4441. 'And Jacob kept silent until they came' means counsel taken with the truths of faith which were known to him and his descendants. This is clear from the meaning of 'keeping silent' as thinking and keeping one's own counsel; and from the meaning of 'until they (his sons) came' as counsel taken by the truths of faith which belonged to him and his descendants - 'sons' meaning truths, see 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 3373, 4257. Since the counsel was to be taken with the sons, and so with the truths meant by 'Jacob's sons', it was therefore a counsel taken with the truths known to him and his descendants.