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ἐγένετο δὲ ἡνίκα ἔτικτεν καὶ τῇδε ἦν δίδυμα ἐν τῇ γαστρὶ αὐτῆς
4852. The wife of Judah. That this signifies the religiosity with the nation descended from Jacob, specifically that from Judah, is evident from the signification of a “wife,” as being the church (n. 252, 253, 409, 749, 770), but here a religiosity, because it is said of the Jewish nation, with which there was no church, but only the external of a church separate from the internal (see n. 4281, 4288, 4289, 4311, 4433, 4500, 4680, 4825, 4844, 4847), which cannot be called anything else than a religiosity, for they could be in a holy external, yet entirely without a holy internal (n. 4293); and from the representation of Judah, as being the nation descended from Jacob, and specifically from Judah, of which above (n. 4815, 4842).