Neville Goddard taught that the Bible is not a historical account, but a symbolic map of the inner man. Beneath its seemingly literal laws lie profound psychological principles. Deuteronomy 22, when viewed through the Law of Assumption, becomes an early and somewhat primitive attempt to express the inner workings of imagination, identity, and belief—foreshadowing what would be fully realised through the ministry of Jesus.
What a "Brother" Symbolises
In Neville’s interpretation, a “brother” symbolises a mental state closely related to your current identity, a familiar thought pattern or belief state within your imaginative household.
1. Restoring Lost States — Deuteronomy 22:1–4
“If you see your brother’s ox or his sheep wandering, do not go by without helping, but take them back to your brother.
And if their owner is not near, or if you are not certain who he is, then take the beast to your house and keep it till its owner comes in search of it, and then you are to give it back to him.
Do the same with his ass or his robe or anything which has gone from your brother’s keeping and which you have come across: do not keep it to yourself.
If you see your brother’s ox or his ass falling down on the road, do not go by without giving him help in lifting it up again.”
— Deuteronomy 22:1–4, BBE
Interpretation:
These lost animals or garments represent forgotten or neglected assumptions. You are called to notice them and restore them deliberately. If a state has faltered (“fallen”), you must lift it back up -in other words, strengthen the weak imaginative condition through conscious assumption.
2. Clothing as Identity — Deuteronomy 22:5
“It is not right for a woman to be dressed in man’s clothing, or for a man to put on a woman’s robe: whoever does such things is disgusting to the Lord your God.”
— Deuteronomy 22:5, BBE
Interpretation:
Clothing symbolises states of consciousness. This verse represents the blurring of inner identity—trying to hold conflicting assumptions. In Neville’s terms, your manifestation weakens when you mix masculine and feminine imaginative traits, such as decisiveness (male) and receptivity (female), without harmony
Nurturing Ideas — Deuteronomy 22:6–7
“If by chance you see a place which a bird has made for itself in a tree or on the earth, with young ones or eggs in it, and the mother bird seated on the young ones or on the eggs, do not take the mother bird with the young:
See that you let the mother bird go, but the young ones you may take; so it will be well for you and your life will be long.”
— Deuteronomy 22:6–7, BBE
Interpretation:
This passage teaches respecting the incubation process. Neville teaches that desire must be allowed to grow and stabilise. Taking the “young” (new idea) while releasing the “mother” (old sustaining belief) symbolises the transition into a fresh assumption without clinging to past ones.
4. Mental Discipline — Deuteronomy 22:8
“If you are building a new house, make a railing for your roof, so that the blood of any man falling from it will not come on your house.”
— Deuteronomy 22:8, BBE
Interpretation:
A “new house” symbolises a new state or manifestation. The roof is the highest point of awareness. Neville's teaching: guard your assumption against falling into fear or doubt. The battlement is mental vigilance.
5. Purity of Imagination — Deuteronomy 22:9–11
“Do not have your vine-plants mixed with other sorts of seed: for if you do, the growth from the seed you have put in and the fruit of your vine-plant will be unclean.
Do not do your ploughing with an ox and an ass yoked together.
Do not have clothing made of two sorts of thread, wool and linen together.”
— Deuteronomy 22:9–11, BBE
Interpretation:
Each of these prohibitions relates to consistency in imagination. Mixed seed, yoking different animals, or wearing two fabrics all point to the same truth: your assumptions must not contradict each other. Neville taught that clarity and singularity are necessary for creation.
6. Integrity and Confidence — Deuteronomy 22:13–21
“If any man takes a wife, and has connection with her, and, having no delight in her,
Gives her shameful names, and makes out that she is not a virgin, saying,
I took this woman, and when I had connection with her, I saw that she was not a virgin:
Then the girl’s father and mother are to come before the responsible men of the town, with the signs of the girl’s virginity,
And her father is to say to them, I gave my daughter to this man for a wife, but he has no delight in her;
And now he has made her out to be a loose woman, saying, I saw that your daughter was not a virgin; but here is the sign of my daughter’s virginity. Then let them put the sign before the responsible men of the town.
Then the responsible men of the town are to give the man blows of punishment;
They will give him a hundred stripes and make him give the girl’s father a hundred shekels of silver, because he has put an evil name on the virgin of Israel; and she is to be his wife; he may not put her away all his life.”
— Deuteronomy 22:13–19, BBE
Interpretation:
The bride is your new assumption; the accusation is doubt. The “tokens of virginity” are your inner evidences—imaginal acts, feelings, or convictions that prove your state is genuine. Doubt must be corrected by the “elders” (higher reason or spiritual discipline), reaffirming your assumption.
7. Eliminating Contradiction — Deuteronomy 22:22
“If a man is taken in the act with a woman who is another man’s wife, the two of them are to be put to death; the man and the woman; so you may put away evil from Israel.”
— Deuteronomy 22:22, BBE
Interpretation:
This is about internal fidelity. Adultery symbolises mixing assumptions, trying to unite incompatible ideas. In Neville’s teachings, such duality disrupts your creative flow and must be rooted out.
Conclusion: The Inner Power of Deuteronomy 22
Read through Neville’s eyes, Deuteronomy 22 teaches us:
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Restore stray or weak mental states with attentiveness (verses 1–4),
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Only adopt consistent imaginative identities (verse 5),
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Nurture new ideas and don’t rush their birth (verses 6–7),
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Defend your new assumption with discipline (verse 8),
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Avoid mixing beliefs (verses 9–11),
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Hold firm when doubts arise—affirm your inner evidence (verses 13–21),
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Uproot contradiction (verse 22).
Neville Goddard’s Law of Assumption is all about living as though what you desire is already real. This chapter offers a timeless inner guide for shaping reality through disciplined, purified imagination.
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