5087. 'And the chief of the attendants set Joseph over them' means that under the influence of the things first and foremost in explanations the celestial of the natural taught those bodily senses. This is clear from the meaning of 'the chief of the attendants' as the things that are first and foremost in explanations, dealt with in 4790, 4966, 5084; from the representation of 'Joseph' as the celestial of the natural, dealt with immediately above in 5086; and from the meaning of 'being set over here as teaching, for one who is 'set over' things that are cast aside so that they may be examined and corrected performs the function of a teacher.

5086. The place where Joseph was bound' means the state of the celestial of the natural now in relation to these things. This is clear from the meaning of 'the place' as a state, dealt with in 2625, 2877, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882; from the representation of 'Joseph' as the celestial of the spiritual from the rational, dealt with in 4286, 4585, 4592, 4594, 4963, at this point the celestial of the natural because it was now in the natural, from which temptations arise, 5035, 5039; and from the meaning of 'bound' as a state of temptations, dealt with in 5037. The subject in the previous chapter was the state of temptations undergone by the celestial of the spiritual within the natural, involving those things which belonged to the interior natural, whereas in this chapter it is the state of temptations involving things that belong to the exterior natural.