4722. Verses 18-22. And they saw him afar off, and before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to cause him to die. And they said a man to his brother, Behold this lord of dreams cometh. Come now therefore and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, An evil wild beast hath devoured him; and we shall see what his dreams will be. And Reuben heard, and rescued him out of their hand, and said, Let us not smite him, the soul. And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood; cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him; that he might rescue him out of their hand, to bring him back to his father. "And they saw him afar off," signifies perception of the Lord's Divine Human remotely; "and before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to cause him to die," signifies that they wished to extinguish the Divine spiritual which is from the Lord's Divine Human; "and they said a man to his brother," signifies their mutual thoughts; "behold, this lord of dreams cometh," signifies that those things were empty; "come now therefore and let us slay him," signifies the extinction of the essential of doctrine concerning the Lord's Divine Human; "and cast him into one of the pits," signifies among falsities; "and we will say an evil wild beast hath devoured him," signifies a lie from a life of cupidities; "and we shall see what will become of his dreams," signifies that the preachings concerning it would thus be false and would appear so; "and Reuben heard," signifies confession of the faith of the church in general; "and rescued him out of their hand," signifies liberation; "and said let us not smite him, the soul," signifies that it must not be extinguished, because it is the life of religion; "and Reuben said unto them," signifies exhortation; "shed no blood," signifies that they should not do violence to what is holy; "cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness," signifies that they should conceal it meanwhile among their falsities; "but lay no hand upon him," signifies that they should not do violence to it; "that he might rescue him out of their hand, to bring him back to his father," signifies that it might claim it for the church.