487. 'Days means periods of time and states in general. This has been shown in Chapter 1, where the 'days of creation' have no other meaning. In the Word it is very common for a whole period of time to be called 'a day', as it clearly is in the present verse and in verses 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 27, 31, below; and therefore the states that belong to periods of time in general are meant by 'days' as well. And when 'years' is attached, then periods of years mean the natures of those states, and so the states in particular.

[2] The most ancient people had their own particular numbers which they would use to mean different aspects of the Church - for instance, the numbers three, seven, ten, twelve, and many which they obtained from these and other numbers - and in so doing incorporated states of the Church. These numbers therefore contain arcana that would require considerable effort to unravel. Really a number was an evaluation of the states of the Church. The same feature occurs throughout the Word, especially in the prophetical. And the religious ceremonies of the Jewish Church also entail numbers specifying periods of time as well as quantities; for example, in connection with sacrifices, minchahs, oblations, and other practices, which in every case have special reference to holy things. Consequently eight hundred in this verse, nine hundred and thirty in the next, and the numbers of years mentioned in the verses that follow after that, embody in particular more matters than can possibly be retold; matters, that is to say, which have to do with changes in the state of their Church in relationship to their own general state. Later on, in the Lord's Divine mercy, the meaning of the simple numbers up to twelve will be given, for without knowing these first of all no one can grasp what compound numbers mean.

4497. 'That two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi' means faith and love. This is clear from the representation of 'Simeon' as faith in the will, dealt with in 3869-3872, and from the representation of 'Levi' as spiritual love or charity, dealt with in 3875, 3877. These are the things meant in the genuine sense by Simeon and Levi and also by the tribes named after Simeon and Levi. But in the contrary sense falsity and evil are meant, for falsity is the contrary of the truth of faith, and evil the contrary of the good of charity. These are the things that Simeon and Levi represent when the context is the Jewish nation which had annihilated among themselves everything of faith and everything of charity, such as constitute the internal aspects of worship. This becomes much clearer in what follows where it is said that they killed Hamor, Shechem, and the men of the city, and that the sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered everything. Simeon and Levi were the ones to commit this deed, so as to represent the fact that the truth of faith and the good of charity had been made into falsity and evil. For when truth becomes falsity and good becomes evil within the Church, the Church is done for.