The Hidden Place: What the Bible Really Means by the “Cleft of the Rock”

All through the Bible, we hear about people hiding in caves, holes, or the cleft of a rock. At first glance, it seems like they’re just finding shelter or escaping danger. But when seen through the teachings of Neville Goddard, these aren’t just physical places—they're symbols of your mind.

Neville taught that the Bible is not just history, but psychological truth. Every character and event represents something happening within you. So when someone hides in the cleft of a rock, or when Jesus is buried in a tomb carved into rock, it’s describing something happening inside your own consciousness.

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The Rock Is Your Mind. The Hole Is Your Imagination at Rest.

Neville often said that the “rock” is the human skull—your own mind. And the “cleft,” “hole,” or “tomb” carved into it? That’s the place where God (your imagination) is buried.

That might sound strange at first—but think of it like this: when you don’t know how powerful your imagination really is, it’s like that power is asleep, hidden away inside you. You walk through life reacting to things, feeling stuck, thinking that the outer world is in control. But when you start to use your imagination—to deliberately assume the feeling of your wish fulfilled—you begin to awaken that buried power.

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Examples in Scripture, Reimagined

Let’s look at a few Bible verses and how Neville would see them:

Exodus 33:22

“I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by.”

This sounds like God hiding Moses for protection. But Neville would say: this is the moment where your awareness of God's power retreats inward, into the mind, waiting to express itself. It’s where imagination starts to take over—quietly, hidden at first—before your outer world begins to change.

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Song of Solomon 2:14

“O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock… let me see your face, let me hear your voice.”

The “dove” often represents the spirit or imagination. It’s tucked away, quiet. This verse is a call to wake up your inner creative power. Let your imagination speak again. Let it shape your world.

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Golgotha – The Place of the Skull

“And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of the Skull…”

This is where Jesus is crucified. But Neville taught that this isn’t just a location—it’s symbolic. Jesus (representing imagination) is crucified in your own skull. He’s buried in the tomb of your mind, forgotten, until you remember that your own imagination creates your reality.

When the stone is rolled away from that tomb—when you start imagining differently—you’re resurrecting that power.

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The Serpent: Not the Villain You Think

Now let’s go back to the beginning—Genesis.

In Sunday school, the serpent is usually seen as the bad guy. But Neville saw the serpent differently. The serpent represents desire, curiosity, and the spark of life that makes us grow.

When the serpent tells Eve, “You’ll be like God,” Neville said: That’s exactly what’s happening. God is putting Himself into human form—into YOU. The serpent shows that spark being planted in your mind. But once it's there, it goes quiet, like a coiled serpent… waiting.

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Genesis 3:14

“Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat…”

This is God speaking to the serpent. But Neville would say: this is symbolic of imagination falling asleep in the physical world. The serpent (your creative power) goes “into the dust”—into your body, your senses, your skull—and lies still until you raise it again.

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Raising the Serpent

Jesus later says:

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” (John 3:14)

This connects the serpent from Genesis to Jesus on the cross. Both are about raising up what had been hidden. To “lift up the serpent” means to awaken your imagination again—to use it consciously. That’s what Neville calls resurrection.

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Putting It All Together

So let’s recap:

• The rock is your skull.

• The hole or cleft is your imagination buried inside you.

• The serpent is desire, power, imagination—initially forgotten.

• Jesus in the tomb shows imagination asleep in your mind.

• Rising from the tomb is when you start imagining your life as you want it to be—and believe it’s already true.

The Bible is telling the story of you. You are the one who descends, sleeps, dreams, and rises again. You are the hidden power, waiting to be remembered.