9018. 'And anyone stealing a man and selling him' means applying the truth of faith to evil, and alienating it. This is clear from the meaning of 'stealing a man' as applying the truth of faith to evil (for the meaning of 'a man', at this point a man who is an Israelite, as the truth of faith, see 5414, 5879, 5951, 7957, 9007, and for 'stealing' as the application of it to evil, 5135); and from the meaning of 'selling' as alienating, dealt with in 4098, 4752, 4758, 5886.

4752. 'Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites' means that those in whom simple good is present acknowledge Him. This is clear from the meaning of 'selling' as alienating something from oneself and so its acceptance by others, dealt with in 4098, and when used in reference to truth, as it is here, it means being acknowledged by others; and from the representation of 'the Ishmaelites' as those in whom simple good is present, dealt with above in 4747. The fact that those in whom simple good is present acknowledge Divine Truth, in particular regarding the Lord's Divine Human, has been shown already.