6585. 'Were born on Joseph's knees' means that they were from good joined to truth from the internal. This is clear from the meaning of 'bearing on the knees' as goodness and truth joined together, dealt with in 3915; and from the representation of 'Joseph' as the internal, dealt with in 6499. The statement that the sons of Machir were born on Joseph's knees implies that Joseph recognized them as his own; for when that expression is used the meaning is that they are adopted as one's own, as may be seen from the sons born from Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant. Referring to those sons Rachel says,

Behold, my maidservant Bilhah; go [in] to her, and let her bear [a child] upon my knees, and I too shall be built up from her. Genesis 30:3.

The reason why the sons were recognized by Joseph as his own is that 'Manasseh' represents the Church's area of will, thus its good; and the internal, which 'Joseph' represents, flows into it with good, but not with truth except through good. This is why they are spoken of as ones who

'were born on Joseph's knees'.

6499. 'And Joseph fell upon his father's face' means an influx of the internal into the affection for good. This is clear from the meaning of 'falling upon someone's face' as an influx; from the representation of 'Joseph' as the internal, dealt with in 5805, 5826, 5827, 5869, 5877, 6177, 6224; from the meaning of 'face' as affection, dealt with in 4796, 4797, 5102; and from the representation of Israel, to whom 'father' refers here, as spiritual good or the good of truth, dealt with in 3654, 4598, 5801, 5807, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833. From all this it is evident that 'Joseph fell upon his father's face' means an influx of the internal into the affection for spiritual good.

[2] The reason why an influx of the internal into the affection for spiritual good is meant is that here the internal sense deals with the spiritual Church that the Lord established. For 'Israel' means the good of truth or spiritual good; but since this good constitutes the spiritual Church, 'Israel' also means that Church, 4286, 6426. For that good to come into existence an influx from the internal celestial represented by 'Joseph' is necessary; for without the influx from it that good is not good, because there is no affection attached to it.

The internal sense of what comes after this continues to deal with the establishment of that Church, 6497. The reason why that Church is described by 'Israel' who has now died and is soon to be buried is that in the internal sense death is not meant by 'death', nor burial by 'burial'. Rather, new life is meant by 'death', 3498, 3505, 4618, 4621, 6036, and regeneration by 'burial', 2916, 2917, 5551.