Chapter 12
THE I AM AND ITS FACULTIES IN THE BODY
GENESIS 42, 43, 44, 45 and 46
Charles Fillmore
Mysteries of Genesis
Chapter 12
THE BIRTH of Jacob, son of Isaac and Rebekah, is described in the 25th chapter of Genesis, and the remainder of the book, or exactly half of its fifty chapters, tells of the activities of Jacob and his twelve sons. Such emphasis shows the importance of Jacob as a symbol of the I AM, that spiritual man whose creation, manifestation, and development is the theme of Genesis. This ideal man does not fully develop in the Jacob symbol but continues to unfold all through the Bible, coming into full expression as Christ Jesus. As Jacob however we find man developing his spiritual faculties (twelve sons) and then taking them down into Egypt (body consciousness) to begin the great work of redemption.
Involution always precedes evolution. The I AM and its spiritual faculties must be sent down into the body consciousness before the evolution of the spiritual man can begin. Spirit does not direct the work of regeneration from a distant heaven, but from its center in the crown of the head directs and transforms the very heart of each atom of the body.
Gen. 42:1-5. Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die. And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure harm befall him. And the sons of Israel came to buy among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
Many workers in Truth think it is useless to go down into this obscure kingdom of Egypt within each man. They are not willing for Joseph to spend a part of his time in that country making ready the storehouses and filling them with the vitality that will be needed when the outer man has used up his resources. These persons will find that they cannot have that joyous reunion of mind and body with all the faculties unless they are willing to let the higher thought go consciously down into the body (Egypt) and rule there, as Joseph ruled second only to Pharaoh himself.
We must not forget that it is down in Egypt (the body) that we find the “grain” or substance that is required to sustain the whole man. The several visits of Joseph’s brothers to Egypt for grain and their final reconciliation with him are a symbolical representation of the manner in which we make connection with the obscured vitality center within the organism, eventually bringing all our faculties into conjunction with it, that it may in due course be lifted up to a spiritual manifestation.
Canaan, from which Jacob and his sons migrated, means “lowland,” while Egypt means “tribulation.” To the metaphysician these names represent the two phases of substance. Canaan represents the invisible substance that surrounds and interpenetrates all bodies, while Egypt represents substance that has been formed as material and is perceived by the senses. The faculties of mind, represented by Jacob’s sons, first inhabit the realm of invisible substance and are sustained by it; then they pass into the realm of the visible or formed substance–from Canaan to Egypt. This is the way in which the mind forms the soul and its vehicle, the physical body. Thoughts are first expressed as ideas in the invisible substance, then they enter into visibility as things.
When man is ignorant of the creative power of his mind, he gravitates to a material basis in all his thinking and acting. Among the sons of Jacob only Joseph (imagination) had knowledge of the reality of the invisible. The others scoffed at him as a visionary. They refused to plant their seed thoughts in the soil of the invisible substance, and the result was a famine–there was no grain in Canaan.
When we refuse to observe the law of creative mind, we oppose the working out of life’s problems in the divine way, according to principle, and are compelled to work them out in a harder way. This is why the “way of the transgressor is hard.” Thousands go down into Egypt and suffer the trials and limitations of materiality when, if they were more observant of the law and obedient to their spiritual leadings, they might remain in the joy and freedom of Christ. Yet even in the world of materiality (Egypt) the chosen of the Lord (Israelites) prosper and multiply. The children of Jacob increased from a few score to over two million during their sojourn in Egypt. No matter how great your trials or how dark your way may seem, if you hold to your belief in the omnipresence, omnipotence, and goodness of God, you will succeed, and no material oppression can hold you down.
Gen. 42:6-24. And Joseph was the governor over the land; he it was that sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves to him with their faces to the earth. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly with them; and he said unto them, Whence came ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies. And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said, We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies: hereby ye shall be proved: by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be bound, that your words may be proved, whether there be truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. And he put them all together into ward three days.
And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God: if ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in your prisonhouse; but go ye, carry grain for the famine of your houses: and bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so. And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore also, behold, his blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for there was an interpreter between them. And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and he returned to them, and spake to them, and took Simeon from among them, and bound him before their eyes.
