Why Not a Canaanite Woman? Understanding Abraham’s Warning
Early in Genesis 24, Abraham makes a clear instruction to himself:
“You must not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live; but you shall go to my country and to my kindred and take a wife for my son Isaac.” (Genesis 24:3-4)
At first glance, this might seem like a historical or cultural command — a concern for lineage or ethnicity. But from Neville Goddard’s perspective, the Canaanites symbolise limiting states of consciousness or old, unhelpful patterns that resist spiritual awakening.
The land of Canaan, where Abraham lived, represents the outer world of limitation — thoughts and beliefs tied to the old identity or ego-bound self. The “daughters of Canaan” embody mental patterns and attitudes associated with those limitations.
For this cause will a man go away from his father and his mother and be joined to his wife; and they will be one flesh. - Genesis 2:24
By instructing his servant not to find a wife for Isaac among the Canaanites, Abraham is symbolically saying: the new state of being (Isaac) cannot be united with old limiting beliefs or unconscious states. Instead, the bride must come from Abraham’s own country and kindred — that is, the inner realm of faith, promise, and divine imagination.
This reflects Neville’s teaching that we must disassociate from old negative assumptions (the ‘Canaanites’) and identify with the new imaginative state (Abraham’s country), where faith and the assumption of the wish fulfilled reside.
The story reminds us that manifesting our desired reality requires a deliberate choice to reject limiting mental patterns and align only with the creative, faithful imagination — the true ‘bride’ of the new self.
Abraham Sends His Servant: Faith and the Seed of Desire
“Abraham said to his servant, ‘You will go to my country and to my relatives and take a wife for my son Isaac.’” (Genesis 24:4, NIV)
Abraham here represents the current state of consciousness — one grounded in faith and certainty. He embodies the seed of desire firmly planted in imagination. Abraham does not act directly but sends his servant, symbolising the agent of imagination tasked with bringing the inner desire into external reality.
The servant’s journey outward is symbolic of the imagination’s work: to seek the form that matches the inner assumption, the ‘I Am’ that has already assumed the fulfilled state.
The Well: The Subconscious Source of Living Water
When the servant arrives at the well, he encounters Rebekah:
“Behold, Rebekah came out... a very beautiful young woman, a virgin; no man had ever lain with her.” (Genesis 24:16)
“Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder... and said, ‘Drink, my lord.’” (Genesis 24:15-18)
The well is a powerful symbol — representing the subconscious reservoir, the source of living water that Jesus speaks of later:
“Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.” (John 4:14)
Just as the four rivers flowed out of Eden (Genesis 2:10-14), symbolising the flow of divine life and imagination into the world, the well is the fountainhead from which imagination nourishes and sustains manifestation.
Rebekah’s beauty and purity are highlighted deliberately. In Neville Goddard’s teaching, beauty in manifestation is the irresistible appeal of the imagined fulfilled state — it is the power that attracts and draws forth its own fulfilment.
Her virginity signifies newness and untouched potential — a fresh state of being ready to become exactly as imagined. This beauty is not superficial but represents the loveliness and desirability of the “I Am” fully realised — pure, fresh, and compelling.
Rebekah coming to draw water represents the manifested reality — the imagined state ready to appear in the external world.
The Prayer and the Sign: The Law of Assumption in Action
The servant’s prayer is a quiet, focused assumption:
“O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today... Make the woman who answers my prayer... the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac.” (Genesis 24:12-14)
This prayer is Neville’s law of assumption: the clear, specific imagining of the fulfilled desire. The servant asks for a sign — a confirmation from the subconscious.
Rebekah’s action — offering water not only to the servant but also to his camels — is that sign. It confirms that the inner assumption has aligned perfectly with the subconscious forces and is ready for manifestation.
Rebekah and Isaac: The Inner Marriage of Desire and Fulfilment
Rebekah’s journey back and her meeting with Isaac is the climax of the story:
“Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he took Rebekah and she became his wife...” (Genesis 24:67)
Isaac symbolises the realised desire or the new state of being created through imagination. The union of Isaac and Rebekah is the inner marriage of the new ‘I Am’ with its external expression — the full embodiment of the imagined reality.
This sacred union mirrors the profound language of the Song of Solomon, a biblical celebration of love that Neville interpreted as symbolic of the union between the soul and the realised self:
“My beloved is mine and I am his...” (Song of Solomon 2:16)
Their meeting is not just a physical event but a representation of the harmonising of the inner world with the outer.
The Rivers of Eden and the Flow of Imaginative Power
Genesis 2 describes the four rivers flowing out of Eden:
“A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.” (Genesis 2:10)
These rivers symbolise the flow of divine life, imagination, and creative power from the ‘garden’ — the inner paradise or state of consciousness.
Similarly, the well in Genesis 24 represents a point where this imaginative power wells up in the subconscious, ready to flow outward and bring the imagined state into physical form.
The Repetition of the Story: The Servant’s Double Recounting
An often-overlooked detail in Genesis 24 is that the servant recounts the story of finding Rebekah twice — first to Abraham and later to Rebekah’s family and then again to Isaac.
“And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.” (Genesis 24:66)
Earlier, the servant narrates the story in detail to Abraham. (Genesis 24:42-49)
This repetition is deeply significant. Neville Goddard emphasises repetition as a key to manifestation. It is the process of rehearsing and persisting in the imagined state until it becomes reality.
By telling the story twice, the servant (the imagination) impresses and reaffirms the assumed reality on different levels of consciousness:
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To Abraham, representing the conscious faith rooted in the desire,
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To Rebekah’s family and Isaac, symbolising the subconscious acceptance and physical manifestation.
This double recounting mirrors Neville’s practice of persistence — continually dwelling on and mentally affirming the fulfilled state. Manifestation requires not just a one-time assumption but steady reinforcement until the subconscious accepts it fully and the outer world reflects it.
Conclusion: The Secret of Genesis 24
Viewed through Neville Goddard’s teachings, Genesis 24 is the symbolic journey of faith (Abraham), imagination (the servant), and subconscious power (the well) working together to bring forth the desired reality (Rebekah) and unite it with the new self (Isaac).
Rebekah’s beauty shines as the alluring power of the imagined fulfilled state — pure, fresh, and irresistibly compelling.
The story reminds us that our outer world is the reflection of our inner states. By assuming our fulfilled desire with faith, giving imagination its rightful role, and persistently affirming the reality of our wish fulfilled, we participate in the sacred flow — the very rivers of Eden within us — that bring dreams into existence.
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