4550. And they gave unto Jacob all the gods of the stranger which were in their hand. That this signifies that it rejected all falsities as much as possible, is evident from the signification of the "gods of the stranger," as being falsities (see n. 4544); and from the signification of "which were in their hand," as being as much as possible, for the "hand" signifies power (n. 878, 3387). Hence, "being in the hand" denotes being in their power, or as much as possible. Their "giving them to Jacob" denotes that good rejected them, for by Jacob in this chapter is represented the good of the natural (n. 4538).