A spy is one who seeks to discover certain facts by stealthy observation. Joseph was testing out his brothers in his endeavor to ascertain where they stood in consciousness; also whether his beloved father Jacob (the I AM) was still alive (functioning in the conscious mind) and how it was with him. He also desired to see again his own brother Benjamin (faith). All in all Joseph was yearning to see his kindred and to be reunited with them.
The brothers were greatly troubled when Joseph insisted that they bring Benjamin, their youngest brother, down into Egypt. Benjamin, among the twelve faculties, represents faith. Imagination (Joseph) needs faith (Benjamin) to complete its work and to hold fast the gains it has made. Like Joseph’s brothers, we think that faith is too pure, too lofty and holy to risk contaminating it with the things of material sense. We like to hold it on the high plane of spiritual consciousness rather than send it down into the body consciousness. Yet this we must do if we are to save the other faculties and the whole man. The brothers were in grave danger of being held prisoners, or so it seemed to them, unless Benjamin were brought down into Egypt. They remembered their father’s great grief over the loss of Joseph and they felt that the sacrifice of parting with Benjamin, the other son of his beloved Rachel, would be too much for him.
During these trying moments their minds recalled Joseph and his cries for mercy, to which they had turned a deaf ear when they sold him into slavery. Joseph’s immediate presence may have had something to do with suggesting this memory even though they did not recognize him. Conscience stricken, they said one to another, “We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.” They evidently understood something of the law of sowing and reaping in those days, for at least they did not lay their troubles to charge of Providence, as is done so much now. They thought they were about to reap what they had sown years before.
Simeon (“one who listens and obeys”) was held in bondage by Joseph, which reveals that soul receptivity and obedience are necessary adjuncts to the imagination.
Gen. 42:25-38. Then Joseph commanded to fill their vessels with grain, and to restore every man’s money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus was it done unto them.
And they laded their asses with their grain, and departed thence. And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the lodging-place, he espied his money; and, behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they turned trembling one to another, saying, What is this that God hath done unto us? And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that had befallen them, saying, The man, the lord of the land, spake roughly with us, and took us for spies of the country. And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies; we are twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. And the man, the lord of the land, said unto us, Hereby shall I know ye are true men: leave one of your brethren with me, and take grain for the famine of your houses, and go your way; and bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffic in the land.
And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack: and when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me. And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he only is left: if harm befall him by the way in which ye go, then will ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.
Joseph (the imaging power of the mind) has access to unlimited supply (all the substance in Egypt). Joseph knew that his brothers possessed the same capacities that he himself did, but they were not consciously aware of this. Through Joseph they (the other faculties) are being educated; the famine in their land means that they lack understanding of their spiritual resources. Joseph (imagination) is the avenue through which these resources are brought to them, and one of the lessons here presented under the guise of restoring to them their purchase money is “Give, and it shall be given unto you.” They are treated as spies or aliens in this land of omnipresent divine resources because they are ignorant of the fact that they belong in the family of God and that Joseph is their kin.
Jacob, grieving over the loss of two sons and fearful at the prospect of losing the third and dearest son next to Joseph (Benjamin), represents the personal man who is still in bondage to personal thoughts. But Reuben (spiritual perception) is launching out and is beginning to realize that all is well (in divine order) and is willing to offer up his most valuable possessions as surety for the safe return of his brother Benjamin: “Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee.”
“If harm befall him by the way in which ye go, then will ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol” is indicative of the grief, sorrow, and darkened state of mind that result when the human consciousness sees death or the loss of loved ones as reality.
Gen. 43:1-15. And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: but if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down; for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? And they said, The man asked straitly concerning ourselves, and concerning our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we in any wise know that he would say, Bring your brother down? And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may 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, then let me bear the blame for ever: for except we had lingered, surely we had now returned a second time. And their father Israel said unto them, If it be so now, do this: take the choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spicery and myrrh, nuts, and almonds; and take double money in your hand; and the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks carry again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight: take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: and God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release unto you your other brother and Benjamin. And if I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved. And the man took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
Here again the outer man has appropriated all his substance and must go down into Egypt to replenish his store. Judah (the prayer faculty) calls the attention of Jacob (the I AM) to the fact that the journey would be fruitless unless they were accompanied by Benjamin (awakening faith). It really requires awakening faith to open the door into the storehouse of substance over which the imagination (Joseph) rules.
