Spiritual Meaning of GENESIS 48:17-20
[2] In a few words something must be said of the truth of good which is of the celestial man. This truth is indeed called truth, but it is good. With the celestial man there is the good of love to the Lord and the good of love toward the neighbor. The good of love to the Lord is his internal, and the good of love toward the neighbor is his external. Therefore as regards the men who are of the celestial church, those are in the internal of this church who are in love to the Lord, and those are in its external who are in love toward the neighbor The good of this love, namely, of love toward the neighbor with the celestial man, is what is here called the "truth of good," and is represented by Manasseh. For the celestial man is such that he does not reason from truth, nor about truth, because he has perception from good (that is, through good from the Lord) that a thing is so or is not so (n. 202, 337, 2715, 3246, 4448); and yet the good of charity with him is what is called truth, but celestial truth.
. And nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he. That this signifies that good from truth shall receive more increase, thus the spiritual man, is evident from the representation of Ephraim, here the "younger brother," as being the truth of the intellectual in the natural born from the internal (n. 6234, 6238, 6267), but here "Ephraim" is good from truth; and from the signification of "becoming greater’ than another; as being to receive more increase. That here "Ephraim" is good from truth, is because he represents the man of the spiritual church, but the man of the external spiritual church, as Manasseh represents the man of the external celestial church (n. 6295). Good from truth constitutes this man, that is, the man of the spiritual church. The internal of this church is what is represented by Israel, but the external by Ephraim The man of the spiritual church differs from the man of the celestial church in this, that the good of the spiritual church is implanted in the intellectual part, but the good of the celestial church in the will part (n. 863, 875, 895, 927, 928, 1023, 1043, 1044, 2256, 4328, 4493, 5113); therefore Ephraim represents the spiritual man, and Manasseh the celestial.[2] That good from truth, or the spiritual man, receives more increase than the good from which is truth, or the celestial man, is because the will of man has continually been depraved, and at last so that evil has taken entire possession of it, insomuch that nothing sound (integer) has remained there. Therefore lest man should perish, the Lord provided that he might be regenerated as to the intellectual part, and thus be saved. Hence then it is that there are few with whom there is anything sound left in the will part, thus few who can become celestial men, but many who can become spiritual men; thus that the latter receive more increase than the former. This is what is signified by his "younger brother becoming greater than he."
. And his seed shall be the fullness of the nations. That this signifies that the truth which is of faith shall reign, is evident from the signification of "seed," as being faith and charity (n. 1025, 1447, 1610, 1940, 2848, 3187, 3310, 3373, 3671), here faith, because predicated of Ephraim; and from the signification of the "fullness of the nations," as being abundance, thus that the truth of faith shall reign. "Fullness" in the Word signifies all, and where it does not signify all, it signifies abundant, and is predicated both of truth and of good; for "multitude" is predicated of truth, but "magnitude" of good, thus "fullness of both," as in Jeremiah:--Behold waters rise up out of the north, which shall become an overflowing stream, and shall overflow the land and the fullness thereof, the city and them that dwell therein (Jer. 47:2);
"the land and the fullness" denote all, both truth and good, that is of the church. For this reason it is added, "the city and them that dwell therein;" for by "city" are signified truths, and by "them that dwell therein," goods (n. 2268, 2451, 2712).
[2] In Ezekiel:--
They shall eat their bread with solicitude, and drink their waters with amazement, that the land thereof may be devastated from its fullness (Ezek. 12:19);
the "land" denotes the church, and the "fullness" the good and truth there. That both are signified is evident from what precedes, that "they should eat bread with solicitude, and drink waters with amazement;" for by "bread" is signified the good of love, and by "waters" the truth of faith, which are called the "fullness of the earth."
[3] In like manner in Amos:--
The pride of Jacob, and his palaces, I hate, therefore will I shut up the city and the fullness thereof (Amos 6:8).
In David:--
The heavens are Thine, the earth also is Thine; the world and the fullness thereof Thou hast founded (Ps. 89:11).
And elsewhere in the same:--
The earth is Jehovah‘s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the streams (Ps. 24:1, 2);
where also the "fullness" denotes truth and good; the "earth," the church in a specific, and the "world," the church in a universal sense. That "Jehovah founded the world upon the seas" denotes upon the things that are of memory-knowledge (n. 28); and that "He established it upon the streams" denotes upon the things that are of intelligence (n. 3051). Who cannot see that it is not meant that Jehovah founded the world upon the seas, and established it upon the streams, for the world is not founded and established thereon; and therefore he who reflects can see that by "seas" and by "streams" something else is signified, and that this something else is the spiritual or internal of the Word.
. And he blessed them in this day. That this signifies foresight and providence eternally, is evident from the signification of "blessing," as being prediction (n. 6230, 6254), but in the supreme sense the Lord’s foresight; and because foresight, it is also Providence, for the one is impossible without the other; for evil is foreseen and good is provided, and the evil which is foreseen is by providence bent into good. That here "to bless" denotes foresight and providence, is because Israel, who here blesses, in the supreme sense is the Lord (n. 4286). That eternally is meant, is evident from the signification of "this day," or "today," as being what is eternal (n. 2838, 3998, 4304, 6165). . Saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God set thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh. That this signifies that his own spiritual may be in the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will, is evident from the representation of Israel, as being spiritual good (n. 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833) and from the representation of Ephraim, as being the truth of the intellectual, and of Manasseh, as being the good of the will. That the spiritual, which is "Israel," may be in them, is signified by the words, "in thee shall Israel bless, and God set thee."[2] As regards the spiritual represented by Israel being in the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will, which are "Ephraim and Manasseh," the case is this. The spiritual good which is represented by Israel is the spiritual of the internal church; whereas the truth and good represented by Ephraim and Manasseh are of the external church (n. 6296). In order for an internal to be an internal of the church, it must needs be in the external of the church, for the external holds the place of the foundation on which the internal stands, and is the receptacle into which the internal flows. Hence it is that the natural, which is external, must needs be regenerated; for unless it is regenerated, the internal has neither foundation nor receptacle; and if it has no foundation nor receptacle, it utterly perishes. This then is what is meant by his own spiritual being in the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will.
[3] As an illustration of this matter take this example. The very affection of charity which a man feels within himself as a quietude and bliss in benefiting the neighbor without regard to any recompense, is the internal of the church; but to will this good and to do it from truth, that is, because it has been so commanded in the Word, is the external of the church. If the natural, which is the external, is not in agreement, that is, does not will nor do this good, because it sees in it no recompense, thus nothing of self (for in the natural or external man there is such a disposition both from what is hereditary and from what is actual), then the internal has no foundation, nor corresponding receptacle, except such as either rejects, or perverts, or extinguishes the influx; and therefore the internal perishes, that is, is closed and stopped up, so that nothing from heaven can pass into the natural through the internal, except some light of a general nature that passes through the chinks everywhere round about, in order that there may be a faculty of thinking, of willing, and of speaking, but according to that which is in the natural, thus in favor of evil and falsity against good and truth, to which purpose it makes subservient that amount of spiritual light which in a general manner flows in through the chinks everywhere round about.
. And he set Ephraim before Manasseh. That this signifies that he accounted truth as being in the first place, because he was spiritual, is evident from what has been unfolded above (verses 13, 14, 17-19). GENESIS 48:17-20 previous - next - text - summary - Genesis - Full Page
Author: E. Swedenborg (1688-1772). | Design: I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002. | www.BibleMeanings.info |