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 add the second word demuth (likeness)? What additional images are provided by this second word?
Let’s begin with the pictograph. Demuth is the letter Daleth-Mem-(Vav)-Taw. The Vav in this word acts as a vowel rather than a consonant. That’s why I placed it in parentheses. The three building blocks of the picture are Daleth (door, pathway, enter), Mem (chaos, massive) and Taw (seal, sign, covenant). If the Vav is to act as part of the picture, it carries the imagery of a nail (to add, to secure, to conjoin). What picture can we paint with these elements? We can suggest the combination of a seal or covenant concerning a pathway through chaos. Perhaps the “likeness” of God is about His trustworthiness, His promise, His reliability in spite of the apparent disorder in the cosmos. Perhaps to be in God’s likeness is to exhibit trustworthiness and steadfastness in the midst of turmoil.
If we look at the linguistic umbrella of demuth, we find that it is often used to draw a comparison between two dissimilar things. For example, demuth relates wickedness to snake venom (Psalm 58:4) and the similarity between angels and humans (Daniel 10:16). The most frequent use of demuth is in Ezekiel where it is used to compare what is seen in heaven with what is seen on earth. In other words, demuth acts as a linguistic bridge. It offers me a way to move from one picture to another by pointing out similar elements.
Applying both the pictographic and linguistic insights to the Genesis passage helps us see that “Our likeness” is a statement about the bridge between God and Man. That bridge is found in the covenant that exists as soon as God forms Man. In other words, when God determined to form His representative on earth and to empower this representative with His authority to bring order to creation, God formed a covenant bridge between heaven and earth. Man is that bridge. Man participates in both the heavenly directive and the earthy engagement. To be in God’s likeness is to stand over the gap between heaven and earth, to provide a pathway so that what is true in heaven becomes true on earth. To be in God’s likeness is to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” and then go about making it happen. (As I have said numerous times, everything you need to know happens in the first three chapters of Genesis. All the rest is commentary.)
We should notice that tselem (image) and demuth (likeness) do not address the same issue. God’s image is about the actions of authority, actions that purposefully overcome chaos. God’s likeness is about the bridge between heaven and earth, the pathway that guides what actions must be taken in order to bring heaven to earth. To be human is to be both God’s authority in action and God’s bridge between heaven and earth. That is why the prime directive immediately follows this definition of human being. Only human beings can fulfill this dual purpose. And only those who fulfill this dual purpose are human.
Topical Index: likeness, demuth, bridge, pathway, covenant, Genesis 1:26, human
~ Who is the image of the invisible G-d, the Firstborn of all creation: for by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is The Head of the body which is the church, for He is The Head and The Firstborn from among the dead, that He would be Preeminent in everything, for G-d was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross. ~ (Colossians 1.15-29)
There have been several times in my life where I seriously envied my own pets.
I didn’t feel like any of my time was my own. I felt completely driven by instincts for food, sex, and comfort. I was miserable, and I thought of Nebuchadnezzar and how he ate grass like the cattle of the field for 7 years. It was me. It was me, not like some general metaphor, but it was me as real as if I wear on me hands and knees chewing the cud.
“Only human beings can fulfill this dual purpose. And only those who fulfill this dual purpose are human.”
This may be off topic but it is important to me to know if there is a difference in these three words or are they all one in the same: Transgression, trespasses and sin.
I believe that they are all the same especially concerning Isa.53 and 8. But someone has said NO, they mean different things.
Anyone out there who could help me ? Thank you so much !
Hi Carol,
The issue isn’t if there is a difference in English but whether or not there is a difference in Hebrew and Greek. For that, please go to the web site home page and search for words like “sin” or for specific verses, and see what you find. Then we can go forward.