4493.“于是，他们就给凡出他城门的所有男丁都行了割礼”表对外在事物的接受。这从“给所有男丁行割礼”和“出他城门”的含义清楚可知：“给所有男丁行割礼”是指唯独在外在事物上被引入那人民，即雅各后代的代表和有意义的符号中（参看4486节）；“出他城门”是指背离古人当中的教会教义，如刚才所述（4492节）。由于所表示的是对他们自己教义的背离和对外在事物的接受，故经上两次说“凡出他城门的”。但经上没有像在其它地方那样同时说“他们进城门”，因为“进”表示对教义的接受，对外在事物的背离，而此处描述的是反面。
有必要说一下此中是何情形。上古教会成员，也就是哈抹和示剑及其家族所属的余留，具有与古教会信徒完全不同的心理构成和天生性情。因为上古教会拥有一个包含完整性的意愿，而古教会的信徒则没有。正因如此，主能在上古教会成员当中经由意愿，因而经由内在途径流入；但在古教会信徒当中则不然，他们里面的意愿已经被摧毁了。不过，主流入他们的理解，因而经由外在途径，而非内在途径流入，如前所述（4489节）。经由意愿流入就是经由爱之良善流入，因为一切良善属于心智的意愿部分；而经由理解流入就是经由信之真理流入，因为一切真理属于理解部分。当主使古教会的信徒重生时，祂便在其理解部分形成一个新意愿。因为良善与真理被植入上古教会成员心智的意愿部分（参看895，927节），但被植入古教会信徒的理解部分（863，875，895，927，2124，2256，4328节）。新意愿是在心智的理解部分里面形成的（928，1023，1043，1044，4328节）。主与居于人中间的良善之间存在一个平行，但主与居于人中间的真理之间则没有（1831，1832，2718，3514节）。因此，相对于上古教会成员，古教会的信徒处在模糊中（2708，2715，2935，2937，3246，3833节）。从这一切明显可知，上古教会成员具有与古教会信徒完全不同的心理构成和天生性情。
正是由于这个原因，那些属上古教会的人是内在人，没有敬拜的外在形式；而那些属古教会的人是外在人，具有敬拜的外在形式。因为前者通过内在事物如同白天在阳光下那样看外在事物；而后者通过外在事物如同夜晚在月光或星光下那样看内在事物。这也解释了为何在天上，主向前者显为一轮太阳，而向后者却显为一轮月亮（1521，1529-1531，2441，2495，4060节）。前者就是前面所解释的那些被称为“属天”的人，后者则是那些被称为“属灵”的人。
举例说明这两者之间的本质区别。上古教会成员若阅读圣言，无论历史还是预言，不用任何事先的教导或解释就能看到它的内义；并且看得如此充分，以致属内义的属天和属灵事物立刻映入他的眼帘，几乎没有属字义的任何事物。因此对他来说，内义一直处于光明之中，而字义却处于模糊之中。他就像是某人在听别人说话，只听他的意思，不去留意他所说的话。而古教会成员若阅读圣言，离了事先的教导或解释就看不到它的内义；因此对他来说，内义一直处于模糊之中，字义却处于光明之中。他就像是某人在听别人说话，只专注于他所说的话，却不去留意这些话的意思，因此这会失去他。但当一个犹太教会成员阅读圣言时，除了字面上的意思外，他什么也不懂。他根本没有意识到内义的存在，还否认它的存在。今天的基督教会成员也是这样。
这一切表明，此处哈抹和示剑所代表的人与雅各的儿子们所表示的人之间有着本质区别；哈抹和示剑是上古教会余留的一部分，对内在事物感兴趣，对外在事物不感兴趣；而雅各的儿子们则对外在事物感兴趣，对内在事物不感兴趣。这一切还表明，哈抹和示剑不可能接受外在事物，也不可能接受存在于雅各儿子们当中的事物，除非他们的内在被关闭。但是，若这些被关闭，他们将永远灭亡。
这就是哈抹和示剑及其家族被杀的秘密原因，否则这种行为是不会被允许的。但这并不是为雅各的儿子们犯下滔天罪行开脱。他们对这个秘密原因一无所知，并且这也不是他们所关注的目的。各人照各人的目的或意图受审判；在第13节，经上明确说明，他们的意图是诡诈的。当主允许诸如此类的罪行发生时，它就由恶人和那些煽动它的地狱中人来实施。然而，恶人向善人企图并做出的一切邪恶，都会被主转化为良善，此处即是一例，因为哈抹和示剑及其家族都得救了。
Potts(1905-1910) 4493
4493. And they circumcised every male, all that went out of the gate of his city. That this signifies accession to external things, is evident from the signification of "circumcising every male," as being to be initiated thereby into the representatives and significatives of the descendants of Jacob in respect to the external alone (see n. 4486); and from the signification of "going out of the gate of the city," as being to recede from the doctrine of the Church among the Ancients, concerning which just above (n. 4492). And because recession from their own doctrine and accession to externals are both signified, it is therefore twice said, "all that went out of the gate of his city." But it is not at the same time said also, as elsewhere, "they that go into it," because by "going in" is signified accession to doctrine, and recession from externals, whereas here the contrary is signified. [2] It is necessary to say how the case herein is. The men of the Most Ancient Church, of the remains of which were Hamor and Shechem with their families, were of a totally different genius and native quality from the men of the Ancient Church; for the men of the Most Ancient Church had a will in which there was soundness, but not so the men of the Ancient Church. Therefore with the men of the Most Ancient Church the Lord could inflow through the will, thus by an internal way; but not so with the men of the Ancient Church, in whom the will had been destroyed; but with these He inflowed into the understanding, thus not by an internal way, but by an external way, as before said (n. 4489). To inflow through the will is to inflow through the good of love, for all good is of the will part; but to inflow through the understanding is to inflow through the truth of faith, for all truth is of the intellectual part. When the Lord regenerated the men of the Ancient Church He formed a new will in their intellectual part. (That goods and truths were implanted in the will part of the men