4846. For he said. That this signifies thought, is evident from the signification of “saying” in the historic parts of the Word, as being to perceive and also to think (see n. 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2080, 3395). Here therefore by “he said” is signified that he said in himself, or thought, that Tamar would not be given to Shelah his son for a wife-in the internal sense that the internal things of the representative church would be alienated (n. 4844).