Arcana Coelestia volume 7 - Swedenborg Foundation

ARCANA COELESTIA 38855345. And Joseph heaped up corn as the sand of the sea, exceedingmuch. That this signifies the multiplying of truth from good isevident from the signification of “heaping up” as here being tomultiply; and from the signification of “corn” as being truth in thewill and in act (n. 5295), the multiplying of which, whencompared to the sand of the sea, signifies that it is from good, andhere from the good of the celestial of the spiritual by influx; fortruth in the interiors is never multiplied from any other source thangood. The multiplying of the truth which is not from good is notthe multiplying of truth, because it is not truth, however much inthe outward form it may appear to be truth. It is a sort of imagewith no life in it, and being dead, does not approach truth; fortruth to be truth in man, must live from good, that is, throughgood from the Lord; and when it so lives, multiplying may bepredicated of it in the spiritual sense. That the multiplying of truthis solely from good, may be seen from the fact that nothing can bemultiplied except from something like a marriage, and truth cannotenter into marriage with anything but good; if with anything else, itis not marriage, but adultery. What therefore is multiplied frommarriage is legitimate, thus is truth; but what is multiplied fromadultery is not legitimate, but spurious, thus is not truth.5346. Until he ceased to number, because it was without number.That this signifies such as had in it the celestial from the Divine isevident from the fact that the truth in which is the celestial fromthe Divine is without limit, thus is without number. Only theLord, who is here represented by Joseph, had such truth when hewas in the world; and the glorification of his natural is here treatedof in the supreme sense.5347. Verses 50–52. And to Joseph were born two sons before theyear of famine came, whom Asenath the daughter of Potiphera priest ofOn bare to him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh;For God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.And the name of the second called he Ephraim; For God hath made mefruitful in the land of my affliction. “And to Joseph were born twosons” signifies good and truth therefrom; “before the year of faminecame” signifies that came through the natural; “whom Asenath the