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.

5603. 'And Judah said to Israel his father' means a perception received from the good of the Church regarding these matters. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' in the historical narratives of the Word as perceiving, often dealt with already; from the representation of 'Judah' as the good of the Church, dealt with above in 5583; and from the representation of 'Israel' as the internal spiritual Church, dealt with in 3305, 4286. From this it is evident that 'Judah said to Israel his father' means a perception the Church had which it received from its own good.