6738. 'And said, This is one of the children of the Hebrews' means that it belonged to the true Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'the Hebrews' as the things that constitute the Church, dealt with in 6675, 6684, so that 'the children of the Hebrews' means those who belong to the true Church. The reason why 'the Hebrews' means the things that constitute the Church is that when the Ancient Church came to an end, the Hebrew Church began, which was the second Ancient Church. This Church retained a large number of the representative forms and meaningful signs of the Ancient Church; and it also acknowledged Jehovah. Here is why 'the Hebrews' means the Church. Regarding the Hebrew Church, see 1238, 1241, 1743, 4516, 4517, 4874, 5136, 6739,

4516. 'You have brought trouble on me, by making me stink to the inhabitant of the land' means that those who belonged to the Ancient Church abominated them. This is clear from the meaning of 'bringing trouble on me, by making me stink' as causing them to abominate, and from the meaning of 'the inhabitant of the land' here as those who belonged to the Ancient Church. For 'the land' means the Church, 566, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 2928, 3355, 4447, and so 'the inhabitant of the land' those who belong to the Church, which in this case is the Ancient Church since that Church continued to exist among some nations in the land of Canaan. But that which was a representative of the Church was not established among the people descended from Jacob until that Ancient Church had completely come to an end. This fact is also meant by those descended from Jacob not being allowed into the land of Canaan until the iniquity of the inhabitants of the land had come to a close, as stated in Genesis 15:16. For no new Church is ever established until the previous one has been laid waste.