5417. 'And Joseph, he was the governor over the land' means that the celestial of the spiritual, or truth from the Divine, reigned in the natural where factual knowledge resided. This is clear from the representation of 'Joseph' as the celestial of the spiritual, dealt with in 4286, 4963, 5249, 5307, 5331, 5332 (as regards the celestial of the spiritual being truth from the Divine, this will be seen below); from the meaning of 'the governor' as the one who reigned; and from the meaning of 'the land', in this case the land of Egypt, as the natural mind, and so the natural, dealt with in 5176, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301. Regarding the fact that the celestial of the spiritual reigned within the natural where factual knowledge resided, see 5313; and the fact that 'Egypt' in the internal sense means factual knowledge, see 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966. The reason why the celestial of the spiritual is truth from the Divine is that, until it had been fully glorified, the Lord's Internal Human - being the receptacle of His Divine - was the celestial of the spiritual. It has to be called this because no other terms or thought-forms exist to describe it. This receptacle or recipient of the Divine is the same as truth from the Divine; and 'Joseph' is that truth, see 4723, 4727.

4723. 'They saw him from a distance' means the Lord's Divine Human perceived remotely. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing' as perception, dealt with in 2150, 3764; from the meaning of 'from a distance' as remotely; and from the representation of 'Joseph' - the one they saw from a distance - as the Lord as regards Divine Truth, dealt with in 4669. The reason the Lord's Divine Human is what 'Joseph' is used to mean here is that His Divine Human is the highest aspect of Divine Truth. There are two essentials which constitute the Church and as a consequence it has two main teachings, the first being that the Lord's Human is Divine, the second that love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour constitute the Church, not faith separated from these. Being the primary aspects of Divine Truth, these too are represented by 'Joseph'. Anyone who represents Divine Truth in general also represents the specific aspects of Divine Truth. But which specific aspect is represented at any point is evident from the train of thought.