The Divine Pointer

Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; Genesis 1:26a Image – Biblical words about the creator of humanity have occupied theologians for centuries.  Most of that time has been spent trying to determine what precisely is meant by the term “human.”  Since the Bible uses both ṣelem (translated “image”) and dĕmût…

Significance

Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness;”  Genesis 1:26a  NASB Our likeness – First, let’s look at the Hebrew: וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ Now the transliteration: Va•yo•mer Elohim na•a•se a•dam be•tzal•me•noo kid•moo•te•noo And lastly, the translation: And said God let us make man in representation (copy) ours and…

Biology 101

But man in his splendor will not endure; he is like the animals that perish.  Psalm 49:12  NASB Animals – Do dogs go to heaven?  What about cats?  Do animals have a “soul”?  At one point in human history, such questions caused considerable debate.  However, it seems that the Bible makes a significant distinction between animals and humans—except…

Same-Same

For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,  Romans 8:3  NASB Likeness of sinful flesh – Translations like this drive me crazy.  Actually, in this case, Paul drives me crazy.  I just…

Inflected Variations

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;  Genesis1:26a  NASB Image/likeness – We’ve spent enough time investigating the two Hebrew words used to describe God’s design for human beings.  There are at least a dozen Today’s Word editions on this topic.  But it is one of those verses that can be…

Start Right

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;  Genesis 1:26a NASB Image/likeness – As we begin another “eternal return”[1] cycle, perhaps we should start with a decidedly different view than the one behind a New Year’s pagan festival. The OT recognizes man’s total dependence with great clarity. Man is a creature…

Redefining Idolatry

“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.” Exodus 20:4 NASB Likeness – What is an idol? You could ask Indiana Jones, I suppose. But you’ll probably learn more if you ask Abraham Heschel….

Identity Theft (5)

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky . . .”  Genesis 1:26 NASB Likeness – If tselem provides the vital connection between God’s actions and our existence as humans, then why…

Man As Metaphor

And God said, “Let us make man in our image; according to our likeness.” Genesis 1:26 According To Our Likeness – De’mut is the Hebrew word translated “likeness.” It is a feminine noun. Tselem, the word for “image,” is a masculine noun. The text makes it quite clear that both words apply to the God-carrying,…