9126. 'And is struck, and he dies' means if in this situation harm is done to it, so great that it is wiped out. This is clear from the meaning of 'being struck', when said of truth or good, as being injured or suffering harm, as in 9034, 9058; and from the meaning of 'dying' as being wiped out. The reason why truth and good are meant here is that 'the thief' or 'the theft' means that which has been taken away, thus good and truth, as also in the words that follow in verse 4, If the theft is certainly found in his hand, whether it is ox or ass, or member of the flock, [and they are] alive ... 'Ox', 'ass', and 'member of the flock' mean exterior and interior forms of good and truths; and they are called 'the theft' because they are in the thief's hand. The like applies to silver and vessels in verse 7, in that these as well mean interior and exterior truths. 'The thief' has the same meaning as 'the theft' because in the abstract sense, in which things are understood in abstraction from a person, 'the thief' is the theft, that is, the truth or good that has been taken away, see immediately above in 9125.

3058. The reason 'drawing water' means instruction and also consequent enlightenment, as in later verses of this chapter, is that 'water in the internal sense means the truths of faith, 2702. Thus 'drawing water' is nothing else than receiving instruction in the truths of faith and so being enlightened, as is also the meaning elsewhere in the Word, as in Isaiah,

With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation, and [you will say] or that day, Confess Jehovah. Isaiah 12:3-4.

'Drawing water' stands for receiving instruction, having intelligence, and being wise. In the same prophet,

To the thirsty bring water, O inhabitants of the land of Tema. Isaiah 21:14.

'Bringing water to the thirsty' stands for giving instruction. In the same prophet,

The wretched and the needy are seeking water, and there is none; their tongue is parched with thirst. Isaiah 41:17.

'Those seeking water' stands for those desiring instruction in truths, 'and there is none' stands for the fact that nobody had any. In addition 'drawers of water' in the Jewish Church represented those who constantly seek to know truths but to no other end than just knowing them, and who consequently pay no attention to their purpose. Such persons were rated among the lowest of all. The Gibeonites mentioned in Joshua 9:21, 23, 27, represented them.