6080. 'And now let your servants, we beg you, dwell in the land of Goshen' means so that they may live in the middle of them. This is clear from the meaning of 'dwelling' as living, dealt with in 1293, 3384, 3613, 4451, 6051; and from the meaning of 'the land of Goshen' as the middle or inmost part of the natural, dealt with in 5910, 6028, 6031, 6068.

1293. 'And they dwelt there' means the life that resulted. This becomes clear from the meaning in the Word of 'dwelling' as living. The expression to dwell occurs many times in both the prophetical and the historical sections of the Word, and in the internal sense it as a rule means to live. The reason is that the most ancient people dwelt in tents and celebrated their most holy worship in them, and this also is why 'tents' in the Word means the holiness of worship, as shown in 414. And since 'tents' meant the holiness within worship, 'dwelling' in a good sense also means living, or life. In a similar way it is because the most ancient people travelled around with their tents that 'travelling' in the internal sense of the Word means the established patterns and order of life.