5541. 'And Reuben said to his father' means matters of faith in the understanding were discerned by the good of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' in the historical narratives of the Word as discerning, often dealt with already; from the representation of 'Reuben' as faith in doctrine and in the understanding, dealt with in 3861, 3866, 5472, and therefore matters belonging to that faith; and from the representation of Jacob, 'his father' whom Reuben addresses here, as the good of truth, dealt with in 3659, 3669, 3677, 3775, 4234, 4273, 4538, 5533. From all this it is evident that 'Reuben said to his father' means matters of faith present in the understanding were discerned by the good of truth. The reason Reuben is the speaker here is that the subject is the Church in which faith present in doctrine and in the understanding seemingly takes the lead and teaches. Here it teaches what must be done if the destruction of what constitutes the Church is to be averted.

3609. 'And she [sent and] summoned Jacob her younger son, and said to him' means a state in which the affection for truth discerned from an influx coming by way of Divine Truth.... This is clear from the representation of Rebekah - the one who 'summoned' and 'said' - as the Divine Truth of the Lord's Divine Rational joined to the Divine Good of that Divine Rational; from the representation of 'Jacob' as natural truth or the affection for truth there, dealt with already; and from the meaning of 'summoning him' and 'saying to him' as a state of perception, also dealt with already, here a state of discernment since the Natural is the subject.