In Exodus 21, we encounter a passage that has long puzzled readers:
“If a man sells his daughter to be a servant, she shall not go out as the male servants do.” (Ex. 21:7)
At first glance, this seems like nothing more than an ancient law about slavery. Yet when read symbolically, it opens up a profound example about how states of consciousness and the offspring of imagination relate and operate within us.
Male Servants: Passing States
The male servant in Hebrew law served only for a time. After six years, he went free in the seventh (Ex. 21:2). His bondage was temporary, bound by a limit that was always meant to expire.
Symbolically, this is the nature of states you consciously assume. You might step into the role of “student,” “worker,” or “seeker.” When its usefulness has passed, you leave it behind and step into another. These are like clothes you wear and remove.
A male servant represents a passing state of consciousness: temporary, movable, not fixed by nature.
Female Servants: Offspring of the Mind
The daughter given as a servant is treated differently. She does not go free “as the male servants do.” Why? Because she is not simply a role you assumed; she is offspring — the product of a state.
The daughter symbolises the birth of a thought or condition from within. She is not a garment you put on and discard; she is born of you, tied to your inner household. Once such an offspring is given into service — that is, once a creation of imagination is bound to a limiting or negative belief — she remains in that servitude until she is redeemed.
Unlike passing states, these “daughters” are deeply rooted thought-forms. They require deliberate assumption of a new state to redeem them.
Redemption in Ruth and Boaz
The biblical story of Ruth and Boaz exemplifies the redemption of a bound state:
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Ruth is a foreign widow, representing a part of consciousness that is “in exile” or bound to limitation.
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Boaz acts as the redeemer, a new conscious director who can reclaim and transform that bound state.
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Through deliberate action (Boaz marrying Ruth / buying her rights), the bound assumption is freed and transformed into a fruitful state, symbolising how the offspring of imagination can be redeemed through conscious assumption.
This aligns perfectly with Neville Goddard’s teaching: once imagination gives birth, it persists until deliberately assumed or redirected. Redemption is not passive—it requires conscious inner action.
A Cautionary Example: Lot and His Daughters
In Genesis 19, Lot and his daughters provide a Neville-style illustration of what happens when unredeemed assumptions persist:
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Lot represents a state of consciousness that has fled limitation (Sodom) but remains partially asleep — he has not fully assumed a new state.
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Father’s bed symbolizes the mind where old assumptions remain embedded. Lot lying down shows a state of consciousness still receptive to past patterns.
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The daughters acting while he sleeps represent the offspring of imagination arising even while the core state is dormant. Because the “father” is asleep, these imaginative creations are influenced by old assumptions, not fully consciously redeemed.
The story demonstrates that unless the underlying state of consciousness is fully awake and deliberately assumed, old assumptions creep back in, and new imaginative creations can become entangled with them. It’s not about morality; it’s about the dynamics of consciousness.
The Principle Revealed
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Male servants = temporary states of consciousness that can be easily released.
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Female servants (daughters) = enduring creations of imagination, deeply tied to the heart, requiring deliberate redemption.
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Redemption requires conscious assumption; failure to do so can leave imaginative creations influenced or limited by old, unredeemed assumptions, as the Lot story shows.
Conclusion
Exodus 21:7 is not an archaic rule about slavery, but a psychological law hidden in story form. It teaches that:
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Some inner conditions are passing states (male servants), easily changed.
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Others are offspring of imagination (female servants), deeply bound and requiring deliberate redemption.
Through stories like Ruth and Boaz, we see how to redeem what is bound, transforming inner creations from limitation into fruitful states of consciousness. The story of Lot and his daughters warns of what happens when this redemption is neglected: old assumptions creep back, affecting everything that arises from them.
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