6502.“约瑟吩咐他的仆人、医生们”表防止将会阻碍它，也就是阻碍结合的邪恶的保护。这从“吩咐”和“医生”的含义，以及“约瑟”的代表清楚可知：“吩咐”是指流入（参看5732节）；“约瑟”是指内在，如前所述（6499节）；“医生”是指防止邪恶的保护。由此处的思路明显可知，保护是为了防止将会阻碍刚才所提到的结合（6501节）的邪恶。由此明显可知，“约瑟吩咐他的仆人、医生们”表示在防止将会阻碍结合的邪恶的保护方面，从内在而来的流注。“医生”之所以表示防止邪恶的保护，是因为在灵界，疾病就是邪恶和虚假，属灵的疾病并非别的东西；事实上，邪恶和虚假会夺去内在人的健康，造成心理疾病，最终导致抑郁；在圣言中，“疾病”没有别的意思。
在圣言中，“医生（经上或译为医治的）”、“医术”和“药物”表示防止邪恶和虚假的保护，这一点从提到它们的经文明显看出来，如摩西五经：
你若留意听你神的声音，又行在祂眼中看为正的事，侧耳听祂的诫命，守祂一切的律例，我就不将所加与埃及人的疾病加在你身上，因为我耶和华是医治你的。（出埃及记15:26）
“医治的耶和华”表示防止邪恶的保护者，因为这些邪恶由“加与埃及人的疾病”来表示。“加与埃及人的疾病”表示邪恶和虚假，它们源于基于记忆知识和关于信之奥秘的谬念的推理；对此，蒙主的神性怜悯，我们将在论述这些疾病的地方予以说明。但所表示的是属灵事物，这从以下事实明显看出来：经上说“他们若听神的声音，行为正的事，侧耳听诫命，守律例，那么这些疾病就不会加在他们身上”。
就这层意义而言，主在路加福音中也自称“医生”：
健康的人不需要医生，有病的人才需要。我来本不是召义人，乃是召罪人悔改。（路加福音5:31，32）
此处“医生”也表示防止邪恶的保护者，因为“健康的人”表示义人，“有病的人”表示罪人。耶利米书：
在基列岂没有止痛乳香呢？在那里岂没有医生呢？我人民女子的健康为何不得康复呢？（耶利米书8:22）
“医生”表示防止教会中的虚假的保护，“我人民女子的健康”表示教会中的教义真理。
圣言所提到的“痊愈（或译为治愈、治好）”（healings）、“治疗”（cures）、“医治”（remedies）和“药”（medicines）不是属世意义上的，而是属灵意义上的，这明显可见于耶利米书：
你为何击打我们，以致我们无法医治呢？我们指望平安，却得不着好处；指望痊愈，看哪，受了惊惶。（耶利米书14:19；8:15）
又：
我要使健康和治疗上到他那里，我要医治他们；又将平安和真理的冠冕显明与他们。（耶利米书33:6）
又：
无人评判你对健康的判断，你没有康复的良药。（耶利米书30:13）
又：
埃及的处女哪，上基列去取止痛乳香吧！你虽多服良药，总是徒然，不得治好。（耶利米书46:11）.