With great bitterness of heart Jacob finally consents. He directs his sons (the faculties) to take with them presents–“a little balm, and a little honey, spicery and myrrh, nuts, and almonds; and take double money in your hand; and the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks carry again in your hand”–which represent the limited substance ideas of the personal man. His sons go forth into Egypt with Jacob’s blessing, which Jacob has poured out upon his idea of substance, though it be meager. By so doing he has opened the way for a larger spiritual inflow. “The blessing of Jehovah, it maketh rich.”
Gen. 43:16-34. And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, Bring the men into the house, and slay, and make ready; for the men shall dine with me at noon. And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men to Joseph’s house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they spake unto him at the door of the house, and said, Oh, my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: and it came to pass, when we came to the lodging-place, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. And other money have we brought down in our hand to buy food: we know not who put our money in our sacks. And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them. And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender. And they made ready the present against Joseph’s coming at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.
And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down themselves to him to the earth. And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? And they said, Thy servant our father is well, he is yet alive. And they bowed the head, and made obeisance. And he lifted his eyes, and saw Benjamin his brother, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your youngest brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste; for his heart yearned over his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and came out; and he refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, that did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marveled one with another. And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.
It seems almost sacrilegious to give an interpretation of this Scripture, because it is so beautiful as literature and so true on the natural plane. However it is symbolical of the consummation or final union of the imagination (Joseph) with its brother faculty faith (Benjamin). Substance (represented by the feast set before them) also plays an important part. This is the fulfillment of the law through faith and imagination and their auxiliary powers.
The Egyptians and Hebrews sat apart from Joseph. The Egyptians represent substance on the formed or physical plane, and the Hebrews represent substance in the spiritual or invisible realm. Joseph represents the directive or molding power of Spirit.
The movements of mind just described also presage a new cycle or round in soul unfoldment.
Gen. 44:1-13. And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s money in his sack’s mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his grain money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. And when they were gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? Is not this that in which my lord drinketh, and whereby he indeed divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these words. And they said unto him, Wherefore speaketh my lord such words as these? Far be it from thy servants that they should do such a thing. Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord’s house silver or gold? With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen. And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my bondman; and ye shall be blameless. Then they hasted, and took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left off at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.
Joseph in Egypt symbolizes the word of the imagination in subconsciousness, or the involution of a high spiritual idea. In this Scripture the imagination is given the opportunity to try out the strength of the other faculties (Joseph’s brothers) in an endeavor to discover if they have come to that place in consciousness where they can work from the viewpoint of Truth, regardless of all else.
Joseph’s having the cup put into Benjamin’s sack represents one of the subtle ways in which the Lord imparts Truth to man’s consciousness. The cup symbolizes the word or measure in which Truth is realized, and although the recipient is not aware of it, it does its work and finally comes to consciousness in the presence of Jehovah’s representative (Joseph) and all the other faculties (brothers).
This cup, the Scripture relates, was used by Joseph to “divine” with, which shows its mystical quality. It is also related to the cup that Jesus used at the Last Supper.
Gen. 44:14-34. And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house; and he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? know ye not that such a man as I can indeed divine? And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord’s bondmen, both we, and he also in whose hand the cup is found. And he said, Far be it from me that I should do so: the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my bondman; but as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.
Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh, my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou are even as Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother; and his father loveth him. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. And our father said, Go again, buy us a little food. And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down; for we may not see the man’s face, except our youngest brother be with us. And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons: and the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I have not seen him since: and if ye take this one also from me, and harm befall him, ye will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol. Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad is not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life; it will come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants will bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then shall I bear the blame to my father for ever. Now therefore, let thy servant, I pray thee, abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. For how shall I go up to my father, if the lad be not with me? lest I see the evil that shall come on my father.
