From False Assumptions to True “I AM”: The Divine Names of Job Through Neville Goddard’s Lens

In Neville Goddard’s psychological interpretation of Scripture, each divine name symbolises a state of consciousness or assumption about reality. Nowhere is this more striking than in the book of Job, which uniquely concentrates on certain Hebrew titles for God—titles that reveal Job’s inner wrestling with suffering, justice and the nature of the divine. By comparing Job’s vocabulary with the rest of the Hebrew Bible, we uncover a symbolic journey from projected “gods” to the awakened I AM within.

Divine Names Across the Hebrew Bible

Name	Hebrew	Total OT Occurrences	Job Occurrences	Neville-Style Symbolism
Elohim	אֱלֹהִים	>2,500	~33	Creative imagination (the true God within)
Eloah	אֱלֳוֹהַּ	60	41 (mostly in Job)	Archaic/poetic God—early, externalised beliefs
El	אֵל	~221	~35	Ancient personal deity—false god when treated as outside self
Shaddai	שַׁדַַּי	48	16 of 31 divine uses	Overwhelming external force—projection of fear or victimhood
YHWH	יְהוָה	~6,800	~30	Self-existence, direct realisation of the I AM identity

Job’s Unique Divine Vocabulary

Elohim, the plural-of-majesty used at Creation, is far less prominent in Job than in Genesis, Psalms or the Prophets.
Instead, Job’s poetic discourse favours Eloah (the singular poetic form), El, and Shaddai (“the Almighty”).
These names evoke distance, might and mystery—mirroring Job’s perception of a remote, even punitive, deity.

Examples of Divine Names in Job

Job’s complaint (Job 6:4)
“For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit…”
Here Shaddai points to external oppression and suffering projected onto a distant deity.
Questioning God (Job 21:15)
“What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?”
Again Shaddai evokes fear of an overpowering, remote God.
Desperate plea (Job 13:15)
“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him…”
The use of Eloah underscores Job’s clinging to a poetic yet externalised vision of God.
Divine response (Job 38:1)
“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind…”
Here YHWH (I AM) signifies the true creative self speaking directly—Neville’s hallmark of inner realisation.
Restoration narrative (Job 42:10)
“And the LORD turned the captivity of Job…”
The return to YHWH highlights Job’s shift to recognising the self-existent power within.

Neville’s False God = False Assumption

Neville taught that any belief in power outside oneself is the projection of a false god—a limiting assumption that one is at the mercy of external forces rather than the master of one’s own imagination.

When Job repeatedly invokes Shaddai or Eloah, he’s projecting an external deity who tests, overwhelms or punishes him.
These names symbolise Job’s suffering-driven assumptions about divine justice and his own worth.

Transition to the True I AM

The turning point comes when Job declares:

“I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you.”
— Job 42:5

Here, Job moves from second-hand belief to direct realisation of the divine presence within—the essence of Neville’s “I AM” consciousness. This shift symbolises the collapse of all false gods (external projections) and the awakening to one’s own creative power.

Neville-Style Psychological Map

Elohim → Your imagination as creator, true God within.
Eloah/El → Early, poetic assumptions of an external deity (false god).
Shaddai → Fear-based projection of an almighty oppressor.
YHWH (I AM) → Direct, self-existent awareness; living from the end.

Conclusion

Job’s concentrated use of Eloah, El and Shaddai—far more than in any other biblical book—mirrors the soul’s wrestling with false assumptions about justice, power and divine presence. Through Neville Goddard’s Law of Assumption, we see that Job’s journey is a symbolic ascent from projected, external gods to the true I AM within: the realisation that your own imagination is the sovereign creative force.

Your inner “I AM” is the Gospel made flesh.

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