52. 24. (The Lord is described as to the Word, appearing above the expanse of the cherubim (Ezekiel 1:26-28); and is called Lord Jehovih (2:4; 3:11, 27; 4:14; 5:5, 7-8, 11; 6:3, 11; 7:2, 5; 8:1 seq.; also the God of Israel (8:4).) (That they may want bread and water; and a man and his brother be desolated; and fade away on account of their iniquity (Ezekiel 4:17).

In all your habitations the cities shall be devastated, also the high places (Ezekiel 6:6).

The end is come, the end upon the four corners of the land; I will send My anger upon thee, and I will judge thee according to thy ways. The end is come, the end is come, the mourning is come upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth, the time is come, the day of tumult is near (Ezekiel 7:2-12).

(They shall eat their bread with solicitude, and drink their waters with astonishment, that her land may be devastated from the fullness thereof; the cities that are inhabited shall be devastated, and the land shall be a desolation (Ezekiel 12:19-20).)

The vision which the prophet seeth after many days, and prophesying it in times that are far off (Ezekiel 12:27).

That [he is against] the pillows under the hands, through lies, etc. (Ezekiel 13:20-23).

Let the land of Egypt be a solitude and a waste; it shall be made an utter waste and desolation; a solitude in the midst of desolate lands, and its cities shall be a solitude in the midst of cities that have been devastated (Ezekiel 29:9-10, 12, concerning Egypt).

(They shall be devastated in the midst of the lands that are devastated, and her cities in the midst of the cities that are desolate; I will lay waste the land and the fullness thereof (Ezekiel 30:7, 12).)

(When I shall extinguish thee I will cover the heavens, and will make the stars thereof black; I will cover the sun with a cloud; I will make black all the luminaries of light in the heavens above thee, and will set darkness upon the land (Ezekiel 32:7-8).)

(The violent of the nations shall devastate the pride of Egypt, so that all the multitude thereof may be destroyed. I will make the land of Egypt a waste, so that it is a land desolated of that whereof it was full (Ezekiel 32:12, 15).)

5248. 'And changed his clothes' means the change made so far as coverings of the interior natural were concerned, by the putting on of what was rightly suited to this. This is clear from the meaning of 'changing as removing and casting aside, and from the meaning of 'clothes' as the coverings of the interior natural, dealt with below. The putting on of what was rightly suited, meant by 'new clothes', follows on from this. Frequent reference is made in the Word to clothes, by which are meant lower or outward things which, being such, serve to cover higher or inward ones. 'Clothes' consequently means the external part of man and therefore what is natural, since this covers the internal and the spiritual part of him. In particular 'clothes' means truths that are matters of faith since these cover forms of good that are embodiments of charity. This meaning of 'clothes' has its origin in the clothes that spirits and angels are seen to be wearing. Spirits are seen dressed in clothes that have no brightness, whereas angels are seen dressed in clothes full of brightness and so to speak made of brightness. For the actual brightness that surrounds them looks like a robe, much like the Lord's garments when He was transfigured, which were 'as the light', Matthew 17:2, and 'glistening white', Luke 9:29. From the clothes they wear one can also tell what kinds of spirits and angels they are so far as truths of faith are concerned since these are represented by their clothes, though only truths of faith such as exist within the natural. The truths of faith such as exist within the rational are revealed in the face and in the beauty it possesses. The brightness of their garments has its origin in the good of love and charity, for that good shines through and is the producer of the brightness. From all this one may see what is represented in the spiritual world by clothes and as a consequence what is meant in the spiritual sense by 'clothes'.

[2] But the clothes which Joseph changed - that is, cast aside - were those of the pit or prison-clothing, which mean the delusions and false ideas that are stirred up by evil genii and spirits in a state involving temptations. Consequently the expression 'he changed his clothes' means a casting aside and a change made in the coverings of the interior natural. And the clothes which he put on were ones such as were properly suitable, so that the putting on of what was rightly suited is meant. See what has been stated and shown already regarding clothes,

Celestial things are unclothed, but not so spiritual and natural ones, 297.

'Clothes' are truths, which are of a lower nature when they are compared with what they cover, 1073, 2576.

'Changing one's garments' was representative of the need to put on holy truths, and therefore 'changes of garments' had the same meaning, 4545.

'Rending one's clothes' was representative of mourning on account of the loss of truth, 4763.

What is meant by someone entering who was not wearing a wedding garment, 2132.