5429. Verses 9-16 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed involving them; and he said to them, You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land. And they said to him, No, my lord; and your servants come to buy food. All we, the sons of one man are we. We are upright men; your servants are not spies. And he said to them, No, but the nakedness of the land you have come to see. And they said, Twelve are your servants, brothers are we, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is not. And Joseph said to them, It is as I spoke to you, saying, You are spies. In this manner you will be tested: As sure as Pharaoh lives, ¹ you shall not go out of here unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you and let him fetch your brother; and you will be in bonds, and your words will be tested, whether the truth is with you. And if not, as sure as Pharaoh lives, ¹ you are spies.

'And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed involving them' means that the celestial of the spiritual foresaw what was to happen to the general truths known to the Church in the natural. 'And he said to them' means the consequent perception. 'You are spies' means that they existed solely for the sake of gain. 'You have come to see the nakedness of the land' means that nothing would please them more than to know for themselves that they are not truths. 'And they said to him, No, sir, we are upright men' ² means that truths are indeed present within them. 'And your servants come to buy food' means that they are present to enable the natural to make them its own by means of good. 'All we, the sons of one man are we' means that those truths all have the same origin. 'We are upright men' means that truths are accordingly present within them. 'Your servants are not spies' means that thus they are not there for the sake of gain. 'And he said to them, No, but the nakedness of the land you have come to see' means that they do not care whether they are truths. 'And they said, Twelve are your servants, brothers are we' means that all aspects of faith exist joined together in this manner. 'The sons of one man' means that they have the same origin. 'In the land of Canaan' means in the Church. 'And behold, the youngest is with our father today' means that they are also joined to spiritual good. 'And one is not' means that the Divine spiritual from which [the joining together begins] is not apparent. 'And Joseph said to them' means perception regarding that matter. 'It is as I spoke to you' means that the truth of the matter is as I thought. 'Saying, You are spies' means that they are interested in the truths known to the Church for the sake of gain. 'In this manner you will be tested' means it will be seen whether this is so. 'As sure as Pharaoh lives' means a certainty. 'You shall not go out of here unless your youngest brother comes here' means that truths with you cannot help being such unless these have been joined to spiritual good. 'Send one of you and let him fetch your brother' means provided that some kind of joining to that good exists. 'And you will be in bonds' means if all else is still separated. 'And your words will be tested, whether the truth is with you' means that in this way the fact of the matter will be established. 'And if not, as sure as Pharaoh lives, you are spies' means otherwise it is certain that truths exist with you solely for the sake of gain.

脚注:

5409. 'Joseph's ten brothers' means such truths known to the Church as were in agreement with one another. This is clear from the meaning of 'brothers' as truths known to the Church. These truths are called 'Joseph's brothers' ('Joseph' representing truth received from the Divine) by virtue of their agreement with one another; for that agreement causes them to exist joined together like one brother to another. 'The sons of Jacob' means all the truths of faith or the truths as a general whole that are known by the Church, 5403; and the expression 'Joseph's brothers' has a similar meaning, though this is because of their agreement with one another. Jacob's ten sons by Leah mean the truths known to the external Church, but Jacob's two sons by Rachel mean the truths known to the internal Church, as is evident from what has been shown regarding Leah and Rachel. That is to say, it has been shown that 'Leah' is the affection for exterior truth and 'Rachel' the affection for interior truth, both dealt with in 3758, 3782, 3793, 3819. Also, the internal Church and the external Church are 'brothers', see 1221. The Lord Himself therefore uses the word 'brothers' to describe truths and resulting forms of good which exist in agreement with one another by virtue of charity and faith, that is, to describe people who know truths and from these desire what is good: In Matthew,

The king will say to them, Truly I say to you, Insofar as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers you did it to Me. Matthew 25:40.

And elsewhere,

Jesus answered them, saying, Who is My mother, or My brothers? And looking round about He said, Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother, and My sister, and My mother. Mark 3:33-35; Matthew 12:49; Luke 8:21.