of the Most Ancient Church, may be seen, n. 895, 927: But in the intellectual part of the men of the Ancient Church, n. 863, 875, 895, 927, 2124, 2256, 4328: That a new will is formed in the intellectual part, n. 928, 1023, 1043, 1044, 4328: That there is a parallelism between the Lord and the good that is with man, but not between the Lord and the truth with man, n. 1831, 1832, 2718, 3514: That hence the men of the Ancient Church were in comparative obscurity, n. 2708, 2715, 2935, 2937, 3246, 3833.) From all this it is evident that the men of the Most Ancient Church were of a totally different genius and native quality from the men of the Ancient Church. [3] It was for this reason that the men of the Most Ancient Church were internal men and had no externals of worship, and that the men of the Ancient Church were external men and had externals of worship; for the former saw external things through internal ones as in the light of the sun by day, and the latter saw internal things through external ones as in the light of the moon and stars by night. Therefore also in heaven the Lord appears to the former as a sun, but to the latter as a moon (n. 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 2495, 4060). In these explications the former are they who are called "celestial," but the latter "spiritual." [4] To illustrate the difference let us take an example: If a man of the Most Ancient Church had read the historic or prophetic Word, he would have seen its internal sense without any previous instruction or explication, and this so fully that the celestial and spiritual things of this sense would have at once occurred to him, and scarcely anything in the sense of the letter; thus the internal sense would have been in clearness to him, but the sense of the letter in obscurity. He would be like one who hears another speaking and gets the meaning without attending to the words. But if a man of the Ancient Church had read the Word he could not have seen its internal sense without previous instruction or explication; thus the internal sense would have been in obscurity to him, but the sense of the letter in clearness. He would be like one who hears another speaking and is intent upon the words while not attending to the meaning, which is thus lost to him. But when a man of the Jewish Church reads the Word, he apprehends nothing beyond the sense of the letter, he is not aware that there is any internal sense, and also denies it; and at the present day the case is the same with a man of the Christian Church. [5] All this shows what was the difference between those represented by Hamor and Shechem (who being of the remains of the Most Ancient Church were in internals and not in externals), and those signified by the sons of Jacob (who were in externals and not in internals); and it shows further that Hamor and Shechem could not accede to externals and accept those among the sons of Jacob without their internals being closed; thus causing their eternal destruction. [6] This is the secret reason why Hamor and Shechem with their families were slain, which otherwise would not have been permitted. But this does not exculpate the sons of Jacob from having committed an enormous crime. They knew nothing of this secret reason, and it was not the end they had in view. Everyone is judged according to his end or intention, and that their intention was fraudulent is plainly stated in the thirteenth verse; and when any such crime is permitted by the Lord, it is evil men and their infernal instigators who are the authors of it. Nevertheless all the evil which the evil intend and do to the good is turned by the Lord into good, as in the present instance, in that Hamor and Shechem with their families were saved.
