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Genesis 41

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1 And it cometh to pass, at the end of two years of days that Pharaoh is dreaming, and lo, he is standing by the River,

2 and lo, from the River coming up are seven kine, of fair appearance, and fat [in] flesh, and they feed among the reeds;

3 and lo, seven other kine are coming up after them out of the River, of bad appearance, and lean [in] flesh, and they stand near the kine on the edge of the River,

4 and the kine of bad appearance and lean [in] flesh eat up the seven kine of fair appearance, and fat -- and Pharaoh awaketh.

5 And he sleepeth, and dreameth a second time, and lo, seven ears are coming up on one stalk, fat and good,

6 and lo, seven ears, thin, and blasted with an east wind, are springing up after them;

7 and the thin ears swallow the seven fat and full ears -- and Pharaoh awaketh, and lo, a dream.

8 And it cometh to pass in the morning, that his spirit is moved, and he sendeth and calleth all the scribes of Egypt, and all its wise men, and Pharaoh recounteth to them his dream, and there is no interpreter of them to Pharaoh.

9 And the chief of the butlers speaketh with Pharaoh, saying, `My sin I mention this day:

10 Pharaoh hath been wroth against his servants, and giveth me into charge in the house of the chief of the executioners, me and the chief of the bakers;

11 and we dream a dream in one night, I and he, each according to the interpretation of his dream we have dreamed.

12 And there [is] with us a youth, a Hebrew, servant to the chief of the executioners, and we recount to him, and he interpreteth to us our dreams, [to] each according to his dream hath he interpreted,

13 and it cometh to pass, as he hath interpreted to us so it hath been, me he put back on my station, and him he hanged.'

14 And Pharaoh sendeth and calleth Joseph, and they cause him to run out of the pit, and he shaveth, and changeth his garments, and cometh in unto Pharaoh.

15 And Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, `A dream I have dreamed, and there is no interpreter of it, and I -- I have heard concerning thee, saying, Thou understandest a dream to interpret it,'

16 and Joseph answereth Pharaoh, saying, `Without me -- God doth answer Pharaoh with peace.'

17 And Pharaoh speaketh unto Joseph: `In my dream, lo, I am standing by the edge of the River,

18 and lo, out of the River coming up are seven kine, fat [in] flesh, and of fair form, and they feed among the reeds;

19 and lo, seven other kine are coming up after them, thin, and of very bad form, and lean [in] flesh; I have not seen like these in all the land of Egypt for badness.

20 `And the lean and the bad kine eat up the first seven fat kine,

21 and they come in unto their midst, and it hath not been known that they have come in unto their midst, and their appearance [is] bad as at the commencement; and I awake.

22 `And I see in my dream, and lo, seven ears are coming up on one stalk, full and good;

23 and lo, seven ears, withered, thin, blasted with an east wind, are springing up after them;

24 and the thin ears swallow the seven good ears; and I tell unto the scribes, and there is none declaring to me.'

25 And Joseph saith unto Pharaoh, `The dream of Pharaoh is one: that which God is doing he hath declared to Pharaoh;

26 the seven good kine are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years, the dream is one;

27 and the seven thin and bad kine which are coming up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears, blasted with an east wind, are seven years of famine;

28 this [is] the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: That which God is doing, he hath shewn Pharaoh.

29 `Lo, seven years are coming of great abundance in all the land of Egypt,

30 and seven years of famine have arisen after them, and all the plenty is forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine hath finished the land,

31 and the plenty is not known in the land because of that famine afterwards, for it [is] very grievous.

32 `And because of the repeating of the dream unto Pharaoh twice, surely the thing is established by God, and God is hastening to do it.

33 `And now, let Pharaoh provide a man, intelligent and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt;

34 let Pharaoh make and appoint overseers over the land, and receive a fifth of the land of Egypt in the seven years of plenty,

35 and they gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and heap up corn under the hand of Pharaoh -- food in the cities; and they have kept [it],

36 and the food hath been for a store for the land, for the seven years of famine which are in the land of Egypt; and the land is cut off by the famine.'

37 And the thing is good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants,

38 and Pharaoh saith unto his servants, `Do we find like this, a man in whom the spirit of God [is]?'

