9132. 'He shall be sold for his theft' means alienation. This is clear from the meaning of 'being sold' as alienation, dealt with in 4752, 4758, 5886, at this point the alienation of the good or truth that has been taken away, and of which nothing remains, 9131; and from the meaning of 'for his theft' as making amends and undertaking restoration with some other good or truth in place of that which has been taken away, meant by 'making repayment', 9130. For the thief was sold in order that repayment might be made for the theft.

What this verse implies is that when a person can see that good or truth with him is being taken away by falsity arising from evil he is guilty of the violence done to them, since he knows full well what he is doing. For when a person knows full well what he is doing his deeds spring from his will and at the same time from his understanding, and so from his entire person since a person is a person by virtue of both those powers of mind. And a deed springing from both springs from falsity that arises out of evil - from falsity because it springs from the understanding, and from evil because it springs from the will. This is what makes the person guilty.

A person makes that his own which comes from his understanding and at the same time from his will, see 9009, 9069, 9071.

A person becomes guilty if he does not use his power of understanding to restrain evil in his will when he sees it, 9075.

4758. 'And sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites' means the acceptance of it by those in whom simple good is present and the alienation of it from those adhering to faith separated from charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'selling' as alienation in the case of the adherents to faith separated from charity, who are meant here by 'Joseph's brothers', it being these who sold him, and as acceptance in the case of those in whom simple good was present, who are meant here by 'the Ishmaelites', it being these who bought him. It has been shown above in 3263, 4747, that by 'the Ishmaelites' are meant those in whom simple good is present. For these matters, see what has been mentioned already in 4756.