4708. 'And Israel said to Joseph' means perception from the Divine Spiritual. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' in the historical narratives of the Word as perceiving, dealt with in 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2080, 2619, 2862, 3395, 3509, and from the representation of 'Joseph' as the Divine Spiritual, dealt with in 4669.

1821. Verse 9 And He said to him, Take for Me ¹ a three year old heifer, and a three year old she-goat, and a three year old ram, a turtle dove and a fledgling.

'He said to him' means perception. 'Take a three year old heifer, and a three year old she-goat, and a three year old ram' means things that are the representatives of the celestial things of the Church, 'a heifer' being those that are the representatives of exterior celestial things, 'a she-goat' of interior celestial, 'a ram' of spiritual-celestial; and they had to be 'three years old' because they were to embody all things of the Church as to periods and states. 'And a turtle dove and a fledgling' means things that are the representatives of the spiritual things of the Church, 'turtle dove' being those that are exterior, 'fledgling' those that are interior.

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