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.

5414. 'And the sons of Israel came to buy in the midst of others who came' means the wish to acquire spiritual truths, like all other truths, through factual knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of 'the sons of Israel' as spiritual truths (for 'sons' are truths, see above in 5403, and 'Israel' is the celestial-spiritual man coming out of the natural, 4286, 4570, 4598, so that 'the sons of Israel' are spiritual truths within the natural); from the meaning of 'buying' as being acquired; and from the meaning of 'in the midst of others who came' as like all other truths, that is to say, ones acquired through factual knowledge.