以西结书：
在河这边与那边的岸上必生长各类可作食物的树木，其叶子必不凋残，其果子必不断绝。它每月又会生出，因为这水是从圣所流出来的；其果子必作食物，其叶子可作药材。（以西结书47:12）
此处先知描述了神的新家或新殿，以此表示一个新的教会，在更内在的意义上表示主的属灵国度。因此，“在河的岸上必生长各类可作食物的树木”表示属于聪明和智慧的事物（108，109，2702，3051节）；“树木”表示对良善与真理的觉知和认识（103，2163，2682，2722，2972，4552节）；“食物”是指良善与真理本身（680，4459，5147，5293，5576，5915节）；“从圣所流出来的水”是指构成聪明的真理（2702，3058，3424，4976，5668节）；“圣所”是指属天之爱，在至高意义上是指主的神性人身，神性人身就是这爱的源头；可作食物的“果子”是指爱之良善（913，983，2846，2847，3146节）；“可作药材的叶子”是指信之真理（885节）。由此明显可知，“药”表示什么，即表示防止虚假和邪恶的保护之物；因为当信之真理通向生活的良善时，它就会远离邪恶，起到保护人的作用。
Potts(1905-1910) 6502
6502. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians. That this signifies preservation from the evils which hindered conjunction, is evident from the signification of "commanding," as being to flow in (see n. 5732); from the representation of Joseph, as being the internal, of which above (n. 6499); and from the signification of the "physicians," as being preservation from evils. That it denotes from the evils which hindered conjunction (of which just above, n. 6501), is apparent from the connection. Hence it is evident that by "Joseph commanded his servants the physicians" is signified influx from the internal with respect to preservation from the evils which hindered conjunction. That "physicians" signify preservation from evils is because in the spiritual world diseases are evils and falsities, spiritual diseases being nothing else; for evils and falsities take away health from the internal man, and induce sicknesses on the mind, and at last pains; nor is anything else signified in the Word by "diseases." [2] That "physicians," the "medical art," and "medicines" in the Word signify preservations from evils and falsities, is evident from the passages where they are named; as in Moses:
If hearing thou hearest the voice of thy God, and doest that which is good in His eyes, and givest ear to His commandments, and keepest all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon thee which I have put upon the Egyptians; for I am Jehovah thy physician (Exod. 15:26);
"Jehovah the Physician" denotes the preserver from evils, for these are signified by the "diseases put upon the Egyptians." That the "diseases put upon the Egyptians" signify evils and falsities originating in reasonings from memory-knowledges and fallacies concerning the arcana of faith, will of the Lord's Divine mercy be shown when these diseases are treated of; that spiritual things are signified, is evident from the fact that it is said "if they would hear the voice of God, would do good, would give ear to the commandments, and would keep the statutes, then these diseases should not be upon them." [3] In the same sense also the Lord calls Himself a "physician" in Luke:
They that are whole have no need of a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:31, 32); here also a "physician" denotes a preserver from evils, for by the "whole" are meant the righteous, and by the "sick," sinners. In Jeremiah:
Is there no balm in Gilead, is there no physician there? why then hath not the health of the daughter of My people come up? (Jer. 8:22);
a "physician" denotes preservation from falsities in the church, for the "health of the daughter of My people" denotes the truth of doctrine there. [4] That "healings," "cures," "remedies," and "medicines" are not spoken of in the Word in a natural but in a spiritual sense, is plain in Jeremiah:
Why hast Thou smitten us, that we have no remedy? they await peace, but there is no good; a time of healing, but behold terror (Jer. 14:19; 8:15). Again:
I will cause to come up to him health and cure, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them a crown of peace and truth (Jer. 33:6). Again:
There is none that judgeth thy judgment for health, thou hast no medicines of restoration (Jer. 30:13). Again:
Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt; in vain hast thou multiplied medicines; there is no healing for thee (Jer. 46:11). [5] In Ezekiel:
By the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that, there cometh up every tree of food, whose leaf falleth not, neither is the fruit thereof consumed, it is born again in its months, because the waters thereof go forth from the sanctuary; whence the fruit thereof is for food, and the leaf thereof for medicine (Ezek. 47:12);
the subject here treated of in the prophet is the new house of God, or the new temple, by which is signified a new church, and in an interior sense the Lord's spiritual kingdom; and therefore the "river upon whose bank cometh up every tree of food" signifies things that belong to intelligence and wisdom (n. 108, 109, 2702, 3051); "trees" signify the perceptions and knowledges of good and truth (n. 103, 2163, 2682, 2722, 2972, 4552); "food," the goods and truths themselves (n. 680, 4459, 5147, 5293, 5576, 5915); "waters going forth from the sanctuary," the truths which make intelligence (n. 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668); the "sanctuary," celestial love, in the supreme sense the Divine Human of the Lord, from whom is this love; the "fruits which are for food," the goods of love (n. 913, 983, 2846, 2847, 3146); the "leaf which is for medicine," the truth of faith (n. 885). From this it is plain what "medicine" signifies, namely, that which preserves from falsities and evils; for when the truth of faith leads to the good of life, it preserves, because it withdraws from evils.
Elliott(1983-1999) 6502
6502. 'And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians' means preservation from evils which would hinder it, that is to say, the joining together. This is clear from the meaning of 'commanding' as flowing into, dealt with in 5732; from the representation of 'Joseph' as the internal, dealt with just above in 6499; and from the meaning of 'the physicians' as preservation from evils (for it is apparent from the train of thought here that the preservation is from evils which would hinder the joining together referred to immediately above in 6501). From all this it is evident that 'Joseph commanded his servants the physicians' means an influx from the internal regarding preservation from evils which would hinder the joining together. The reason why 'the physicians' means preservation from evils is that in the spiritual world 'sicknesses' are evils and falsities. Spiritual diseases are nothing else, for evils and falsities rob the internal man of good health; they introduce mental disorders and at length states of depression. Nothing else is meant in the Word by 'sicknesses'.
