7826. 'In the land of Egypt' means when those belonging to the spiritual Church were still in close proximity to the molesters. This is clear from the meaning of 'the land of Egypt' as the place where the molesters were. For 'Pharaoh' and 'the Egyptians' represent and mean those belonging to the Church who have come to be governed by faith separated from charity and who molest the upright in the next life, 6692, 7097, 7107, 7110, 7116, 7142, 7317, and 'the land of Egypt' actual molestations, 7278, while 'the children of Israel' represent those belonging to the spiritual Church who undergo molestation, 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 72011 7215, 7223. And regarding the close proximity of the latter to molesters in the next life, see 7240. That close proximity is meant by the presence of the children of Israel in the middle of the land of Egypt - in the land of Goshen - and the molestations are meant by the burdens laid upon them. From this it is now evident that 'Jehovah said to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt' means instructions given by God's truth when those belonging to the spiritual Church were still in close proximity to the molesters.

4598. 'Israel travelled on' means the celestial-spiritual of the natural then. This is clear from the meaning of 'travelling on' as a further stage or a continuation, dealt with in 4375, 4554, in this case towards aspects more interior still, and from the representation of 'Israel' here as the celestial-spiritual of the natural, dealt with in 4286. What the celestial-spiritual of the natural is has been explained already, namely the good of truth, or the good of charity arrived at through the truth of faith. Little knowledge exists in the world of what an advance towards more interior aspects is. It is not an advance into knowledge of facts, for that kind of advance is often made without any advancement towards interior things, and more often still is accompanied by a movement away from these. Neither is it an advance in maturity of judgement, for this too is sometimes accompanied by a movement away from interior things. Nor yet is it an advance made into cognitions of interior truth, for these count for nothing if a person does not have any affection for them. An advance towards interior things is an advance nearer to heaven and the Lord made by means of the cognitions of truth which have been implanted in an affection for them, and so is an advance made by means of the affections.

[2] What an advance towards interior things is like is not apparent to anyone in the world; but in the next life it is plain to see. In that life it is an advance out of a kind of haze into light; for compared with others people who are concerned solely with more external things live in a haze, and are also seen by the angels to do so, whereas those who have a concern for more internal things dwell in light, and consequently in wisdom since the light there is wisdom. And what is amazing, those living in the haze cannot see that those in light are in light, whereas those dwelling in light can see that those in the haze are in a haze. Since the subject is the advance made by the Lord's Divine towards more interior aspects, Jacob is called Israel here; but where that advance is not the subject he is called Jacob, as in verse 20 immediately before this, and in the final verse of this chapter.