4438. Verses 5-7 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; and his sons were with his cattle in the field; and Jacob kept silent until they came. And Hamor, Shechem's father, went out to Jacob to speak to him. And Jacob's sons came from the field when they heard; and the men were grieved and blazing with anger, because he had done something disgraceful in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, a thing that ought not to be done.

'Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter' means a wrongful joining together, 'Jacob' here being the external Ancient Church. 'And his sons were with his cattle in the field' means that his descendants dwelt in their own semblance of religion. 'And Jacob kept silent until they came' means counsel taken with the truths of faith which were known to him and his descendants. 'And Hamor, Shechem's father, went out to Jacob to speak to him' means consultation regarding the truth of that Church. 'And Jacob's sons came from the field' means that the counsel they took was based in their semblance of religion. 'When they heard; and the men were grieved and blazing with anger' means that they were under the influence of evil that was directed against the truth of the Church among the Ancients. 'Because he had done something disgraceful in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, a thing that ought not to be done' means a joining together which in their eyes was not permissible, going against the truth which they possessed.

4427. 'Dinah went out' means the affection for all things of faith, and also means the Church arising from that affection. This is clear from the representation of 'Dinah' as the affection for all truths, and as the Church arising from that affection, dealt with in 3963, 3964. For 'the twelve sons of Jacob' represented all things of faith, and so all things that constitute the Church, 2129, 2130, 3858, 3926, 3939; and therefore 'Dinah', who was born after Jacob's ten sons by Leah and the servant-girls, means the affection for those things of faith, and so means the Church. Indeed the Church arises from the affection for truth, so much so that whether you speak of the affection for truth or of the Church it amounts to the same; for it is by virtue of the affection for truth that anyone is a Church.