Elliott(1983-1999) 4493
4493. 'And they circumcised every male, all who went out of the gate of his city' means the acceptance of externalities. This is clear from the meaning of 'circumcising every male' as being introduced into the representatives and meaningful signs of that people (that is, into those of Jacob's descendants) - solely into the external observances involved in these, dealt with in 4486; and from the meaning of 'going out of the gate of the city' as departing from the doctrine of the Church among the Ancients, dealt with immediately above in 4492. And as the departure from doctrine and the acceptance of externalities is meant, the expression 'those who went out of the gate of his city' occurs twice, without any reference at the same time, as is so elsewhere, to those who went into it. For 'going in' means an acceptance of doctrine and a departure from externalities; but the reverse of this is described here.
[2] The implications of this must now be stated. Members of the Most Ancient Church, the remnants of which Hamor and Shechem with their families were a part, had an entirely different mental constitution and different disposition from adherents to the Ancient Church. The will in the case of the members of the Most Ancient Church contained that which was whole; but this was not so with adherents to the Ancient Church. Because of this the Lord was able with members of the Most Ancient Church to flow in through the will, and therefore by an internal way, but not so with adherents to the Ancient Church, since in these the will had been destroyed. But the Lord flowed into their understanding, and so not by an internal way but by an external one, as stated above in 4489. Flowing in through the will involves flowing in through the good of love, for all good belongs to the will part of the mind, whereas flowing in through the understanding involves flowing in through the truth of faith, for all truth belongs to the understanding part. Within the latter - the understanding - the Lord formed, in the case of adherents to the Ancient Church, a new will when He regenerated them. For goods and truths were implanted in the will part of the mind of members of the Most Ancient Church, see 895, 927, but in the understanding part of that of adherents to the Ancient Church, 863, 875, 895, 927, 2124, 2256, 4328. The new will is formed within the understanding part of the mind, 928, 1023, 1043, 1044, 4328. A parallelism exists between the Lord and the good residing with man, but not between Him and the truth there, 1831, 1832, 2718, 3514. As a consequence adherents to the Ancient Church dwelt in obscurity compared with members of the Most Ancient, 2708, 2715, 2935, 2937, 3246, 3833. From all this it may be seen that members of the Most Ancient Church had an entirely different mental constitution and different disposition from adherents to the Ancient Church.
[3] It was for this reason that those who belonged to the Most Ancient Church were internal people and had no external forms of worship, while those who belonged to the Ancient Church were external people and did have them. For the former saw external things in the light of internal ones, as if by the light of the sun in the daytime, whereas the latter saw internal things in the light of external ones, as if by the light of the moon or stars at night. This also explains why the Lord is seen by the former in heaven as the Sun, but by the latter as the Moon, 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 2495, 4060. The former are those who in explanations above are called celestial, the latter those who are called spiritual.
