When interpreted through Neville Goddard’s teachings, Absalom becomes more than a figure of rebellion. He represents a stubborn assumption — a self-image that refuses to let go of the old identity that created it. This is the inner meaning of Genesis 2:24:
“A man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife…” — Genesis 2:24
These are not physical parents, but psychological ones:
- Father — the current belief about who I am
- Mother — the emotional state that sustains that belief
To assume a new identity — the “wife” — we must leave the old assumption entirely (Genesis 2:24). But Absalom refuses to leave. He clings to the former mental state, demanding lordship over consciousness. That is why he rebels against David — David symbolises the new beloved assumption, the rightful king in the mind.
The Hair as Thoughts — The Ego Accumulated
The Bible emphasises Absalom’s hair — its beauty, its weight, its growth year after year. Symbolically:
- Every hair is a thought
- The weight = attachment to appearance and validation
- The growth = persistence of old self-concept
These thoughts are formed from the world of appearances — the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They judge, compare, and divide. They create the ego, the false self (the personal “me”) that fights to stay alive.
So the very thing Absalom gloried in — his mental self-image — becomes the trap.
Suspended Between Heaven and Earth
“His head caught fast in the oak … he was left hanging between the heaven and the earth.” — 2 Samuel 18:9
The oak represents the old mental system of judgement (the seed growing according to its kind). Absalom is lifted from the ground but never reaches heaven. He hangs between:
- Heaven — the unseen reality of assumption
- Earth — the evidence of the senses
When a long-held belief refuses to die — when the past still claims to rule — the result is this suspended state: unable to move forward, yet no longer grounded in truth.
Even the mule — the stubborn animal nature — runs on without him. The old ways cannot carry him any further.
The Necessary Death of the Old Assumption
“Joab … thrust them through the heart of Absalom…” — 2 Samuel 18:14
This is not vengeance, but symbolism. The old belief must be pierced so the new may reign. The former state of being must die so a new identity may take its place:
- David = Love assumed → the rightful king
- Absalom = Ego’s old claim → a throne that must fall
Neville taught that transformation requires crucifixion of the old idea — the fixing of the new “I AM” in the mind. The death is not literal — it is psychological liberation.
The Inner Lesson
Absalom reveals a law:
Any thought that refuses to leave its “father and mother” will eventually hang itself.
If we cling to assumptions born of the senses forgetting his origin (sin), the weight of those thoughts grows heavy and immobilising. But when we set the new assumption over our inner kingdom, the ego must yield.
To unite with the “wife” — the desired assumption — we must depart from the mental parents that birthed the former one. Pride dies. Duality dies. The stubborn beauty of the old belief is surrendered.
Let Absalom go. Let David reign.