5749. 'You have done evil in what you have done' means that it is contrary to Divine law to claim that truth as their own. This is clear from the meaning of a theft, implied here by 'the evil which they had done', as claiming as one's own what is the Lord's, namely the truth meant by 'Joseph's cup made of silver', dealt with in 5747. The fact that making such a claim is contrary to Divine law is self-evident; see 2609. A person ought not to claim as his own anything that comes from the Lord, thus not anything that is true or good, so that he may dwell in the sphere of truth; and to the extent that he dwells in the sphere of truth he dwells in the light that the angels in heaven dwell in. Also to the extent that he dwells in that light intelligence and wisdom are present in him; and to the extent that intelligence and wisdom are present in him happiness is his. For this reason a person ought to have faith in his heart and acknowledge that nothing true or good at all originates in himself but that he receives everything good and true from the Lord; and this he ought to acknowledge because it is so.

5747. 'Is not this what my lord drinks from?' means that present with them there was interior truth received from the celestial. This is clear from the meaning of the cup, implied by 'what my lord drinks from', as interior truth, dealt with in 5736; and from the representation of Joseph, to whom 'my lord' refers here, as the celestial of the spiritual, dealt with in 5307, 5331, 5332, but here as the celestial, because reference is being made to interior truth and interior truth is spiritual yet comes forth from the celestial. The reception of it is meant by the cup's having been planted at Joseph's command in the mouth of Benjamin's pouch.

[2] The men are accused of having supposedly taken the cup. The reason why they were accused of having taken it, when in fact the cup had been planted there, is evident from the inner meaning, which is this: Truth imparted by the Lord is not accepted initially as a gift; for prior to regeneration a person supposes that he himself acquires the truth he knows, and as long as he makes this supposition he is guilty of spiritual theft. Claiming good and truth as his own and attributing them to his own righteousness and merit is taking away from the Lord what is His, see 2609, 4174, 5135. In order that this theft might be represented Joseph acted in the way he did; even so, the men were accused of theft so that a joining together might be effected. Before he has been regenerated a person's belief about how he acquires truth cannot be any different. He may, it is true, say with his lips, because of what he has been taught, that the truth of faith and the good of charity come entirely from the Lord; nevertheless he does not believe it until faith has become implanted in good. Only then does he begin to acknowledge it in his heart.

[3] Professing something because one has been taught it is altogether different from professing it because one believes it. Many people - even those who are not governed by good - can profess something because they have been taught it; for to them the teaching they receive is no more than factual knowledge. But only those who are governed by spiritual good, that is, by charity towards the neighbour, can profess something because they believe it. Further evidence that the men were accused of theft so that a joining together might be effected lies in the fact that by that means Joseph brought them back to himself and kept them thinking for some time about that deed, after which he revealed who he was, that is, he joined himself to them.