6654. 'Behold, the people of the children of Israel are many and numerous, more than ourselves' means that the Church's truths are prevailing over alienated factual knowledge. This is clear from the representation of 'the children of Israel' as the Church's truths and forms of good, dealt with above in 6647; from the meaning of 'many and numerous' as prevailing, for 'multiplying', or becoming many, and 'numerous' are used in reference to truth, see also above, in 6648; and from the representation of the king of Egypt and his people, whom one should understand here by 'more than ourselves', as alienated factual knowledge, as above in 6652. From all this it is evident that 'Behold, the people of [the children of] Israel are many and numerous, more than ourselves' means that truths are prevailing over alienated factual knowledge.

5879. 'Is my father still alive?' means the presence of spiritual good from the natural. This is clear from the representation of Israel, to whom 'father' refers here, as spiritual good from the natural, dealt with in 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833 (its derivation from the natural being dealt with in 4286); and from the meaning of 'is he still alive?' as the presence of that good. For when he revealed who he was Joseph thought first about his father, whom he knew to be alive. His father was therefore present in his thought at the beginning, and also constantly after that when he talks to his brothers. The reason for this is that the internal celestial, which is 'Joseph', cannot become joined to the truths in the natural, which are 'the sons of Jacob', except through spiritual good from the natural, which is 'Israel'. And once that joining together has taken place they are no longer the sons of Jacob but the sons of Israel; for 'the sons of Israel' are spiritual truths within the natural.