Judah and Judas: Two Paths to the Same Spiritual Surrender

One Name, One Character: Two Moments of Recognition

In the Bible, Judah and Judas appear centuries apart — one in the Old Testament, the other in the New. But both names stem from the same root: Yehudah, meaning praise, Judas is a Greek rendering of Judah. Rather than seeing them as two separate individuals, Neville Goddard’s symbolic framework invites us to understand Judah and Judas as the same character, expressed at two different moments in the spiritual journey — both reflecting the awakening to imagination as the creative power.

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Judah: Recognising the Righteousness of the Creative Act

Judah, the son of Jacob, is the figure through whom kingship in Israel is prophesied to flow. But in his personal story, a pivotal moment occurs when Tamar confronts him. Tamar, veiled and misunderstood, represents the veiled creative act — the hidden operation of imagination.

When Judah declares, “She is more righteous than I”, he is not merely admitting fault. He is acknowledging that what appeared deceptive was actually lawful — righteous — in a deeper, spiritual sense. Tamar’s action brought about the continuity of the line that would lead to David and, ultimately, to Jesus — the embodiment of imagination.

Judah’s recognition of Tamar is the first great moment of inner praise. It is the realisation that imagination, even when misunderstood or veiled, is the righteous power that brings forth creation.

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Judas: Handing Over the Creative Power

Fast forward to the New Testament. Judas — the Greek rendering of Judah — repeats the pattern. He hands over Jesus, the personification of the I AM, the divine imagination. This act has been widely condemned as betrayal, but Neville’s teachings allow us to reinterpret it.

Jesus is imagination personified. To “give him up” is not to betray him, but to yield to him. Judas, like Judah before him, is engaging in an act of recognition. He is affirming, by handing over Jesus, that this power — this I AM — must be acknowledged and allowed to take its rightful place.

It mirrors Judah’s words to Tamar. Just as he saw Tamar’s creative role as more righteous, Judas sees that Jesus — imagination — is the rightful power, even if that means surrendering all former understanding.

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Two Moments, One Revelation

• Judah recognises the righteousness of the hidden creative act (Tamar).

• Judas recognises the righteousness of the revealed creative power (Jesus).

Both are not acts of betrayal or guilt, but praise in action — praise as recognition.

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From Veil to Revelation

In Tamar, the creative force is veiled — misjudged, mislabelled, but ultimately righteous. In Jesus, it is unveiled — embodied and declared as the I AM. Judah’s and Judas’ actions are therefore not separate moral tales, but two points on the same pattern: the honouring of imagination as the true creative force.

This is not about failure. It’s about awakening.

As Neville says:

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

Both Judah and Judas play their part in letting that redemptive power rise.