4354. 'And they wept' means the outward expression. This is clear from the meaning of 'weeping' as the outward expression of grief or else the outward expression of joy, dealt with in 3081, in this case of joy resulting from the joining together of good and truths effected through love.

'Shechem,' as in Genesis 37:12, signifies earliest basics of the doctrine concerning faith. The earliest basics are also the common, or general, principles of doctrinal things. These common, or general, principles are what are received first. Special, or particular, principles follow afterwards.

In Genesis 12:6, 'Abram's passing through the land unto the place Shechem' signifies a new state of the Lord when the celestial aspects of love first appeared to Him which is what Shechem signifies. This is the first stop in the land of Canaan, when coming from Syria, or Haran.

'Shechem' the son of Hamor in Genesis 34:2 signifies the truth of the church from ancient times.

In Genesis 33:17-20, Psalms 60:6-8 and 108:7-9, Shechem signifies the first dawn of light.

(Verweise: Arcana Coelestia 1441, Genesis 6; Joshua 1, 7, 20, 20:7, 21, 21:21, 24:1, 24, 24:25)