39 and Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, `After God's causing thee to know all this, there is none intelligent and wise as thou;

40 thou -- thou art over my house, and at thy mouth do all my people kiss; only in the throne I am greater than thou.'

41 And Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, `See, I have put thee over all the land of Egypt.'

42 And Pharaoh turneth aside his seal-ring from off his hand, and putteth it on the hand of Joseph, and clotheth him [with] garments of fine linen, and placeth a chain of gold on his neck,

43 and causeth him to ride in the second chariot which he hath, and they proclaim before him, `Bow the knee!' and -- to put him over all the land of Egypt.

44 And Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, `I [am] Pharaoh, and without thee a man doth not lift up his hand and his foot in all the land of Egypt;'

45 and Pharaoh calleth Joseph's name Zaphnath-Paaneah, and he giveth to him Asenath daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, for a wife, and Joseph goeth out over the land of Egypt.

46 And Joseph [is] a son of thirty years in his standing before Pharaoh king of Egypt, and Joseph goeth out from the presence of Pharaoh, and passeth over through all the land of Egypt;

47 and the land maketh in the seven years of plenty by handfuls.

48 And he gathereth all the food of the seven years which have been in the land of Egypt, and putteth food in the cities; the food of the field which [is] round about [each] city hath he put in its midst;

49 and Joseph gathereth corn as sand of the sea, multiplying exceedingly, until that he hath ceased to number, for there is no number.

50 And to Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine cometh, whom Asenath daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, hath borne to him,

51 and Joseph calleth the name of the first-born Manasseh: `for, God hath made me to forget all my labour, and all the house of my father;'

52 and the name of the second he hath called Ephraim: `for, God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of mine affliction.'

53 And the seven years of plenty are completed which have been in the land of Egypt,

54 and the seven years of famine begin to come, as Joseph said, and famine is in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt hath been bread;

55 and all the land of Egypt is famished, and the people crieth unto Pharaoh for bread, and Pharaoh saith to all the Egyptians, `Go unto Joseph; that which he saith to you -- do.'

56 And the famine has been over all the face of the land, and Joseph openeth all [places] which have [corn] in them, and selleth to the Egyptians; and the famine is severe in the land of Egypt,

57 and all the earth hath come to Egypt, to buy, unto Joseph, for the famine was severe in all the earth.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #5244

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5244. 'And Pharaoh sent' means the inclination of the new natural. This is clear from the representation of 'Pharaoh' as the new natural man, dealt with in 5079, 5080. An inclination to accept the celestial of the spiritual is the meaning of the words 'sent and called Joseph'. Such an inclination is evident from what follows, in verses 40-43, where it is stated that Pharaoh set him over his house and over all the land of Egypt and said that all his people would kiss him on the mouth. The implications of this are that when the state is complete, that is, when everything has been made ready in the natural to accept an influx from what is interior or higher and to link itself to what flows into it, the natural too possesses that inclination, which is an affection disposed to accept [the celestial of the spiritual]. The one accordingly becomes compatible with the other when a person is being renewed by the Lord.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

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Arcana Coelestia #1462

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1462. 'Egypt' means, in reference to the Lord, knowledge comprised of cognitions, but in reference to all others, knowledge in general. This becomes clear from the meaning of that country in the Word, dealt with already in several places, and specifically in 1164, 1165. Indeed the Ancient Church existed in Egypt, as it did in many other places, 1238, and while the Church was in that region all kinds of knowledge flourished there more than anything else; and this explains why 'Egypt' came to mean knowledge. But after those people desired to penetrate the mysteries of faith by means of all this knowledge, and so to inquire into the truth of Divine arcana from their own power, Egypt became a place of magic, and so came to mean factual knowledge which perverts, and which gives rise to falsities and derivative evils, as is clear in Isaiah 19:11.

[2] That 'Egypt' means all kinds of knowledge that serve a use, thus at this point knowledge comprised of cognitions which is able to serve as vessels for celestial and spiritual things, becomes clear from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,

They have led Egypt astray, the corner-stone of the tribes. Isaiah 19:13.