Judah made an effective plea for Benjamin and his father. This is one of the most excellent things of its kind in all literature. It shows a complete change of mind and heart, which is true repentance. Judah had proposed to sell Joseph into slavery. The praise faculty represented by Judah had been on a low plane of expression at that time. But Judah had grown with the years (as the praise faculty grows with use) and had become most unselfish, even to the point of offering himself as a hostage for his youngest brother. Where selfishness, jealousy, and hardness had ruled him before, there was now unselfish love, humility, devotion to principle, and willingness to serve even to the extent of giving up his liberty or his life, if need be, for the sake of his father (the I AM).
True repentance is always followed by forgiveness, which is a complete wiping out of the error thought from consciousness and a full deliverance from the inharmony that the error thought has produced.
Gen. 45:1-15. Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold unto Egypt. And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and there are yet five years, in which there shall be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not; and thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: and there will I nourish thee; for there are yet five years of famine; lest thou come to poverty, thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast. And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen: and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
After hearing Judah’s plea Joseph could restrain himself no longer. He made himself known to his brothers, and there was a happy reunion. This whole Scripture proves that back of all the Spirit of the Lord is working to bring forth the perfect world. “To them that love God all things work together for good.”
Joseph was the chosen servant of the Lord to preserve not only the Egyptians but also those who dwelt in the surrounding countries. Out of a seemingly unbearable jealous condition the lives of thousands were preserved, and most important, a wonderful soul unfoldment took place in the whole Israelitish race. Joseph symbolizes the sublime idea of Truth’s going down into the darkened sense consciousness and under the law raising it up and out of sense into Spirit. Joseph was seemingly forced to go to Egypt by his brothers, yet he was sent by the Lord to prepare for the maintenance of Jacob’s family through the period of dearth that later came to Canaan. The Truth idea he represents, when taken down into the sense consciousness, establishes there a new realization of life that results in the regeneration of the entire man. We must often go consciously into every part of our body and build it up in Truth with new ideas of life and substance.
The name Goshen means “drawing near.” Metaphysically it represents a state of unity.
Gen. 45:16-28. And the report thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye: lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; and take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. Now thou art commanded, this do ye: take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.
And the sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the way. To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. And to his father he sent after this manner: ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with grain and bread and provision for his father by the way. So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way. And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father. And they told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt. And his heart fainted, for he believed them not. And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: and Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.
Joseph sent his brothers home rejoicing, laden with presents for their father, and there was no longer any regret that they had brought Benjamin down into Egypt. True repentance means the changing of the mind and all its contents of error belief. When we have done this we can unify ourselves with Truth, and then we are blessed in both mind and body with the true riches of Spirit.
Pharaoh, the ruling ego of the subconsciousness, joyfully welcomes Joseph’s kindred. This reveals that the constructive imagination (Joseph) not only mirrors forth plenty that becomes manifest as substantial supply but also brings peace and harmony to the whole man. Every form and thing, whether in the ether or on the earth, represents some idea or mental attitude. The idea is first projected into mind substance and afterward formed in consciousness through the imagining faculty of the mind.
Gen. 46:1-7. And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.
Beer-sheba here represents spiritual inspiration (wells of water, reservoir) within man’s consciousness that he has received and is acting on. The amazing activity and success of the imagination has opened up a larger substance source in body, and the whole thought family (Jacob’s) is moving in and taking conscious possession of it.
God spoke to Jacob and told him not to fear to go down into Egypt, because He (God) would go with him and bring him out again after he had become a great nation. The descent into the land of Egypt of Jacob and his sons, together with the possessions that they had accumulated in Canaan, their wives, children, goods, flocks, and herds, symbolizes to us the unification of the I AM with all the faculties of the mind and of the life energy and substance of the whole man with the body. This happy result is brought about by the action of the faculty of imagination (all dwelt together “in the land of Goshen,” which signifies unity). This new state of mind becomes a part of the permanent consciousness in the new land.
“And Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes” means that through the faculty of imagination the perception of the other faculties is quickened and increased.
