5542. Saying, Slay my two sons. That this signifies that neither kind of faith will live, is evident from the signification of the "two sons" of Reuben, as being both kinds of faith; for by Reuben is represented faith in doctrine and in the understanding, and his "sons" are the two doctrines of the church, the doctrine of truth and the doctrine of good, or the doctrine of faith and the doctrine of charity. That neither of these things of faith or of the church will live unless the intermediate represented by Benjamin is conjoined, is signified by "Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee." By these words Reuben gives confirmation that it will be all over with the church, unless there be an intermediate. Unless there were this internal sense in these words, Reuben would not have told his father to slay his two sons if he brought not Benjamin back; for he would thereby have proposed to put an end to one family more, which being contrary to all right, would have been infamous. But the internal sense teaches us why this was said.