. And Pharaoh called Joseph‘s name Zaphenath-paneah. That this signifies the quality of the celestial of the spiritual at that time, is evident from the signification of a "name" and of "calling a name," as being the quality (n. 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2628, 2724, 3006, 3237, 3421). In its original language " Zaphenath-paneah" means "a revealer of hidden things and an opener of things to come," by which in the celestial sense is signified the Divine therein; for to reveal hidden things, and to open things to come, is of God alone. This is the quality this name involves, and it is also the quality of the celestial of the spiritual; for the celestial of the spiritual is the good of truth in which is the Divine, or which is immediately from the Divine. This, namely the celestial of the spiritual in which is the Divine, belonged to the Lord alone when He was in the world, and was the Human in which the Divine Itself could be, and which could be put off when the Lord made all the Human in Himself Divine.
. And he gave him Asenath the daughter of Potiphera best of On for a woman. That this signifies the quality of the marriage of truth with good and of good with truth, is evident from the signification of "giving for a woman," as being marriage. That it is the marriage of good with truth and of truth with good, is because nothing else is meant in the spiritual sense by marriages, and hence nothing else is meant by them in the Word. By the "daughter of the priest of On" is signified the truth of good, for a "daughter" is the affection of truth, and a "priest" is good; but "Joseph" is the good of truth in which is the Divine, which is the same as the celestial of the spiritual. From this it is plain that the marriage of truth with good and of good with truth is signified. It is the quality of this marriage that is signified, but this quality cannot be further set forth, because the quality the Lord had in the world cannot be comprehended, even by angels, and only some shadowy idea can be formed of it from such things as are in heaven - as from the Grand Man, and from the celestial of the spiritual which is therein from the influx of the Lord’s Divine but still this idea is as dense shade to light itself, for it is most general, and relatively is therefore scarcely anything.
. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt. That this signifies when both naturals were its own, is evident from the signification of "going out," as here being to flow in; and from the signification of the "land of Egypt," as being the natural mind, thus both naturals; and because "to go out" signifies to flow in, and the "land of Egypt" signifies both naturals, by these words together with the preceding is signified the quality of the celestial of the spiritual, and the quality of the marriage of good with truth and of truth with good, when the celestial of the spiritual by influx made both naturals its own. What is meant by "making the natural its own" may be seen just above (n. 5326).
GENESIS 41:45previous
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