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.

6352. 'Simeon and Levi are brothers' means faith in the will and charity, but here the opposite since faith separated from charity is meant. This is clear from the representation of 'Simeon' as faith in the will, dealt with in 3869-3872, 4497, 4502, 4503, 5482, 5626, 5630; and from the representation of 'Levi' as charity, dealt with in 3875, 3877, but here the opposite of it since faith separated from charity is meant. For when such faith is represented by 'Reuben' as is evident from the explanations at verse 4, it follows that no faith present in the will, nor thus any charity, are what 'Simeon and Levi' represent; for these deficiencies follow in a chain of effects resulting from their initial cause. 'Simeon' therefore represents falsity in the will, and 'Levi' evil put into practice, for these are the opposites of faith in the will and charity. The fact that Simeon and Levi are cursed proves that those opposites are meant here.