Read through the teachings of Neville Goddard, who emphasised the power of assumption and imagination, Joseph’s journey mirrors that of anyone who dares to live from the end—who chooses to persist in the feeling of the wish fulfilled. His life becomes a blueprint for manifesting abundance despite opposition.
This symbolic narrative deepens when we draw from the Song of Solomon, a book that poetically expresses the passionate pursuit of the ideal, revealing the soul’s union with its inner beloved—its imagined state. Together, these passages tell the story of imagination’s faithfulness, creative power, and ultimate triumph.
1. “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall.”
(Genesis 49:22, ESV)
Joseph is described as a fruitful bough beside a spring, a beautiful image of inner productivity—imagination grounded in subconscious nourishment. The spring represents the deep well of subconscious life, while the branches running over the wall suggest imaginative success overflowing into physical reality, transcending all previous boundaries.
This mirrors the Song of Solomon 4:15:
“a garden fountain, a well of living water, and flowing streams from Lebanon.”
(Song of Solomon 4:15, ESV)
The soul is likened to a garden watered from within—showing that fruitfulness originates not from effort, but from contact with the deep.
2. “The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely,”
(Genesis 49:23, ESV)
Joseph's blessing acknowledges his intense opposition—the “archers” symbolising the outer world’s resistance to inner conviction. In Neville’s terms, these are doubts, circumstances, and fears that challenge your assumed state.
In the Song of Solomon, the soul also wrestles with apparent absence and inner trial:
“On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not.”
(Song of Solomon 3:1, ESV)
The longing of the soul, like Joseph's struggle, testifies to the tension between desire and fulfilment. But both stories show the strength of persistence.
3. “yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),”
(Genesis 49:24, ESV)
Joseph’s bow remained steady. His imagination didn’t waver in the face of opposition. According to Neville, this is the discipline of assumption—maintaining inner certainty until the outer reflects it. The phrase “his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One” suggests the divine strength within—the subconscious operating with creative precision.
The Song of Solomon 8:6 describes a similar inner power:
“Set me as a seal upon your heart... for love is strong as death.”
(Song of Solomon 8:6, ESV)
Love—imaginative devotion to the ideal—is as strong and final as death. It does not let go. This is the force that steadies the bow.
4. “by the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.”
(Genesis 49:25, ESV)
This verse outlines the three levels of blessing:
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“Heaven above” symbolises the conscious, spiritual realm—assumption.
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“The deep that crouches beneath” is the subconscious, the creative womb of experience.
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“The breasts and of the womb” reflect physical manifestation and multiplication.
In the Song of Solomon, the beloved’s physical features are sensual symbols of abundance and desire fulfilled:
“Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters. I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its fruit.”
(Song of Solomon 7:7–8, ESV)
These passages are metaphorical expressions of the beauty and fertility of imagination, and the joy of fulfilment.
5. “The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.”
(Genesis 49:26, ESV)
Joseph receives a surpassing blessing, greater than his forefathers. He is set apart, not only physically but symbolically—he is the imagination elevated above reason, selected to rule through inner vision. Neville often spoke of the separation from the crowd that occurs when one chooses to believe in the unseen.
Judah: The Royal Line Set Apart
While this post focuses on Joseph’s blessing, it is essential to note that Judah is also set apart for a special royal blessing. Jacob calls Judah:
“Your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you.”
(Genesis 49:8, ESV)
Judah symbolises praise - sovereign of adoration,—another vital aspect of inner power and consciousness that complements Joseph’s imagination. Together, they represent the full cycle of assumption and authority required for deliberate manifestation.
Conclusion
Through the symbolic words of Jacob’s blessing, both Joseph and Judah emerge as sons set apart for special blessings—each representing distinct, powerful states of consciousness. Joseph is the fruitful imagination, victorious despite opposition, while Judah is the royal line of praise and authority.
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