Neville Goddard on Judges 16:19-21 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Judges 16 in context

Scripture Focus

19And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

20And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.

21But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

Judges 16:19-21

Biblical Context

Samson loses his strength after his hair is shaved and he is bound by the Philistines; he wakes believing he will act as before, but he discovers the Lord has departed, and he is captured and tormented.

Neville's Inner Vision

The scene is a vivid illustration of inner states, not a mere external defeat. The locks symbolize conditions of consciousness—when you identify with limitation, strength drains away and external circumstances tighten their grip. The moment the inner sense of the I AM withdraws, the divine energy appears to depart, and you awaken to a world where you are bound by appearances. Yet this narrative is a law of the inner life: power is not in hair or outward form but in the awareness you dwell in. Philistines, eyes, and prison are symbols for the pressures of life pressing in when you forget who you truly are. The turning point is not escape from men but a return to the consciousness that God is within. When you reestablish the I AM as your identity, the apparent chains dissolve and your strength returns, not by force, but by a renewed state of being. The story invites you to realize that your true power lies in inner realization, always available, waiting for a fresh assumption.

Practice This Now

Close your eyes, and dwell in the I AM as your constant reality. Assume, quietly and insistently, 'I AM strength—the living God within me now,' and feel it real for a few minutes, as if the old scene never happened.