Bibliorum

 

3 Mose 20:21

Study

       

21 Und wenn ein Mann das Weib seines Bruders nimmt: das ist eine Unreinigkeit; er hat die Blöße seines Bruders aufgedeckt, sie sollen kinderlos sein.

Commentarius

 

Pollution

  

In Leviticus 22:6, this signifies a state of being in falsities. (Arcana Coelestia 1666)

In Hosea 9:3, this signifies appropriating things impure and profane derived from reasoning. (Arcana Coelestia 4581[10], Apocalypse Explained 654[56]) 'Pollution' denotes the truth of faith defiled.

(Notae: Arcana Coelestia 4504)

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #4504

Studere hoc loco

  
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4504. 'Because they had defiled their sister' means that they had violated the truth of faith. This is clear from the meaning of 'defiling' as violating, and from the meaning of 'a sister' as truth, dealt with in 1495, 2508, 2524, 2556, 3386, in this case the truth of faith because Dinah, to whom 'their sister' refers here, means the affection for all things of faith, 4427. The reason why Shechem's defilement of their sister means that they befouled the truth of faith is that she represents the affection for all truths, and so means the Church itself, 3963, 3964. And because she was not given by her brothers to Shechem as a wife but remained with them as one defiled, therefore like her brothers she subsequently had a contrary representation. That is to say, she represented the affection for all falsities, and so represented the corrupted Church. Consequently the statement that they defiled their sister means that they had violated the truth of faith.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.