Gen. 46:8-27. And these are the names of the children of Israel, who come into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s first-born. And the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, and Pallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman. And the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. And the sons of Issachar: Tola, and Puvah, and Iob, and Shimron. And the sons of Zebulun: Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. These are the sons of Leah, whom she bare unto Jacob in Paddan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three. And the sons of Gad: Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli. And the sons of Asher: Imnah, and Ishvah, and Ishvi, and Beriah, and Serah their sister; and the sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel. These are the sons of Zilpah whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls. The sons of Rachel Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin. And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera priest of On, bare unto him. And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: All the souls were fourteen. And the sons of Dan: Hushim. And the sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob: all the souls were seven. All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, that came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six; and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, that came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
(For the symbology of Jacob’s twelve sons, his wives Leah and Rachel, and the two handmaids Bilhah and Zilpah see the interpretation of Gen. 35: 23-26.)
Hanoch (“instructed,” “dedicated”) represents entrance into a higher consciousness than has been known and experienced before.
Pallu (“marvelous,” “extraordinary”) represents the great general uplift that comes to the consciousness that has begun to awaken out of the purely animal phase of thought to a higher and truer conception of God and of life.
Hezron (“inclosed,” “green pasture”) represents thoughts that belong to the perceiving faculty (Reuben) and the praise of life in its activity (Judah).
These thoughts are not yet free in their expression in the consciousness and the organism. They are “inclosed” by the subconscious limiting error belief of man that all his faculties and powers are material and transient instead of spiritual and abiding. (There were two men named Hezron, one the son of Reuben and the other the grandson of Judah.)
Carmi (“fruitful,” “generous”) symbolizes a vital, prosperous, and fruitful attitude of mind.
Jemuel (“God is light,” “day of God”) represents the stage of individual unfoldment when the light of Truth is accepted into consciousness and realized.
Jamin (“right hand,” “right place”) represents thoughts pertaining to divine order.
The name Ohad means “one,” “unity.” Ohad was the son of Simeon. The name Simeon means “one who listens and obeys.” Simeon represents the spiritually receptive and obedient attitude in man. Ohad symbolizes unity with God and the conscious increase of the Christly attributes that is the result of this union between the divine and the individual.
Jachin (“whom He [God] makes firm”) represents the firmness, steadfastness, and strength of character that result from the establishment of the consciousness in Truth.
Zohar (“whiteness,” “nobility”) represents thoughts of a pure, lofty, discriminating character.
Shaul is a form of the name Saul, and its meaning is the same as that of Saul (“desired,” “demanded”). Shaul represents the personal will in individual consciousness. He was the son of a Canaanitish woman (body consciousness).
Gershon was a son of Levi. The name means “expulsion,” “exile.” The natural law of love is to express itself, but there are conditions under which the love thought (Gershon) is exiled from its native element and for a time retarded or unexpressed.
Kohath (“called together,” “assembly”) represents the attracting, unifying element in love, and the power of love.
Merari (“galling,” “rebellious”) symbolizes love directed by the ignorance and selfishness of the personal man.
Er (“awake,” “watchful”) represents observant, attentive, vigilant thoughts.
Onan (“able-bodied,” “strong”) represents thoughts pertaining to strength and vigor yet with a tendency toward materiality. (Onan’s mother was a Canaanitish woman.)
Shelah (“security,” “rest,” “peace”) represents a sense of peace, harmony, and security that has come about through prayer.
Perez (“breached,” “torn asunder”) represents victory gained through praise or by making one’s way out of apparent limitation and error by means of prayer and praise.
The name Zerah means “rising of light.” Zerah represents the rise of new light, new understanding, in the consciousness.
The name Hamul means “spared,” “gentleness,” “compassion”; it also signifies “forgiveness.” The attitudes of mind thus implied are Godlike, and they have to do with the salvation of the individual who entertains them.
The name Tola means “crimson,” “scarlet,” “coccus worm.” Tola represents life activity on a seemingly low plane but in process of unfoldment to higher and greater expressions.
Puvah is the same name as Puah, which means “mouth,” “blast,” “utterance.” Puvah symbolizes the giving of one’s true thoughts, one’s zeal, to establishing the activity of Truth throughout the consciousness so that it may be declared aloud and expressed. (Puvah was the son of Issachar, zeal.)
Shimron (“watch,” “careful keeping”) represents a watchful, observant, attentive attitude, which raises to a high plane the faculties of mind represented by Issachar (zeal) and Zebulun (order).
Sered (“fear,” “trembling,” “flight,” “escape”) represents fearfulness, extreme unrest, in the order faculty in the individual consciousness.
