The Genesis interpretation of "our image"

[Shaman_Raman]

In the first book of the old testament, Genesis, there is a verse where God is forming man. Now in the english translation, it reads, "and let him be made in Our image." Now, in Christian theology, it is believed this refers to the savior Jesus Christ, who was there in the beginning with God. But hypothetically, let's say were looking only into the Old Testament alone. How would "our" have been translated or interpreted in Judaism? My thoughts are either God was referring to the angels present with him, or perhaps a savior that is, in fact, professed about throughout the Old Testament? (Also, I know in Judaism the Old Testament is technically called the Tanakh, or Torah--5 books of Moses; but I'm more concerned with thoughts on the verse I paraphrased.)

[Calidore]

The NET Bible has these notes for that verse (Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness...)":

[tn=translators' notes, sn=study notes]

tn The two prepositions translated “in” and “according to” have overlapping fields of meaning and in this context seem to be virtually equivalent. In 5:3 they are reversed with the two words. The word צֶלֶם (tselem, “image”) is used frequently of statues, models, and images – replicas (see D. J. A. Clines, “The Etymology of Hebrew selem,” JNSL 3 [1974]: 19-25). The word דְּמוּת (dÿmut, “likeness”) is an abstract noun; its verbal root means “to be like; to resemble.” In the Book of Genesis the two terms describe human beings who in some way reflect the form and the function of the creator. The form is more likely stressing the spiritual rather than the physical. The “image of God” would be the God-given mental and spiritual capacities that enable people to relate to God and to serve him by ruling over the created order as his earthly vice-regents.

sn In our image, after our likeness. Similar language is used in the instructions for building the tabernacle. Moses was told to make it “according to the pattern” he was shown on the mount (Exod 25:9, 10). Was he shown a form, a replica, of the spiritual sanctuary in the heavenly places? In any case, what was produced on earth functioned as the heavenly sanctuary does, but with limitations.

[mona amon]

In the first book of the old testament, Genesis, there is a verse where God is forming man. Now in the english translation, it reads, "and let him be made in Our image." Now, in Christian theology, it is believed this refers to the savior Jesus Christ, who was there in the beginning with God. But hypothetically, let's say were looking only into the Old Testament alone. How would "our" have been translated or interpreted in Judaism? My thoughts are either God was referring to the angels present with him, or perhaps a savior that is, in fact, professed about throughout the Old Testament? (Also, I know in Judaism the Old Testament is technically called the Tanakh, or Torah--5 books of Moses; but I'm more concerned with thoughts on the verse I paraphrased.)

I feel the verse that follows makes it pretty clear -


26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. - Genesis 1, 26 - 27 (KJV)

It says God created man and woman in his own image. The 'our' in the previous verse is just God alone, referring to himself in the grandiloquent plural.

[Shaman_Raman]

I feel the verse that follows make it pretty clear -



It says God created man and woman in his own image. The 'our' in the previous verse is just God alone, referring to himself in the grandiloquent plural.

Okay but why not just say "his own image" both times? What quality would the phrase "our" add to God if Moses didn't write it for any intent or reason?

[cacian]

In the first book of the old testament, Genesis, there is a verse where God is forming man. Now in the english translation, it reads, "and let him be made in Our image." Now, in Christian theology, it is believed this refers to the savior Jesus Christ, who was there in the beginning with God. But hypothetically, let's say were looking only into the Old Testament alone. How would "our" have been translated or interpreted in Judaism? My thoughts are either God was referring to the angels present with him, or perhaps a savior that is, in fact, professed about throughout the Old Testament? (Also, I know in Judaism the Old Testament is technically called the Tanakh, or Torah--5 books of Moses; but I'm more concerned with thoughts on the verse I paraphrased.)


First of the old/new/bible all translate in masculin which is the precedent to the idea of putting a book that describe a religion for all to follow.
Him I am suggesting is a group of male those who got the idea put down and create a bible. Let's cross reference with Beowulf poem where is reference of He and We and Our is also made.
Here
''LO, praise of the prowess of people-kings
of spear-armed Danes, in days long sped,
we have heard, and what honor the athelings won!''