Here it is called 'the corner-stone of the tribes', which was to serve as the base on which the things of faith meant by 'the tribes' were to rest. In the same prophet,

On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt which speak in the lip of Canaan and swear to Jehovah Zebaoth. Each will be called Ir Heres. On that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at its border to Jehovah; and it will be a sign and a witness to Jehovah Zebaoth in the land of Egypt, for they will cry to Jehovah because of the oppressors, and He will send a savior and a prince to them, and he will deliver them. And Jehovah will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know Jehovah on that day and will offer sacrifice and minchah, and will make vows to Jehovah and perform them. And Jehovah will smite Egypt, smiting and healing, and they will return to Jehovah; and He will be entreated by them, and He will heal them. Isaiah 19:18-22.

Used in a good sense here, 'Egypt' stands for people who possess facts, or natural truths, which are the vessels for spiritual truths.

[3] In the same prophet,

On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Asshur, and Asshur will come into Egypt and Egypt into Asshur, and the Egyptians will serve Asshur. 1 On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Asshur, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom Jehovah Zebaoth will bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people, and Asshur the work of My hands, and Israel My heritage. Isaiah 19:23-25.

Here 'Egypt' means knowledge consisting of natural truths, 'Asshur' reason or rational things, and 'Israel' spiritual things, which follow one another in that order. Hence the statement that 'on that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Asshur, and Israel will be the third with Egypt and Asshur'.

[4] In Ezekiel,

Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was your sail, that it might be to you an ensign. Ezekiel 27:7.

This refers to Tyre, which means the possession of cognitions. 'Fine linen with embroidered work' stands for the truths contained in all kinds of knowledge which are of service; belonging as they do to the external man facts ought to be of service to the internal man. In the same prophet,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples among whom they were scattered, and I will bring back the captivity of Egypt. Ezekiel 29:13-14.

Here also 'Egypt' has much the same meaning, as is also said of Judah and Israel in many other places that they were to be gathered from the peoples and brought back from captivity. In Zechariah,

And it will be that whoever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah Zebaoth, there will be no rain upon them And if the family of Egypt does not go up, and does not come . . . Zechariah 14:17-18.

Here also 'Egypt' is used in a good sense to have a similar meaning.

[5] That knowledge or human wisdom is meant by 'Egypt' becomes clear also in Daniel 11:43 where knowledge of celestial and of spiritual things is called 'the secret hoards of gold and silver' and also 'the precious things of Egypt'. And of Solomon it is said that his wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of the Egyptians, 1 Kings 4:30. And the house built by Solomon for Pharaoh's daughter had no other representation, 1 Kings 7:8 and following verses.

[6] The Lord's being taken into Egypt when He was an infant had no other meaning than that which here is meant by Abram, though He was also taken there so that He might fulfill all things that had taken place and were representative of Himself. The passage of Jacob and his sons down into Egypt represented in the inmost sense nothing other than the Lord's initial instruction in cognitions from the Word, as is also evident from what follows. In reference to the Lord the following is said in Matthew,

The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Rise, take the boy and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there until I tell you. He rose and took the boy and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, so that what had been said by the prophet might be fulfilled, when he said, Out of Egypt have I called My son. Matthew 2:13-15, 19-21.

This promise is stated in Hosea as follows,

When Israel was a boy I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. Hosea 11:1.

From this it is clear that 'the boy Israel' is used to mean the Lord, His instruction when a boy being expressed by the words, 'Out of Egypt have I called My son'.

[7] In the same prophet,

By a prophet Jehovah brought Israel up out of Egypt and by a prophet he was preserved. Hosea 12:12-13.

Here similarly 'Israel' is used to mean the Lord. 'A prophet' means one who teaches, thus teaching consisting of cognitions. In David,

Turn us back, O God Zebaoth, cause Your face 2 to shine and we shall be saved. You caused a vine to set out from Egypt, You drove out the nations and planted it. Psalms 80:7-8.

This too refers to the Lord, who is called 'the vine out of Egypt' as regards the cognitions in which He was receiving instruction.

Fusnotat:

1. The Hebrew of his text in Isaiah may be read in two different ways - serve Asshur or serve with Asshur. Most English versions of Isaiah prefer the second of these.

2. literally, Faces

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.