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.

5035. 'And Joseph's lord took him' means temptation coming from the natural. This is clear from what follows immediately after this, for the narrative goes on to refer to the committal of Joseph to the prison-house, describing in the internal sense the temptation of spiritual good within the natural. This being the implication of the words 'Joseph's lord took him', it is also their spiritual meaning. There are two kinds of temptations - those which involve truths and those which involve forms of good. Temptations involving truths are the work of spirits, but those involving forms of good are the work of genii. Spirits in the next life are distinguished from genii by the fact that spirits act upon the understanding part of the mind, and so upon matters of faith, whereas genii act upon the will part and so upon matters of love. That is to say, such spirits allow themselves to be seen, and also reveal themselves by making utterances, but genii make themselves inconspicuous and do not reveal themselves except by their entry into a person's passions and desires. They also exist separated in the next life, for the evil or hellish spirits appear in front and to either side beneath the lower earth, whereas the evil or hellish genii are beneath and to the rear, deep down at the back underneath the lower earth. Temptations involving truths are the work, as stated, of evil spirits, but temptations involving forms of good are the work of evil genii. From here onwards the subject is temptations - those which are the work of evil spirits, and so ones that involve false-speaking against good. These temptations are milder than those which are the work of evil genii; they also arise before the latter kind do.