So OUR usually presume competition from others. The same tone idea is used in Beowulf. So I think OUR refer to a group of religious warriors like the knight templars. ''So let him'' be means let the race that forms onwards ie races around the globe and forwards ie around the globe to be like them to their image ie to have their dna.
Thinks the pharoah when the only procreated between them their genes to keep their gene rule between them and on earth.
Beo/wulf translates as BenWolf if one turns the letters around translate as the ''son of the wolf''. Ben in Arameic translate to ''The Son of''.
BIBLE as IB BEn if one turns the letters around. Meaning I will be BEN. I will be the Son.
Again notice the word BEN in Beowulf and Bible.
So all this in reference the templars of religious warriors who wrote created religion.
Anyway that is how interpret it.
Beowulf and Bible are more or less the same.

[mona amon]

Okay but why not just say "his own image" both times? What quality would the phrase "our" add to God if Moses didn't write it for any intent or reason?

For grandeur, majesty and awe. I think it is called 'the majestic plural' - when kings and queens and others in very high office use a plural pronoun, even when referring only to themselves. In Genesis 1, 26, it is God who is speaking, so the majestic plural is used ('our' instead of 'my' and 'us' instead of 'me'). This happens in other parts of Genesis too, for example when he decides to disrupt the construction of the Tower of Babel (I'm too lazy to look it up now). God may be speaking before his heavenly court of angels, but is referring only to himself in the majestic plural, because it clearly states in the next verse that man and woman were made in God's image, not in the image of God and the angels.

[cacian]

For grandeur, majesty and awe. I think it is called 'the majestic plural' - when kings and queens and others in very high office use a plural pronoun, even when referring only to themselves. In Genesis 1, 26, it is God who is speaking, so the majestic plural is used ('our' instead of 'my' and 'us' instead of 'me'). This happens in other parts of Genesis too, for example when he decides to disrupt the construction of the Tower of Babel (I'm too lazy to look it up now). God may be speaking before his heavenly court of angels, but is referring only to himself in the majestic plural, because it clearly states in the next verse that man and woman were made in God's image, not in the image of God and the angels.

If a man and a woman were in god's image then god is both a man and woman right?

[Calidore]

Bear in mind that the Bible was not written in English, and so the our/his thing was probably a translators' call. Anyone know how the original ancient Hebrew reads?

And cacian, since the purpose of gender is reproduction and God is a single non-biological entity, the issue of gender would be meaningless where he's concerned.

[cacian]

Bear in mind that the Bible was not written in English, and so the our/his thing was probably a translators' call. Anyone know how the original ancient Hebrew reads?

And cacian, since the purpose of gender is reproduction and God is a single non-biological entity, the issue of gender would be meaningless where he's concerned.

God is a single non-biological entity
how do you we know that?

[mona amon]

Bear in mind that the Bible was not written in English, and so the our/his thing was probably a translators' call. Anyone know how the original ancient Hebrew reads?

All this time I just automatically assumed that it was only the translators who used the majestic plural, but after posting that I googled it and found that it is exactly the same in the original, so there are various interpretations, contoversies and disputes. The two most likely ones (to me) are that God is courteously including his heavenly court in his remark, or the Plural of Excellence, similar to the majestic plural, is being used here.


In the Hebrew Bible Elohim, when meaning the God of Israel, is mostly grammatically singular. Even in Genesis 1:26 "Then God said (singular verb), 'Let us make (plural verb) man in our image, after our likeness'." Elohim is singular. Wilhelm Gesenius and other Hebrew grammarians traditionally described this as the pluralis excellentiae (plural of excellence), which is similar to the pluralis majestatis (plural of majesty, or "Royal we") - Wikipedia.

It is all very interesting, and I'm glad Shaman Raman brought up the topic. I've read Genesis many times, but never noticed anything odd about these verses.

[Shaman_Raman]

Thank you all for the meaningful interpretations. Whether it was for some literary effect, or for a specific purpose is hard to be conclusive on. Although, with all the problems the Jewish followers gave Moses, I'm surprised he would even have the audacity to get creative! Unless, as discussed, it was just a natural way of characterizing a grand "figure-head" like God, back then.