4909. 'Saying, By the man to whom these belong I am pregnant' means that this characteristic was contained in their semblance of religion. This is clear from the representation of Judah, to whom 'the man' refers here, as the semblance of religion existing among the Jewish nation, dealt with in 4864, 4905, and from the meaning of 'carrying in the womb' or 'being pregnant' as being brought forth, dealt with in 4904, but here as being contained within; for what has been brought forth is that contained within, that is to say, that which has been conceived. That which has been brought forth is a first effect; and because this in turn produces an effect it is called the cause from which this further effect is produced, dealt with above in 4904. What exactly was contained within their semblance of religion may be seen from what has been stated above in 4899 and also from what follows below.

4864. 'And Judah saw her' means the way in which at that time the semblance of religion existing among the Jewish nation looked on the internal features of the representative Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing' as discerning and understanding, dealt with in 2150, 2325, 2807, 3764, 3863, and so as looking on; from the representation of Tamar, to whom 'her' refers here, as the Church representative of spiritual and celestial things, dealt with in 4829, 4831, at this point as the internal aspect of that Church, for the subject is the way in which it was looked on and accepted by the semblance of religion existing among the Jewish nation; and from the representation of 'Judah' as the Jewish nation specifically, dealt with in 4815, 4842, and from this as the semblance of religion among that nation. For when this nation is mentioned in the Word something to do with that Church is meant in the internal sense. The internal sense has no interest at all in the memorable and historical exploits of a nation, only in what it is like so far as things of the Church are concerned. From this it is evident that 'Judah saw her' means the way in which at that time the semblance of religion existing among the Jewish nation looked on the internal features of the representative Church.