4765. 'And said, The lad is no more' means that no faith in Him exists. This is clear from the meaning of 'the lad' as the truth of faith; for 'a son' means truth, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, and so 'the lad', which here refers to Joseph, represents Divine Truth, as has been shown. Now because all truth is the truth of faith - for that which was called truth or what is true in the Ancient Churches is called faith in the new Church, 4690 - 'the lad is no more' consequently means that no faith in Him exists.

2624. 'In his old age' means when the days had been completed for the human to be cast off. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'old age' as the state when He was to cast off the human and to put on the Divine, dealt with in 2198. For Abraham was at that time a hundred years old, a number which means a full and complete state of union, as will be clear from the explanation of verse 5.