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.

3669. 'And you will be an assembly of peoples' means abundance. This becomes clear without explanation. 'An assembly of peoples' in particular has reference to truths; for 'peoples' in the Word means those who are governed by truth, see 1259, 1260, 2928, 3581, whereas 'nations' means those who are governed by good, 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849. The reason why the phrase 'an assembly of peoples' is used here is that the subject is the good of truth, represented by 'Jacob'; for good that results from truth is one thing, good from which truth stems is another. Good which results from truth is what 'Jacob' represents here, and good from which truth stems is what 'Esau' represents. Good which results from truth is the inverse of good from which truth stems. Good which results from truth is the good that exists with those who are being regenerated before they have been made regenerate; but good from which truth stems exists with the same persons once they have become regenerate. For their state is an inverse one, see 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603.