Judah and Judas: Recognition of Raised Assumption

In the Bible, Judah (Old Testament) and Judas (New Testament) share the same root name: Yehudah, meaning praise. Rather than seeing them as two separate figures, Neville Goddard’s psychological approach shows them as one character, during different stages of the law of Assumption. Both reflect recognition of imagination as the true creative power.

Judah: Praising the Hidden Creative Act

Judah, son of Jacob, is the psychological mode of raised assumption, through which Jesus ultimately comes. His pivotal moment is when he toys with the law of Assumption. Tamar, personifying imagination as veiled and misunderstood, symbolises the hidden creative act — imagination at work behind the scenes.

When Judah eventually admits, “She is more righteous than I,” he is recognising that the veiled, imaginative act was actually at work. 

This is Judah’s moment of praise: realising that imagination, though hidden and often misunderstood, is the righteous source of creation.

Judas: Yielding to the Revealed Creative Power

In the New Testament, Judas — the Greek form of Judah — repeats the pattern. He hands over Jesus, the personification of the I AM, the divine imagination. Rather than a betrayal, this act symbolises surrendering to imagination.

To “give up” Jesus is to let go of the old self and allow the I AM to take its place. Like Judah recognising Tamar’s righteousness, Judas recognises Jesus — imagination itself — as the true power.

Two Moments, One Revelation

• Judah recognises the hidden creative act (Tamar).

• Judas recognises the revealed creative power (Jesus).

Both acts are not betrayals but expressions of praise — recognising and honouring imagination.

From Veil to Revelation

In Tamar, imagination is veiled, hidden, and misunderstood. In Jesus, it is revealed and embodied as the I AM.

Judah and Judas represent two stages of the same awakening: the realisation that imagination is the only true creative and redemptive force.

As Neville says:

“Imagination is the only redemptive power in the universe.”

Both figures play their part in letting that power rise.