Ezekiel 16 presents one of the clearest symbolic descriptions of how a human forms, develops, and adorns an inner state of assumption. Through Neville Goddard’s revelation of the Bible—especially the principle in Genesis 2:23–24 that the “woman” is the state taken out of one’s own consciousness—the chapter becomes a vivid portrayal of how imagination gives birth to a desire, clothes it with feeling, crowns it as dominant, and then suffers when attention returns to the external world.
Why The Forgotten Bride of Assumption?
In Genesis 2:23, “woman” is defined as something taken out of man—out of consciousness itself. Neville explains that this “woman” is not a person but the inner state you conceive and form from your own I AM. To “cleave to her” (Genesis 2:24) is to commit to your assumption until it becomes flesh. The she becomes the symbolic bride, the wife-to-be.
Genesis 2:24 adds an essential detail: the one who marries the woman must “leave his father and his mother.” Symbolically, this means leaving inherited conditioning—the assumptions passed down from one’s psychological parents or culture. In Ezekiel 16 the references to Canaan, the Amorite father and the Hittite mother point to exactly this: the woman (the assumed state) originates amid inherited beliefs. To marry her you must leave those father- and mother-shaped assumptions behind.
Ezekiel 16 follows this pattern. The I AM discovers the unformed state, shapes it, clothes it, adorns it, and crowns it. The jewellery, garments, and crown are the increasing richness of belief—the deepening conviction that your desired state is real. The tragedy comes when the “woman” (the assumption) is forgotten, and attention returns to appearances.
Verse 1
"Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,"
(Ezekiel 16:1, NKJV)
The “word of the Lord” symbolises the movement of inner awareness—the I AM addressing the individual. All interpretation begins with consciousness speaking to itself.
Verse 2
“Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,”
(Ezekiel 16:2, NKJV)
"Jerusalem" represents the self fashioned from past assumptions. The I AM exposes the false identities we have accepted so we can recognise the states we currently live in.
Verse 3
“Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: ‘Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.’”
(Ezekiel 16:3, NKJV)
This verse names the origin of the assumed state as coming from the surrounding culture—Canaan—and specifically locates parental figures (Amorite father, Hittite mother). Read with Genesis 2:24 in mind, these “father” and “mother” images represent inherited conditioning and the beliefs you were born into. The teaching is: the woman (the assumption) came from those parents (old ideas), and to truly marry her you must leave those parental assumptions behind—you must leave the father and mother of your former identity and cleave to the new state.
Verse 4
“On the day you were born your cord was not cut… you were not washed… not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.”
(Ezekiel 16:4, NIV)
This state was never purified or separated from old beliefs. The assumption was undeveloped, unprotected, still attached to past emotional narratives inherited from parental conditioning.
Verse 5
“No one looked on you with pity… you were thrown out into the open field… you were despised.”
(Ezekiel 16:5, NIV)
The world ignored this early concept of self. It seemed unworthy and insignificant. Yet this emptiness becomes the field from which a new inner identity can be raised.
Verse 6
“I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’”
(Ezekiel 16:6, NIV)
The I AM intervenes and calls the unformed desire into being. This is the moment of conception—the first spark of a new assumption, spoken into life.
Verse 7
“You grew up and became very beautiful…”
(Ezekiel 16:7, NIV)
The inner conception matures. The woman (the state) is becoming a believable possibility, yet remains unclaimed until you consciously marry her.
Verse 8
“I spread My garment over you… I entered into a covenant with you… and you became mine.”
(Ezekiel 16:8, NIV)
This is Genesis 2:24 enacted: the I AM “cleaves” to the woman—the inner state. You accept the assumption as your identity. The covenant is the psychological marriage—you live from the end and refuse to return to parental conditioning.
Verse 9
“I washed you… and anointed you.”
(Ezekiel 16:9, NIV)
Old residues of belief are cleansed. The new state is anointed with feeling—the emotional conviction that cements the assumption.
Verse 10
“I clothed you with an embroidered dress… fine linen… costly garments.”
(Ezekiel 16:10, NIV)
The garments are detailed assumptions. You deliberately clothe the state with specific feelings, images and sensory details until it feels natural and true.
Verse 11
“I adorned you with jewellery…”
(Ezekiel 16:11, NIV)
The jewels represent the richness of conviction. The assumption becomes emotionally vivid and authoritative—this is the believing that precedes manifestation.
Verse 12
“I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.”
(Ezekiel 16:12, NIV)
The crown signifies dominion: the assumed state is now the ruling power in consciousness. You hear, perceive and rule from the new state rather than from inherited patterns.
Verse 13
“You were adorned with gold and silver… your food was honey, olive oil, and fine flour… you rose to be a queen.”
(Ezekiel 16:13, NIV)
Manifestation follows. The woman you married expresses outwardly; your inner state yields a life of abundance and fulfilment.
Verse 14
“Your fame went forth… for it was perfect through My splendour.”
(Ezekiel 16:14, NIV)
Your external recognition is a mirror of the inner splendour sustained by imagination. The effect points back to the cause within.
Verse 15
“But you trusted in your beauty… and played the harlot.”
(Ezekiel 16:15, NIV)
The fall happens when you forsake the marriage. You cease to live from the inner state and instead depend on evidence and praise. The woman is abandoned to appearances and becomes prostituted to the world.
Closing Reflection
Ezekiel 16 is the map of every intentional manifestation: conception, formation, marriage, adornment, enthronement—and the peril of forgetting. Read with Genesis 2:23–24 in view, the chapter instructs us to leave the father and mother of old conditioning and cleave to the woman we have formed within. Only by remaining faithful to the I AM and the assumption we married will our manifestations remain stable.