[4] To illustrate the essential difference between the two let an example be taken. If a member of the Most Ancient Church had read the Word, the historical or the prophetical, he would have seen its internal sense without prior instruction or any explanation. He would have seen it so perfectly that the celestial and spiritual things belonging to the internal sense would have instantly met his eyes, and scarcely anything belonging to the sense of the letter. Thus the internal sense would have been for him in brightness, but the sense of the letter in obscurity. He would be like someone listening to a person speaking, and taking in only the sense and paying no attention to the words used by the speaker. But if a member of the Ancient Church had read the Word he would not have been able, without prior instruction or explanation, to see its internal sense, and so the internal sense would have been for him in obscurity but the sense of the letter in brightness. He would be like someone listening to a person speaking and in thought hanging on to the words used by him, all the while paying no attention to the sense of them, which would therefore be lost on him. But when a member of the Jewish Church reads the Word he does not understand anything beyond the sense of the letter. He does not know of and also denies the existence of any internal sense. And it is similar with the member of the Christian Church at the present day.
[5] These considerations show the essential difference between those represented here by Hamor and Shechem who, being part of the remnants of the Most Ancient Church, were interested in internal things and not in external ones, and those meant by the sons of Jacob who were interested in external things and not in internal ones. Those considerations show in addition that Hamor and Shechem could not have acceded to external things and accepted those which existed among the sons of Jacob unless their internals were closed. But if these had been closed they would have perished for ever.
[6] This is the hidden reason why Hamor and Shechem with their families were slain, a deed that would not otherwise have been allowed. Not that this absolves the sons of Jacob from blame for having committed that hideous crime. They had no knowledge of that hidden reason, nor did they have that as their end in view. Everyone is judged according to the end he has in view, that is, his intention; and it is plainly stated in verse 13 that their intention was deceitful. When the Lord allows any such crime as this it is carried out by the evil and by those in hell who instigate it. But all evil which the evil intend and do to the good the Lord converts into good, as is the case here in that Hamor and Shechem with their families were [eternally] saved.
Latin(1748-1756) 4493
4493. `Et circumciderunt omnem masculum, omnes egredientes portam urbis illius': quod significet accessionem ad externa, constat ex significatione `circumcidere omnem masculum' quod sit per id initiari in repraesentativa et significativa illorum, nempe posterorum Jacobi, quoad sola externa, de qua n. 4486; et ex significatione `egredi portam urbis' quod sit recedere e doctrina Ecclesiae apud antiquos, de qua mox supra n. 4492; et quia recessio (c)e doctrina et accessio ad externa significatur, ideo bis dicitur `egredientes portam urbis illius', non etiam simul, ut alibi, ingredientes illam; per `ingredi' enim significatur accessio ad doctrinam et recessio ab externis {1}, hic autem contrarium. [2] Quomodo haec se habent, dicendum: homines Antiquissimae Ecclesiae ex cujus reliquiis Hamor et Shechem cum familiis suis {2} fuerunt, prorsus alio et diverso genio ac indole fuerunt quam viri Antiquae Ecclesiae; homines (o)enim Antiquissimae Ecclesiae habuerunt voluntarium in quo integrum (o)erat, non autem viri Antiquae Ecclesiae; quapropter Dominus apud homines Antiquissimae Ecclesiae potuit influere per voluntarium, proinde per viam internam, non autem apud viros Antiquae Ecclesiae, in his enim voluntarium deperditum fuit, sed influebat (o)Dominus