5822. 'If our youngest brother is with us we will go down' means unless the intermediary that accomplishes the joining together is with them. This is clear from the representation of Benjamin, to whom youngest brother' refers here, as the intermediary that accomplishes the joining together, dealt with in 5411, 5413, 5443, 5639, 5688. The implications of this - that 'Benjamin' represents the intermediary between the celestial of the spiritual or internal good, which is 'Joseph', and the truths in the natural, which are 'the ten sons of Jacob', as well as representing new truth, see above in 5804, 5806, 5809 - are as follows: To be an intermediary, the intermediary must be derived both from the internal and from the external; otherwise it is not an intermediary that accomplishes a joining together.

[2] The intermediary, which 'Benjamin' represents, derives from the external or natural its existence there as new truth; for the new truth represented by him exists in the natural because it springs from spiritual good from the natural, which his father as Israel represents, 5686, 5689. But that intermediary derives from the internal the quality that 'Joseph' represents, by means of influx. This is how it is derived from both and is the reason why 'Benjamin' represents the intermediary that accomplishes the joining together, as well as representing new truth. He represents new truth when he is present with his father, the intermediary accomplishing the joining together when he is with Joseph. This is an arcanum for which no clearer explanation is possible; nor can it be understood except by those who are aware of the fact that a person has an internal and an external that are distinct and separate from each other, and who at the same time have an affection for knowing truths. The understanding part of these people's minds is lit by the light of heaven, enabling them to see what others do not see, including this arcanum.

5443. 'And behold, the youngest is with our father today' means that they are also joined to spiritual good. This is clear from the representation of Benjamin, to whom 'the youngest' refers here, as the intermediary effecting a joining together, dealt with below; and from the representation of Jacob, who by now was Israel, to whom 'father' refers here, as spiritual good, dealt with in 3654, 4598. 'Benjamin' is the spiritual of the celestial, which is the intermediary, see 4592, 5411, 5413, 5419. That is to say, it is the intermediary that links the natural, or what is present in the natural, to the celestial of the spiritual, which is 'Joseph'. And since 'Benjamin' is the intermediary, while 'Israel' is spiritual good, the words 'behold, the youngest is with our father today' therefore mean a joining to spiritual good.