[2] In the Word 'physicians', 'medicine', and 'medicaments' mean forms of preservation from evils and falsities. This is clear from places where they are mentioned, as in Moses,
If you obediently hear the voice of your God, and do what is good in His eyes, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will not put on you any sickness that I put on the Egyptians; for I, Jehovah, am your Physician. Exod 15:26.
'Jehovah the Physician' stands for the preserver from evils; for these evils are meant by 'sicknesses on the Egyptians'. The fact that 'sicknesses on the Egyptians' means evils and falsities that arise when people reason about the arcana of faith on the basis of factual knowledge and false notions will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown where those sicknesses are dealt with. But spiritual ones are meant, as is evident from its being said that if they heard the voice of God, did what was good, gave ear to His precepts, and kept His statutes, none of those sicknesses would be put on them.
[3] In addition the Lord calls Himself 'a Physician' in the same sense in Luke,
Those who are healthy have no need of a physician but those who are ill. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Luke 5:31, 72.
Here also 'a physician' stands for a preserver from evils; for 'those who are healthy' is used to mean the righteous, and 'those who are ill' sinners. In Jeremiah,
Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of My people?a Jer 8:22.
'A physician' stands for preservation from falsities in the Church, for 'the health of the daughter of My people' is the truth of doctrine there.
[4] In the Word healing, cures, remedies, and medicaments are spoken of not in a natural but in a spiritual sense, as is evident in Jeremiah,
Why have You stricken us so that there is no remedy for us? Await peace, but no good comes; a time of healing, but behold, terror. Jer 14:19; 8:15.
In the same prophet,
I will bring health and curing to it,b and I will heal them, and reveal to them the crown of peace, and truth. Jer 33:6.
In the same prophet,
There is none judging your judgement for healthiness; you have no restorative medicaments. Jer 30:13.
In the same prophet,
Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you have multiplied medicaments; there is no healing for you. Jer 46:11.
[5] In Ezekiel,
Beside the river there is rising up upon its bank, on this side and on that, every tree for food, whose leaf does not fall and whose fruit does not fail; it is reborn monthly, for its waters are flowing out from the sanctuary, wherefore its fruit is for food, and its leaf for a medicament. Ezek 47:12.
Here the prophet is describing a new house of God or a new temple, by which a new Church is meant, and in a more internal sense the Lord's spiritual kingdom. Therefore by 'the river upon whose bank there is rising up every tree for food' is meant things that belong to intelligence and wisdom, 108, 109, 2702, 3051 - 'trees' are perceptions and recognition of what is good and true, 103, 2163, 2682, 2722, 2972, 4552; 'food' is forms of good and truths themselves, 680, 4459, 5147, 5293, 5576, 5915; 'waters going out from the sanctuary' are truths that compose intelligence, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668; 'the sanctuary' is celestial love, and in the highest sense the Lord's Divine Human, which is the source of that love; 'fruits which are for food' means forms of the good of love, 917, 983, 2846, 2847, 3146; and 'leaf which is for a medicament' means the truth of faith, 885. From this it is evident what 'a medicament' means, namely that which preserves from falsities and from evils; for the truth of faith, when it leads to goodness of life because it leads away from evil, acts as a preserver.