in intellectuale (o)eorum, ita non per viam internam sed per externam, ut supra n. 4489 dictum est; influere per voluntarium est per bonum amoris, nam omne verum est partis voluntariae; at influere per intellectuale est per verum fidei, nam omne verum est partis intellectualis; in hac parte, nempe intellectuali, Dominus apud viros Antiquae Ecclesiae formavit novam voluntatem cum illos regeneravit: quod bona et vera parti voluntariae hominum Antiquissimae Ecclesiae implantata fuerint, videatur n. 895, 927 at quod parti intellectuali virorum Antiquae Ecclesiae, n. (x)863, 875, 895, 927, 2124, 2256, 4328: quod in parte intellectuali formetur nova voluntas, n. 928, 1023, 1043, 1044, 4328; quod detur parallelismus inter Dominum et inter bonum apud hominem, non autem inter verum, n. 1831, 1832, 1718, 3514 et quod inde viri Antiquae Ecclesiae fuerint in obscuro respective, n. 2708, 2715, 2935, 2937, 3246, 3833. Ex his constare potest quod homines Antiquissimae Ecclesiae prorsus alio et diverso genio ac indole fuerint a viris {3} Antiquae Ecclesiae. [3] Inde erat quod qui ab Antiquissima Ecclesia erant, interni homines fuerint et nulla externa cultus habuerint; et quod qui ab Antiqua Ecclesia erant, externi homines fuerint et externa cultus habuerint; nam illi per interna videbant externa sicut a {4} luce solis diu, et hi per externa videbant interna sicut {5} in lumine lunae et stellarum noctu, quapropter etiam Dominus illis in caelo apparet ut sol, his autem ut luna, n. 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 2495, 4060; illi sunt qui in explicationibus vocantur caelestes, hi autem qui spirituales. [4] Ut illustretur qualis differentia fuerit, sit exemplum: homo Antiquissimae Ecclesiae si legisset Verbum historicum aut propheticum, absque praevia instructione aut ulla explicatione, vidisset sensum ejus internum, et hoc usque adeo ut caelestia et spiritualia quae (o)sunt sensus interni, ilico obvenissent {6}, et vix aliquid quod in sensu litterae; (o)ita sensus internus fuisset illi in claro, at sensus litterae in obscuro; foret sicut qui {7} audit loquentem et solum haurit sensum, non autem attendit ad loquentis voces; at homo Antiquae Ecclesiae si legisset Verbum, non potuisset absque praevia instructione aut explicatione videre sensum ejus internum, ita quod sensus internus fuisset illi in obscuro, at sensus litterae in claro; foret sicut {8} ille qui audit loquentem et cogitatione inhaeret vocibus {9}, et interea non attendit ad sensum qui inde ei perit: (m)at homo Ecclesiae Judaicae cum legit Verbum, nihil capit praeter sensum litterae {10}; quod sensus aliquis internus sit, non scit, et quoque negat: similiter hodie homo Ecclesiae Christianae.(n) [5] Ex his constare potest qualis differentia fuit {11} inter illos qui per Hamorem et Shechemum repraesentantur {12}, qui quia ex reliquiis Antiquissimae Ecclesiae fuerunt, in internis et non in externis fuerunt, ac inter illos qui per `filios Jacobi' significantur, qui in externis et non in internis fuerunt {13}; et porro constare potest quod Hamor et Shechemus non accedere potuissent ad externa, et acceptare illa quae apud filios Jacobi, nisi interna eorum occluderentur, quae si occlusa fuissent, in aeternum periissent. [6] Haec causa arcana est cur Hamor et Shechemus cum familiis eorum occisi (x)sunt, quod alioquin non permissum fuisset; sed hoc non aufert culpam a filiis Jacobi, quin enorme facinus patraverint; illi nihil de arcano illo noverunt, nec illum finem habuerunt; quisque secundum finem seu intentionem judicatur; quod intentio `eorum fraudulenta fuerit, in vers. 13 manifeste dicitur; cumque aliquod {14} tale permittitur a Domino, id fit per malos ac per infernales qui infundunt; sed omne malum quod mali intendunt et faciunt bonis, Dominus vertit in bonum, hic {15} ut Hamor et Shechemus cum familiis eorum salvarentur. @1 internis I$ @2 eorum$ @3 veris I$ @4 in$ @5 i ita$ @6 obvenirent$ @7 i ille$ @8 sic I$ @9 i ejus$ @10 literalem$ @11 A d esset, ip fuerit$ @12 i hic$ @13 fuerunt after externis$ @14 aliquid$ @15 A d hic, hoc$