In Neville Goddard's framework, the Bible is not a history book but a symbolic manual for awakening, reconnecting and healing a fractured mind, and creative living. Every story and image points to a personification of an aspect within you. One often overlooked but powerful symbol is the act of hanging.
In biblical narratives, hanging is associated with judgement, shame, or divine justice. But when interpreted through Neville's lens, it reveals that to be hanged is to be cut off or to strangle the animating power of imagination — which the Bible deems to be the breath and Spirit of God. The Bible incorporates the pictorial use of the Hebrew alphabet, of which Aleph symbolises the seed and seat of God, as the breath of life.
God as Breath: The Creative Life Force
In Neville's teachings, breath is synonymous with God. It is the life-giving, animating spirit, the living God, the invisible force that sustains creation.
"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
— Genesis 2:7
This "breath of life" is not biological; it is consciousness awareness and imagination . To breathe is to be animated by God. The creative act, in Neville's system, is the act of imagining — of assuming the feeling of the wish fulfilled. Just as God breathes life to form a living soul, so too does human consciousness breathe life into its self-concepts through imagination, assumption, and belief.
Even God's presence is described in the language of breath and wind:
"And there came to them the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the evening wind..."
— Genesis 3:8
The wind symbolises the unseen movement of Spirit. Just as the wind moves through the world unseen, yet causing change and movement, God's breath causes movement through imagination, empowering us to bring forth our desires.
Hanging: The Severing of Spirit
So what does it mean to be hanged? In both literal and symbolic terms, hanging involves the cutting off of breath.
"His body shall not remain all night upon the tree... for he that is hanged is accursed of God."
— Deuteronomy 21:23
From Neville's perspective, this is not about divine wrath, but about spiritual disconnection. To be hanged is to be in a state where the breath of God — the imagination — is no longer flowing. It is to dwell in dead mental states, lacking the vitality of divine creativity.
This motif carries forward into the New Testament:
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."
— Galatians 3:13
Here, Jesus takes on the "curse" of being cut off — not from God, but from the old, limited self. This death is symbolic of transformation: the outer man must hang so that the inner Christ may rise.
Haman: The Trap of Misused Imagination
The story of Haman in Esther further deepens this symbolism:
"Then said the king, Hang him thereon. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai."
— Esther 7:10
Haman, like Absalom, represents a destructive state of mind — resentment, pride, and fear. He builds gallows for another but ends up hung on them himself. From a Neville perspective, this illustrates the law of assumption: what you imagine for others, you attract to yourself.
Negative mental states become the gallows upon which your desires die. When imagination is misused, it severs the flow of breath and leads to the manifestation of your own inner turmoil.
Wings, Wind, and the Flow of Spirit
In earlier teachings, Neville likens wings to the mental faculties that allow us to direct the wind of Spirit. Wings lift us; hanging suspends us. Wings are motion; hanging is stagnation.
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles..."
— Isaiah 40:31
Wings symbolise the power to rise above circumstance. To ride the breath of God is to be conscious, imaginative, and alive. Hanging, in contrast, is the death of imagination — the moment we stop believing, creating, and moving with the Spirit.
Conclusion: Breathe Life Back In
To be hanged in Scripture is to be disconnected from the breath, the Spirit, the imagination. It is a state of suspended creativity, a spiritual exile. But in Neville Goddard's teachings, the resurrection always follows the crucifixion. The breath always returns.
When you assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled, you restore the flow. You reconnect with the divine breath and ride the wind of Spirit.