5348. 'And to Joseph were born two sons' means the good and truth born from this, that is to say, from the influx of the celestial of the spiritual into the natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'being born' as being reborn, and so the birth of truth derived from good or faith derived from charity, dealt with in 4070, 4668, 5160 (for the generations described in the Word are spiritual ones, see 1145, 1255, 1330, 3263, 3279, 3860, 3866); and from the meaning of 'sons', who in this case are Manasseh and Ephraim, as good and truth, dealt with immediately below. For 'Manasseh' means the area of will belonging to the new natural, while 'Ephraim' means the area of understanding belonging to it. Or what amounts to the same, 'Manasseh' means the good present in the new natural, since good exists as an attribute of the will, while 'Ephraim' means the truth present there, since truth exists as an attribute of the understanding. One reads in other places about the birth of two sons. Good is meant by one, truth by the other, as for instance with Esau and Jacob. 'Esau' means good, see 3302, 3322, 3494, 3504, 3576, 3599, while 'Jacob' means truth, 3305, 3509, 3525, 3546, 3576. The like is meant by Judah's two sons by Tamar, Perez and Zerah, 4927-4929; and the same applies here in the case of Manasseh and Ephraim. The birth of these is dealt with here because the subject in what went immediately before this was the influx of the celestial of the spiritual into the natural and the consequent rebirth of it, which is effected solely by means of good and truth.

5160. 'On Pharaoh's birthday' means when the natural was to be regenerated. This is clear from the meaning of 'being born' as being regenerated, dealt with below; and from the representation of 'Pharaoh' as the interior natural, dealt with in 5080, 5095, in this case the natural in general because among regenerate persons the agreement of the interior natural with the exterior natural causes the two to act as one. The reason 'being born' means being regenerated is that in the internal sense spiritual matters are meant, and spiritual birth is regeneration, which is also called rebirth. When therefore birth is spoken of in the Word no other birth is understood in heaven than a birth effected through water and the spirit, that is, through faith and charity. For being born again or regenerated makes a person truly human and entirely different from animals, because in this case he becomes a son and heir of the Lord's kingdom. As regards the births which are mentioned in the Word meaning spiritual births, see 1145, 1255, 3860, 3868, 4070, 4668.