4550. 'And they gave to Jacob all the gods of the foreigner which were in their hand' means that [natural good] did, as far as possible, cast aside all falsities. This is clear from the meaning of 'the gods of the foreigner' as falsities, dealt with in 4544, and from the meaning of 'which were in their hand' as, as far as possible. For 'the hand' means power, 878, 3387, and therefore 'that which is in one's hand' means within one's power, or as far as possible. 'They gave them to Jacob' means that good cast aside those falsities, for in this chapter 'Jacob' represents the good of the natural, 4538.

2238. That 'Jehovah said' means perception is clear from the meaning in the historical sense of 'saying' as perceiving, dealt with frequently already. When 'Jehovah said' occurs in the historical descriptions of the Word it means perception, which is not altogether a continuation of the perception that went before it, but a subsequent perception and sometimes a new one. See also 2061.