Latin(1748-1756) 6502
6502. `Et praecepit Joseph servis suis medicis': quod significet praeservationem a malis quae impedirent, nempe conjunctionem, constat ex significatione `praecipere' quod sit influere, de qua n. 5732; a repraesentatione `Josephi' quod sit internum, de qua mox supra n. (x)6499; et ex significatione `medicorum' quod sint praeservatio a malis; quod sit a malis quae impedirent conjunctionem, de qua mox supra n. 6501, ex serie apparet; inde patet quod per `praecepit Joseph servis suis medicis' significetur influxus ab interno de praeservatione a malis quae impedirent conjunctionem. Quod `medici' significent praeservationem a malis, est quia in spirituali mundo `morbi' sunt mala et falsa; morbi spirituales non aliud sunt, nam mala et falsa sanitatem interno homini auferunt, et inducunt aegritudines {1}menti, et tandem dolores; {2} nec aliud per morbos in Verbo {3}significatur. [2]Quod `medici, {4} medicina ac medicamenta' in Verbo significent praeservationes a malis et falsis, constat a locis ubi nominantur, ut apud Mosen, Si audiendo audias vocem Dei tui, et bonum in oculis {5}Illius facias, et aures des praeceptis Ipsius, et custodias omnia statuta Ipsius, omnem morbum quem posui super Aegyptios, non ponam super te, quia Ego Jehovah sum Medicus tuus, Exod. xv 26;`Jehovah Medicus' pro praeservatore a malis, nam haec per `morbos super Aegyptiis' significantur; quod `morbi super Aegyptiis' `significent' mala et falsa oriunda ex ratiociniis {7}a scientificis et fallaciis de arcanis fidei, ex Divina Domini misericordia ostendetur, ubi de illis; quod spiritualia significentur, {8} patet ex eo quod dicatur `si audirent vocem Dei, bonum facerent, aures darent praeceptis, et custodirent statuta', quod non tunc super illis morbi illi. [8]{9}In eodem sensu etiam Dominus se vocat Medicum apud Lucam, Non opus habent sani medico, sed male habentes, non veni ad vocandum Justos, sed peccatores ad paenitentiam, v 31, 32;
hic quoque `medicus' pro praeservatore a malis, nam per `sanos' intelliguntur justi, et per `male habentes' peccatores: (m)apud Jeremiam, Num balsamum non est in Gileade? num medicus non ibi? quare enim non ascendit sanitas filiae populi Mei? viii 22;
`medicus' pro praeservatione a falsis in Ecclesia, `sanitas enim filiae populi Mei' est verum doctrinae ibi. [4]Quod sanationes, medelae, remedia et medicamenta non in naturali sed in spirituali sensu in Verbo {10}dicantur, patet apud Jeremiam, Quare percussisti nos, ut non remedium nobis? {12}exspectare pacem, sed non bonum; tempus sanationis, sed ecce terror, xiv 19, viii 15:
apud eundem, Ego ascendere ei faciam sanitatem et medelam, et sanabo eos, et revelabo illis coronam pacis et veritatem, xxxiii 6:
apud eundem, Non judicans judicium tuum ad sanitatem, medicamenta restitutionis non tibi, xxx 13:
apud eundem, Ascende Gilead, et sume balsamum virgo filia Aegypti, in vanum multiplicasti medicamenta, sanatio non tibi, xlvi 11: [5]apud Ezechielem, Juxta fluvium ascendit super ripa ejus hinc et illinc omnis arbor (x)cibi, cujus non decidit folium, neque consumitur fructus ejus; in menses suos renascitur, quia aquae ejus e sanctuario sunt exeuntes; unde fructus ejus est in cibum, et folium ejus in medicamentum, (x)xlvii 12;
agitur ibi apud Prophetam de nova domo Dei, seu de novo templo, per quod significatur nova Ecclesia ac in interiore sensu regnum spirituale Domini, quare `fluvius super cujus ripa ascendit omnis arbor cibi' significat illa quae sunt intelligentiae et sapientiae, n. 108, 109, 2702, 3051; `arbores' perceptiones et {13}cognitiones boni et veri, n. 103, 2163, 2682, 2722, 2972, 4552; {14} `cibus' ipsa bona et vera, n. 680, 4459, 5147, 5293, 5576, 5915; (m)`aquae' exeuntes e sanctuario' vera quae intelligentiam faciunt, n. 2702, 3058, 3424, 4975, 5668; `sanctuarium' amorem caelestem, in sensu supremo Divinum Humanum Domini, a Quo ille amor;(n) `fructus qui sunt in cibum' (x)significant bona amoris, n. 913, 983, 2846, 2847, 3146; `folium quod in medicamentum' significat verum fidei, n. 885; inde patet quid `medicamentum', quod nempe sit id quod praeservat a falsis et a malis; verum enim fidei, cum ducit ad bonum vitae, quia abducit a malo, praeservat. @1 mentis$ @2 i inde quoque est quod$ @3 significetur$ @4 i tum$ @5 Ipsius$ @6 sint$ @7 perversis$ @8 i etiam$ @9 A o these words and instead i the marginal passage Apud Jeremiah . . . doctrinae ibi, thus before Apud Lucam$ @10 intelligantur$ @11 exspectate A I$ @12 conjunctiones I$ @13 i quod$