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'.