Elon (“strong man,” “an oak”) represents thoughts of strength and power.
The name Jahleel means “waiting on God,” “hoping in God.” Jahleel represents waiting in the silence upon God in an expectant attitude of mind.
“My soul, wait thou in silence for God only; For my expectation is from him.”
Dinah (“judged,” “justified”) symbolizes the soul or feminine side of the judgment faculty, which may be called intuition, the intuition of the natural man.
Ziphion is the same name as Zephon, which means “watchman,” “observer,” “keeper of the high watch.” Ziphion represents the realization of power (Gad symbolizes power) that is the result of a desire for and a seeking after power. This suggests prayer and an earnest desire for and expectation of something higher and better than the purely mental and physical aspects of power and might.
The name Haggi means “feast,” “rejoicing,” “festival.” Haggi symbolizes a realization of good as taking the place of seeming evil.
Shuni (“rest,” “quiet,” “calm,” “peace”) represents a tranquil, poised, peaceful state of thought.
Ezbon (“hastening to understand,” “splendor,” “bright”) represents thoughts that come into the light, into the brightness and glory of Truth, because they are concerned with the things of Spirit.
Eri (“my watcher,” “worshiping Jah”) represents an unfolding of the power faculty.
Arodi is the same name as Arod and means “fleeing,” “a wild ass.” Arod and his descendants represent those traits of the animal nature in man which are characteristic of the ass: meekness, stubbornness, persistence, and endurance. These qualities are good when directed by the true I AM but are destructive when given over to sense rule.
Areli (“lionlike,” “valiant,” “heroic”) represents the courage to abide by that which one believes to be right and best; also boldness and fearlessness in applying one’s ideas practically.
Imnah (“good fortune,” “prosperity”) represents a strong belief in and realization of prosperity as being man’s inheritance and the Father’s will for him.
Asher had three sons. The first two, Imnah and Ishvah, represent thoughts of the higher order, but the name of the third son, Beriah, means “evil,” “calamity,” “misfortune,” indicating a negative tendency to evil that sometimes runs parallel with the good in human consciousness. However the good tendencies are so much in the ascendant that they overcome the weaker evil thoughts that belittle man and cause him to develop an inferiority complex.
Ishvah means “equality,” “even,” “smooth,” “resembling (another),” “self-answering.” On the highest plane Ishvah represents that true poise, peace, and equableness that come from within man’s own true spiritual self when he realizes that he is made in the likeness of God and is certain that he will manifest this in the outer in due time. The thought of “self-satisfying” is also brought out in this name. This suggests the truth that as we become conscious of the source of all understanding within us, namely Spirit, we find within ourselves the answer to all our questionings, the satisfaction of all our desires.
Serah (“extension,” “abundance,” “poured forth,” “diffused”) represents a rich, broad, extensive group of soul qualities, but there is also a strong suggestion of waste of substance; lack of conservation.
The name Heber means “a passing over” from the purely sensate, physical, earthly thought to a higher conception of religious Truth.
Malchiel (“rule of God,” “God is king”) symbolizes man’s acknowledgment of the supremacy of divine power and rulership; in other words, the exalting of God in consciousness, giving Him dominion; bowing to and obeying Truth.
Manasseh (“who makes to forget”) represents understanding; understanding here denoting denial, the negative activity of mind. (See Gen. 41:45-47.)
Ephraim (“doubly fruitful”) symbolizes the will, which is the positive or affirmative quality of mind.
The name Asenath means “dedicated to Neith,” “favorite of Neith.” Asenath represents the feminine or love side of the natural man.
The name Poti-phera means “belonging to Ra.” Poti-phera represents a natural religious tendency in the individual that gives the force of its influence to the worship and building up of that for which On stands.
The name On means “city of the sun.” In its purity On is a symbol of Spirit and of true spiritual understanding, substance, and power. As it appears in our Bible, however, it represents the worship of the outer sun, and the truth back of the symbol has been lost sight of to a great degree.
The name Bela means “swallow up,” “destroy.” Bela, the eldest son of Benjamin, represents the destroying or letting go of error by denial, an absorption (swallowing up) of error by Truth.
