4388. Verses 17-20 And Jacob travelled on to Succoth, and built a house for himself, and made booths for his cattle; therefore he called the name of the place Succoth. And Jacob came to Salem, the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, as he was coming from Paddan Aram; and he encamped towards the face of the city. And he bought the portion of the field where he had stretched his tent, from the hand of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred kesitahs. And he set up an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.

'Jacob travelled on to Succoth' means the state of the life of the good from truth at that time. 'And built a house for himself' means an increase of good from truth within that state. 'And made booths for his cattle' means an increase in a similar way of the things which exist in general within good from truth at that time. 'Therefore he called the name of the place Succoth' means the nature of that state. 'And Jacob came to Salem, the city of Shechem' means interior truths of faith which go with a state of serenity. 'Which is in the land of Canaan' means within the Lord's kingdom. 'As he was coming from Paddan Aram' means that which happened after the previous state. 'And he encamped towards the face of the city' means application. 'And he bought the portion of the field' means making the good that springs from that truth its own. 'Where he had stretched his tent' means holiness. 'From the hand of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem' means that the origin of that truth lay in a Divine stock from a different source. 'A hundred kesitahs' means that which is complete. 'And he set up an altar there' means interior worship. 'And called it El Elohe Israel' means that it originated in the Divine Spiritual.

1167. In the Word 'Canaan' or the Canaanite means forms of ritual or external worship separated from internal. This is clear from very many places, especially in historical sections. This being the character of the Canaanites at the time that the sons of Jacob were brought into the land, permission was given to wipe them out. But in the internal sense of the Word Canaanites are used to mean all people whose worship is external separated from internal. And because this was pre-eminently true of the Jews and Israelites, they specifically are meant in the prophetic Word, as becomes clear from the following two places alone: In David,

They poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was profaned with blood. ¹ They became unclean by their acts, and committed whoredom in their doings. Psalms 106:38-39.

Here 'pouring out the blood of sons and daughters' means in the internal sense that they destroyed every truth of faith and good of charity. 'Sacrificing sons and daughters to the idols of Canaan' means profaning matters of faith and charity by means of external worship separated from internal, which is nothing else than idolatrous worship. So 'they became unclean by their acts and committed whoredom in their doings'. In Ezekiel,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih to Jerusalem, Your tracings and your nativity are of the land of Canaan. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. Ezekiel 16:3.

Here it is stated explicitly that they belonged to the land of Canaan. As regards 'Canaan' meaning external worship separated from internal, see what has appeared already in 1078, 1094.

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