In the Bible, name changes are never cosmetic. They mark a change of state. From Neville Goddard’s perspective, these moments describe shifts in self-concept — the inner movement from one identity to another as imagination takes precedence over appearances.
Each name change shows what happens when a person stops living from circumstance and begins living from assumption.
Abram to Abraham & Sarai to Sarah
Genesis 17:5, 15
Abram, meaning “exalted father,” becomes Abraham — “father of many nations.” Sarai becomes Sarah, going from “princess” to "Noble woman" This change does not describe a future promise; it describes a present shift in awareness.
Neville explains that Abraham, as one of the primary teachers of the law, represents the awakening of faith and laughter — the ability to accept an idea as true before there is evidence. The new name signals that Abraham is no longer identifying with facts, age, or limitation, but with the assumed state.
The addition of the Hebrew letter He (ה) is crucial. He symbolises a window or opening — imagination and vision becoming part of consciousness. It marks the point where imagination becomes active rather than theoretical.
From this moment, barrenness no longer defines reality. Assumption does.
Jacob to Israel
Genesis 32:28
The story of Jacob is not primarily about struggle with God, but about the breaking of an old psychological identity and the holding of a new one.
Jacob represents the habitual self — the identity formed through history, reaction, and survival. His night of wrestling symbolises the inner tension that arises when a new assumption is introduced and the old self refuses to release its grip.
This is the moment Neville Goddard describes as persistence. The individual has glimpsed a new state of being but must now remain with it long enough for it to feel natural. Jacob’s refusal to let go until he is blessed reflects the decision to remain faithful to the new identity, even while the old one protests.
The wrestling continues until daybreak, signalling illumination. When the struggle ends, Jacob does not return to who he was. The old identity collapses, and a new one takes its place.
The name Israel marks this shift. Jacob is no longer reacting from memory or circumstance. He is now consciously identified with the assumed state. The break is complete.
Simon to Peter
Matthew 16:18
Simon is renamed Peter, meaning “rock.” This change marks the movement from merely hearing truth to fully embodying it.
Simon represents the receptive mind — the one who listens, agrees, and understands. Peter represents the mind that has become fixed. The “rock” is not a metaphorical idea alone; it symbolises the skull — the seat where assumption is held and from which identity is ruled. Remember that the Bible's narrative is written in entirely from the perspective of the readers mind.
To build upon the rock is to allow the assumption to settle in the head, no longer debated or rehearsed, but accepted as fact.
In Neville Goddard’s terms, Peter represents persistence not as effort, but as stability of identity. The assumption is no longer something one thinks about — it is something one thinks from.
Saul to Paul
Acts 9:4–6
Saul’s transformation marks one of the most important shifts in Scripture. Saul represents the state that lives by judgement — measuring worth, truth, and identity by external outcomes, rules, and appearances.
On the road to Damascus, Saul is blinded because his vision is dominated by judgement. He believes the world is ruling him, when in truth he is ruling his experience through assumption.
The falling of the scales symbolises the removal of this misdirected judgement. Saul stops reading life as a verdict on his worth.
Paul — meaning “small” or “humbled” — does not indicate inferiority, but humility of awareness. Paul no longer stands over life as judge; he stands within it as consciousness itself.
From this state, Paul teaches grace, faith, and inner conviction — all natural consequences of living by the law of assumption rather than by appearances.
What These Name Changes Reveal
In Neville Goddard’s teaching, the Bible is psychological. Name changes describe shifts in state — moments where an old identity dies and a new one is assumed.
These stories are not ancient history. They unfold whenever a person accepts a new idea of themselves and persists in it until it becomes natural.
The Bible records the inner journey of imagination learning to rule consciously — not through force or judgement, but through assumption.