9018. 'And anyone stealing a man and selling him' means applying the truth of faith to evil, and alienating it. This is clear from the meaning of 'stealing a man' as applying the truth of faith to evil (for the meaning of 'a man', at this point a man who is an Israelite, as the truth of faith, see 5414, 5879, 5951, 7957, 9007, and for 'stealing' as the application of it to evil, 5135); and from the meaning of 'selling' as alienating, dealt with in 4098, 4752, 4758, 5886.

4758. 'And sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites' means the acceptance of it by those in whom simple good is present and the alienation of it from those adhering to faith separated from charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'selling' as alienation in the case of the adherents to faith separated from charity, who are meant here by 'Joseph's brothers', it being these who sold him, and as acceptance in the case of those in whom simple good was present, who are meant here by 'the Ishmaelites', it being these who bought him. It has been shown above in 3263, 4747, that by 'the Ishmaelites' are meant those in whom simple good is present. For these matters, see what has been mentioned already in 4756.