5594. Verses 6-10. And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye ill with me, to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? And they said, Asking the man asked unto us, and unto our birth, saying is your father yet alive? Have ye a brother? And we told him according to the mouth of these words. Knowing could we know that he would say, Bring your brother down? And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go; and we will live, and not die, both we and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him; if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, and I shall sin to thee all the days; for except we had lingered, surely we had now returned these two times. "And Israel said," signifies perception from spiritual good; "Wherefore dealt ye ill with me to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?" signifies that they separated from them the truth of good, to conjoin it with the spiritual from the internal; "and they said, Asking the man asked unto us," signifies that it clearly perceived the things in the natural; "and unto our birth," signifies concerning the truths of faith there; "saying, is your father yet alive?" signifies and concerning the spiritual good from which they were; "have ye a brother?" signifies concerning interior truth; "and we told him according to the mouth of these words," signifies that he perceived them conformably; "knowing could we know that he would say, Bring your brother down?" signifies that we did not believe that he wished the truth of good to be conjoined with him; "and Judah said unto Israel his father," signifies perception from the good of the church concerning those things; "Send the boy with me," signifies that he should be adjoined to him; "and we will arise and go; and we will live, and not die," signifies spiritual life according to degrees; "both we," signifies the external of the church; "and thou," signifies its internal; "and also our little ones," signifies the things which are still more interior; "I will be surety for him," signifies that in the meantime it will be adjoined to itself; "of my hand shalt thou require him," signifies that it shall not be torn away insofar as lies in its power; "if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee," signifies unless he is quite restored to the church; "and I shall sin to thee all the days," signifies that the good of the church will no longer be; "for except we had lingered," signifies tarrying in a state of doubt; "surely we had now returned these two times," signifies that there would have been spiritual life both exterior and interior.
