5022. And she laid up his garment by her. That this signifies that it retained ultimate truth, is evident from the signification of "laying up by her," as being to retain; and from the signification of a "garment," as being ultimate truth (of which above, n. 5006, 5008), which truth being taken away, the spiritual man has no longer anything with which to defend himself against those who are merely natural (n. 5008e, 5009), and in this event injury is done to him; for whatever the spiritual man then speaks, merely natural men say that they do not perceive, and also that it is not so. And if what is internal or spiritual is but mentioned, they either ridicule it or call it mystical; wherefore all conjunction between them is then broken, and when this is broken, the spiritual man suffers hard things among the merely natural, which is represented by Joseph's being cast into prison, after the wife had testified by the garment in the presence of her husband.