24. And Joseph said to his brethren, and his father's house, I will go up and tell Pharaoh, My brethren and my father's house are come to me out of the land of Canaan; and are herdsmen, 1 for they are people that are conversant about cattle; and have brought with them their small and great cattle, and all that they have. And now when Pharaoh shall call you to him, and say, What is your employment and business ? then shall you say, Your servants are people that are conversant about cattle, from our youth up unto this time, both we, and our father: that you may dwell in the land of Goshen: for those which are herdsmen and keepers of cattle are an abomination to the Egyptians (Gen. xlvi. 31-34).
1 Shepherds or pastors.
The inward figure stands thus:
25. When the heavenly Joseph, Christ, has manifested himself to the soul and Adamical man, so that they are come together, and that they have received and embrace one another, then that same powerful Word in the spirit of Christ, which has manifested itself in man, presses and penetrates again into the eternal Father's property, viz. into the eternal speaking of the Father. Which here is as much as to say, I will tell Pharaoh, that my brethren, together with all my father's house, are come to me.
26. For Pharaoh stands here in the figure of God the Father, who is the eternal King, to whom says Christ, viz. the Word of love and grace, that his brethren, viz. the properties of the human life, from and with all its powers and virtues, are come to him. That is, the Word, Christ, which is come from the Father into our humanity through his power and virtue, speaks the word of the natural human life into the eternal Word of the Father: which is here called, "telling the king".
27. For Christ is even the Father's Steward over man, as Joseph was Pharaoh's. For man is then manifested again in God when Christ speaks, tells and inspires him into the Word of the Father: else man could not attain God. For the human life is also proceeded from God the Father's Word: for the spirit of God spoke and inspired itself from and by the Word of the Father into man (John i. 4).
28. But after it came into a creature, and became natural, it turned itself away from God's love- speaking [or inspiration of love], and manifested itself in the speaking of anger, [and] the power of [the] love-speaking was extinguished in it, viz. the second Principle, the holy generating or working of the divine power; and was not able, in its own power and strength, to enter again into the love- speaking, that it might be able to speak or generate the divine love-power: it had rent itself off from God's love, and brought itself into a natural speaking of self and vanity.
29. And this did move God's pity and compassion, and introduced his love-speaking Word again into the creaturely formed 1 word of the soul and humanity. And that now is this Joseph, whom God has sent before, that he should inspeak or introduce the human life again into the eternal- speaking Word, and make it manifest therein before the eternal King. He brings the human word in the Father's property into the Word of God, and with his love reconciles the rent and severed human word in the Father's anger- speaking; that is, in his tears of love he changes the anger in the word of the human life into the divine kingdom of joy, and manifests the human life actually, and working in God: and that here is, as Joseph said, I will tell Pharaoh that my brethren and my father's whole house are come to me out of the land of Canaan.
1 Imaged, framed, or created.
30. For Christ is become our brother: The Word of love became man and dwelt in us (John i. 14). He took Adam's nature upon him; and therefore in this figure it is called his Father's house, viz. the first Adam; and his children he calls his brethren. So very secretly and mystically the spirit of Moses speaks, in the figure of Christ: else in this place he had said enough, in saying, My Father is come to me; if he had not had another figure under it.
24. And Joseph said to his brethren, and his father's house, I will go up and tell Pharaoh, My brethren and my father's house are come to me out of the land of Canaan; and are herdsmen, 1 for they are people that are conversant about cattle; and have brought with them their small and great cattle, and all that they have. And now when Pharaoh shall call you to him, and say, What is your employment and business ? then shall you say, Your servants are people that are conversant about cattle, from our youth up unto this time, both we, and our father: that you may dwell in the land of Goshen: for those which are herdsmen and keepers of cattle are an abomination to the Egyptians (Gen. xlvi. 31-34).
1 Shepherds or pastors.
The inward figure stands thus:
25. When the heavenly Joseph, Christ, has manifested himself to the soul and Adamical man, so that they are come together, and that they have received and embrace one another, then that same powerful Word in the spirit of Christ, which has manifested itself in man, presses and penetrates again into the eternal Father's property, viz. into the eternal speaking of the Father. Which here is as much as to say, I will tell Pharaoh, that my brethren, together with all my father's house, are come to me.
26. For Pharaoh stands here in the figure of God the Father, who is the eternal King, to whom says Christ, viz. the Word of love and grace, that his brethren, viz. the properties of the human life, from and with all its powers and virtues, are come to him. That is, the Word, Christ, which is come from the Father into our humanity through his power and virtue, speaks the word of the natural human life into the eternal Word of the Father: which is here called, "telling the king".
27. For Christ is even the Father's Steward over man, as Joseph was Pharaoh's. For man is then manifested again in God when Christ speaks, tells and inspires him into the Word of the Father: else man could not attain God. For the human life is also proceeded from God the Father's Word: for the spirit of God spoke and inspired itself from and by the Word of the Father into man (John i. 4).
28. But after it came into a creature, and became natural, it turned itself away from God's love- speaking [or inspiration of love], and manifested itself in the speaking of anger, [and] the power of [the] love-speaking was extinguished in it, viz. the second Principle, the holy generating or working of the divine power; and was not able, in its own power and strength, to enter again into the love- speaking, that it might be able to speak or generate the divine love-power: it had rent itself off from God's love, and brought itself into a natural speaking of self and vanity.
29. And this did move God's pity and compassion, and introduced his love-speaking Word again into the creaturely formed 1 word of the soul and humanity. And that now is this Joseph, whom God has sent before, that he should inspeak or introduce the human life again into the eternal- speaking Word, and make it manifest therein before the eternal King. He brings the human word in the Father's property into the Word of God, and with his love reconciles the rent and severed human word in the Father's anger- speaking; that is, in his tears of love he changes the anger in the word of the human life into the divine kingdom of joy, and manifests the human life actually, and working in God: and that here is, as Joseph said, I will tell Pharaoh that my brethren and my father's whole house are come to me out of the land of Canaan.
1 Imaged, framed, or created.
30. For Christ is become our brother: The Word of love became man and dwelt in us (John i. 14). He took Adam's nature upon him; and therefore in this figure it is called his Father's house, viz. the first Adam; and his children he calls his brethren. So very secretly and mystically the spirit of Moses speaks, in the figure of Christ: else in this place he had said enough, in saying, My Father is come to me; if he had not had another figure under it.
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