6784. 'And they said, An Egyptian man delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds' means because true factual knowledge that was attached to the Church prevailed over the power of the teachings that presented falsity arising from evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'an Egyptian man' as true factual knowledge, for 'a man' means truth, 3134, and 'an Egyptian' factual knowledge, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966, 4967, 5700, 6004, 6692 (the reason why Moses is called 'an Egyptian man' here is that at this point 'Moses' represents the kind of truth which those guided by the truth that goes with simple good possess, which is meant by 'the daughters of the priest of Midian'; and they are guided by that kind of truth because they are members of the external Church, 6775, which also accounts for the description 'true factual knowledge that was attached to the Church'); and from the meaning of 'delivering out of the hand of the shepherds' as its prevailing over the power of falsity from evil. 'Delivering' is prevailing over because he who delivers someone from the hand of others prevails over them. 'Hand' means power, 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544, and 'shepherds' those who teach, here those who teach falsity arising from evil, 6779; and since teachers are meant their kind of teaching is meant also.

[2] The reason why true factual knowledge prevails over the power of the teaching of falsity from evil is that the Divine is present in all truth that springs from good. But in falsity springing from evil the opposite is present, and what is the opposite of the Divine is totally unable to prevail. In the next life therefore a thousand under the influence of falsity springing from evil are totally unable to prevail against a single one governed by truth springing from good. At the presence of this single one the thousand flee; or if they do not flee they suffer pain and torment. The expression falsity from evil is used because that kind of falsity really is falsity, whereas falsity that does not spring from evil but from ignorance of the truth is not really such. Evil is what stands opposed to heaven, not falsity due to ignorance. Indeed if this ignorance has some measure of innocence within it, that falsity is accepted by the Lord as if it were truth, for those subject to that kind of falsity accept the truth.