5706. 'And he took portions from before his face to them' means forms of good applied with mercy to each one. This is clear from the meaning of 'portions - portions of food - as forms of good (for forms of good are meant by all 'foods', while 'drink' means truths of every kind) - to be exact, an application of those forms of good to each one, as is evident from what follows and is meant by 'he took to them'; and from the meaning of 'face', when used in reference to the Lord, who is represented by 'Joseph', as mercy, dealt with in 222, 223, 5585.

223. Since the Lord's face is mercy, peace, and all good, it is clear that He always looks with mercy on anybody, and never turns His face away from anybody. Instead it is man, when governed by evil, who turns away his face, as the Lord has said through Isaiah,

Your iniquities are what separate you from your God, and your sins what cause His face ¹ to hide from you. Isaiah 59:2.

脚注: