4439. And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. That this signifies a conjunction not legitimate, namely, with the affection of the truth that belonged to the external church here represented by Jacob, is evident from the signification of “to defile,” as being a conjunction not legitimate, for by marriages is signified a conjunction that is legitimate (see n. 4434), hence by their “defilement” is signified conjunction not legitimate (n. 4433); from the representation of Dinah, as being the affection of all things of faith, and the church thence derived (n. 4427); and from the representation of Jacob, who here is the external Ancient Church. That by “Jacob” is here signified the external Ancient Church is because this church was to be instituted among his descendants, and would have been instituted if his descendants had received the interior truths that existed among the ancients. That this church is here represented by Jacob is evident also from the connection in this chapter, for he was not in the plot with his sons to smite the city and kill Hamor and Shechem; and therefore he said to Simeon and Levi, “Ye have troubled me to make me stink to the inhabitant of the land” (verse 30); and in his prophetic utterance before his death, “Let not my soul come into their secret, in their congregation let not my glory be united; because in their anger they slew a man, and in their pleasure they unstrung an ox” (Genesis 49:6). Moreover in very many passages in the Word the external Ancient Church is represented by Jacob (n. 422, 4286). The reason why Jacob represents this church is that in the supreme sense he represents the Lord’s Divine natural, to which the external church corresponds. But by his “sons” are signified his descendants, who extinguished in themselves the truth that existed among the ancients, and thus destroyed that which was of the church, the result being that only its representative remained with them (see n. 4281, 4288, 4289, 4303).

4303. Therefore the sons of Israel eat not the nerve of that which was displaced, which is upon the hollow of the thigh. That this signifies that those truths were not appropriated in which were falsities, is evident from the signification of “eating,” as being to be conjoined and appropriated (see n. 2187, 2343, 3168, 3513, 3596, 3832); and from the signification of a “nerve” as being truth; for truths in good are circumstanced as are nerves in the flesh, and moreover in the spiritual sense truths are nerves, and good is flesh (n. 3813). Similar things are also signified by sinews ¹ and flesh in Ezekiel:

Thus said the Lord Jehovih unto these bones, I will put sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and I will put breath in you; and I beheld, and lo, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up (Ezekiel 37:5-6, 8).

Here the subject treated of is the new creation of man, that is, his regeneration. But when truths have been distorted, they then no longer become truths, but in proportion as they are distorted to what is opposite, they accede to falsities; and hence it is that by the “nerve of that which was displaced” is signified falsity. (That the hollow of the thigh is where there is the conjunction of conjugial love with natural good, consequently where there is influx of spiritual truth into natural good, may be seen above, n. 4277, 4280.) Hence it is evident that by “therefore the sons of Israel eat not the nerve of that which was displaced which is upon the hollow of the thigh,” is signified that those truths were not appropriated in which were falsities. That these things are said of the sons of Israel because by “Israel” is signified the Divine celestial spiritual, may be seen above (n. 4286), and by “sons” truths (n. 489, 491, 2623); and thus the meaning is that the truths of the Divine celestial spiritual did not appropriate to themselves any falsities.

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