Neville Goddard on Exodus 1:1-22 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Exodus 1 in context

Scripture Focus

1Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.

2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,

3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,

4Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

5And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.

6And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.

7And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

8Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

9And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:

10Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

11Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

12But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.

13And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:

14And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

15And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:

16And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.

17But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.

18And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?

19And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.

20Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.

21And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.

22And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

Exodus 1:1-22

Biblical Context

These verses recount the Israelites entering Egypt with Jacob’s family and growing in number despite harsh bondage. Pharaoh's decree to cast male children into the river is countered by the brave midwives who fear God and preserve life.

Neville's Inner Vision

Picture the names as states of consciousness rather than genealogies. Egypt is a shape of mind pressed by lack; the king who knew not Joseph is forgetfulness of your spiritual origin, and the fear that they are more powerful than we becomes your dominant belief. The taskmasters and their arduous labor symbolize disciplined habits and grinding thoughts that seek to keep you small. But the growth of the people they multiplied and waxed very mighty is the inner multiplication that happens when awareness refuses to surrender to bondage. The midwives Shiphrah and Puah are your intuitive faculties and steadfast faith, who refuse to obey annihilating commands; because they fear God, they preserve life and God blesses them. Thus God deals well with the midwives; your inner protection marks a turning point: the decree loses its grip as you align with the I AM and the law of life within you. The outer Egypt may not vanish immediately, yet your inner Israel increases, and the covenant loyalty—your fidelity to the inner truth—reigns in your world.

Practice This Now

Imaginative act: Assume the end now, that you are free and multiplying in the land of your consciousness; feel that truth as a present fact. If fear arises, revise it by affirming that this thought does not govern your reality and let the certainty flood your heart.