Not Exactly

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  Genesis 1:27  NASB

Created – Have you ever wondered about the construction of this verse?  Why does it seem to repeat itself?  Did you think it was just for emphasis?  But then why would we need emphasis?  Isn’t the statement that God created man in His own image powerful enough?  Why would it need to be repeated in a kind of backwards way?

This is almost an example of Hebrew poetry, a type of chiastic development.  But it doesn’t quite fit since the pattern is not A-B-C-C’-B’-A’, but rather A-B-C-C’-B’-D (in the Hebrew text).  In other words, if it were true chiasmus, it would read “God created man in His image, in the image man God created him.”  The intention is chiastic, but the actual words aren’t.  But then, Hebrew poetry rhymes thoughts, not words.  So maybe that’s what’s going on here.

Then there’s that sort of added value at the end – “male and female . . .”  We can understand why this is added.  After all, every other ancient cosmology simply ignores the creation of woman.  Hebrew is the only culture where women play a significant role from the very beginning, and the only culture that has any description at all of their divine creation.  Maybe that’s why we need this additional thought.

Finally, there is the unusual use of the verb bara’.  This verb is exclusively a God verb.  Men do not “create” in this sense.  Men make, fashion or build.  Only God creates.  The use of bara’ in the first verse of Genesis is obvious.  God creates because there was nothing before He created.  But Man isn’t made from nothing, as we clearly see in the next chapter.  Man isn’t called into being like light.  Man is fashioned from the dust.  In fact, in the second chapter the narrator doesn’t use bara’, but rather yatsar (to fashion, to make).  Even in Genesis chapter 1, bara’ is only used three times: once in the first verse, once in verse 21 and once here, in the creation of Man.  The fact that bara’ appears in verse 21 throws a monkey-wrench into the idea that bara’ is reserved for all of creation and Man alone.  Verse 21 uses bara’ for the creation of the great sea animals, the birds and all creeping things.  Perhaps Man isn’t quite so unique.

There are other clues.  First, the Hebrew verb used for the fashioning of both animals and humans is the same, yatsar, but when it is about animals (2:19), it is spelled yitser, when it is about Man (2:7), it is spelled yyitser.  This double yod is unique.  Secondly, the formation of Man includes both nephesh and neshama.  Animals have only nephesh.  But all of these clarifications come in the second chapter.  Finally, in Genesis 1:26, the verb is ‘asa, “to do, to fashion.”  It is neither yatsar nor bara’, even though one verse later, in the same thought pattern, the verb is bara’.  None of these complications are seen in English.  All of these complications add richness to the text.  It may take a lifetime to actually understand what just these first two chapter really say.  I guess we better get going.

Topical Index:  Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:7, Genesis 2:19, Genesis 1:26, bara’, yatsar