have been introduced into factual knowledge.

6647. 'And the children of Israel were fruitful and productive' means that the Church's truths increased in goodness. This is clear from the representation of 'the children of Israel' as spiritual truths, dealt with in 5414, 5879, and as the Church, 6637; from the meaning of 'being fruitful' as increasing in goodness, dealt with in 43, 55, 917, 983, 2846, 2847, 3146; and from the meaning of 'being productive' as further branching out; for once the Church has been established with a person, good increases constantly and branches out both within the internal and also towards the external, and within it. It has often been shown already that among those who belong to the spiritual Church good is increased by means of truths; for a member of the spiritual Church does not have perception as a member of the celestial Church has, and therefore he has no knowledge of what the Church's good - that is, spiritual good - is except through truths. This being so, when a member of that Church is being regenerated, the Lord uses the angels present with that person to bring truths to his awareness, and from those truths he is led on to good. But when that person has been regenerated, He brings both truth and good together to his awareness, and thereby leads him. But the character of the good with a member of the spiritual Church is determined by that of the truth, and so therefore is the character of his conscience, which serves him in place of perception, as a guide to the way he lives.

4598. 'Israel travelled on' means the celestial-spiritual of the natural then. This is clear from the meaning of 'travelling on' as a further stage or a continuation, dealt with in 4375, 4554, in this case towards aspects more interior still, and from the representation of 'Israel' here as the celestial-spiritual of the natural, dealt with in 4286. What the celestial-spiritual of the natural is has been explained already, namely the good of truth, or the good of charity arrived at through the truth of faith. Little knowledge exists in the world of what an advance towards more interior aspects is. It is not an advance into knowledge of facts, for that kind of advance is often made without any advancement towards interior things, and more often still is accompanied by a movement away from these. Neither is it an advance in maturity of judgement, for this too is sometimes accompanied by a movement away from interior things. Nor yet is it an advance made into cognitions of interior truth, for these count for nothing if a person does not have any affection for them. An advance towards interior things is an advance nearer to heaven and the Lord made by means of the cognitions of truth which have been implanted in an affection for them, and so is an advance made by means of the affections.

[2] What an advance towards interior things is like is not apparent to anyone in the world; but in the next life it is plain to see. In that life it is an advance out of a kind of haze into light; for compared with others people who are concerned solely with more external things live in a haze, and are also seen by the angels to do so, whereas those who have a concern for more internal things dwell in light, and consequently in wisdom since the light there is wisdom. And what is amazing, those living in the haze cannot see that those in light are in light, whereas those dwelling in light can see that those in the haze are in a haze. Since the subject is the advance made by the Lord's Divine towards more interior aspects, Jacob is called Israel here; but where that advance is not the subject he is called Jacob, as in verse 20 immediately before this, and in the final verse of this chapter.