The name Becher means “early,” “first fruits,” “first-born.” Becher represents the first-born or first fruits of faith, or the first bringing forth of positive, upbuilding thoughts. (Benjamin represents faith.)
The name Ashbel means “reproof of God,” “man of Baal,” “judgment of God.” Ashbel denotes the admonition of Spirit (“reproof of God”) in consciousness against man’s looking upon as real the material thought about formed things (“man of Baal”). The inharmonious result of looking upon the outer world as real and as the source of life, understanding, and existence, instead of seeing formless Spirit (Divine Mind) as the true God and as the one reality standing back of all manifestation–this is what is suggested in the phrase “judgment of God.”
Gera (“grain,” “kernel”) symbolizes faith’s taking on of, or working in, substance.
Naaman (“sweet,” “pleasant,” “good”) denotes the joy, and pleasant, agreeable, harmonious, unifying result that ensues in consciousness when one’s faith and will act in accord with one’s highest Truth ideals.
Ehi is the name of a son of Benjamin also called Aharah, which means “brother.” Ehi represents that in man’s spiritually awakening consciousness which follows after lofty, kindly, brotherly, constructive ideals. The name Ehi also carries with it the thought of unity.
The name Rosh means “inclination,” “will,” “head.” Rosh represents the will. Since Rosh was a son of Benjamin (faith) the significance is that the will, having been given first place in the consciousness of the individual, is acting through faith or in conjunction with it.
The name Muppim means “serpents,” “glidings,” “obscurities,” “darkenings.” Muppim represents human or sense knowledge that is very subtle but that is unsteady and unsettled in its reasonings and deductions. Muppim represents that knowledge which does not reveal the true light, and therefore it does not lead the individual into spiritual understanding.
The name Huppim is the same as that of Hupham, which means “coastman,” “seashore,” “bank.” In all likelihood a coastman is a fisherman. Huppim thus symbolizes a gatherer of ideas, especially ideas of increase.
The name Ard means “fugitive,” “to flee,” “wild ass.” The thought that Ard represents belongs to the outer or animal phase of consciousness, where fear enters and one runs away from seeming evil or resists it wildly and stubbornly, as the case may be, because one fears it. In this phase of consciousness one does not understand that evil is unreal and has no power of itself. When one realizes the truth about seeming evil, one no longer fears it, and it is dissolved from one’s world.
The name Hushim means “people of haste,” “vehement people.” Hushim represents an acceleration of activity in connection with thoughts of judgment in man (one Hushim was the son of Dan, who represents judgment) and in connection with thoughts of active faith (another Hushim was a Benjamite).
Jahzeel, the name of a son of Naphtali (strength), means “whom God apportions.” Jahzeel represents the realization that strength is from God and that one receives it according to one’s need or to the extent that one makes use of it.
The name Guni means “colored,” “tinted,” “painted,” which suggests the taking on of some foreign idea or substance. In this case Naphtali (strength) and Gad (power) are involved. These qualities represented by Naphtali and Gad are inherently spiritual, divine, but in coming into expression in the outer, physical, sense man they become tinged with and colored by material ideas.
Jazer (“formation”) represents the formative faculty of mind, the imagination, established in strength (Naphtali).
The name Shillem means “restoration,” “salvation,” “peace.” Shillem represents the thought that restoration, salvation, peace, and perfection are the result of sowing to Spirit. This restorative, peace-giving thought force is particularly active in connection with strength and thus gives its substance to the working out of the law of cause and effect in consciousness.
Gen. 46:28-34. And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to show the way before him unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen; and he presented himself unto him, and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, that thou art yet alive. And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and tell Pharaoh, and will say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? that ye shall say, Thy servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
The Israelites represent radiant or unformed substance and life, and the Egyptians represent conservators of formed substance. Jacob (I AM) sent Judah (praise) before him unto Joseph (imagination) so that the Israelites might be guided to Goshen, thus forming a perfect union of life (Israel) and substance (Egypt). The sheep represent the uncontaminated animal or life forces that are to be expressed more fully through union with materiality (the Egyptians). The conservators of formed substance (Egyptians) have no appreciation of this life (“for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians”).
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Mysteries of Genesis
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