GENESIS [N. 5741]

5741. And the men were sent away, they and their asses. This signifies that the external natural man external natural man: the outermost level of our personality that deals with the physical world and sensory information was moved a short distance away, along with its truths and memory-knowledges memory-knowledges: (Latin: scientifica) factual information and scientific data stored in the memory, which serve as "vessels" for deeper spiritual understanding.

This is evident from several representations:
1. Jacob’s sons, the "men" in this passage, represent the truths of the church within the natural mind (see n. 5403, 5419, 5427, 5458, 5512), and therefore the external natural man (n. 5680).
2. "Asses" represent memory-knowledges (n. 5492).
3. Being "sent away, and not far off" signifies that the external natural man was somewhat removed.

From this, it is clear that the phrase "the men were sent away, they and their asses, not far off" means the external natural man was slightly distanced, along with its facts and truths, from the internal celestial internal celestial: the highest part of the human mind, represented by Joseph, which receives love and wisdom directly from the Divine represented by Joseph.

[2] Regarding the meaning of "asses," we should note that they signify different things depending on their use. When used for riding, they signify one thing; when used for carrying burdens, they signify another. Judges, kings, and their sons rode upon he-asses, she-asses, and also upon mules. In those contexts, the animals signified rational truth truth reached through human logic and reasoning and rational good (n. 2781). This is why the Lord, acting as Judge and King, entered Jerusalem riding upon an ass and a colt; it was a traditional mark of judicial and royal authority.

However, when asses are used for carrying burdens, as they are here, they signify memory-knowledges. These knowledges behave much like pack animals. A person who only thinks about the "inside" of a human being in terms of what they can remember might assume that a person is made up entirely of these facts. They do not realize that memory-knowledges are actually the "lowest" parts of a human—things that are mostly cast aside when the physical body dies (n. 2475–2480).

What truly remains after death are the things within those knowledges: namely, truth and goodness and the affections (feelings) tied to them. For an evil person, what remains are falsity and evil. Memory-knowledges serve as the "body" for these inner qualities. While a person lives in the world, they hold their truth and good (or falsity and evil) inside these memory-knowledges. Because these facts contain and "carry" our inner life, they are represented by asses that carry heavy loads.