"Made in God's Image" — The Deeper You Look, the Stranger it Gets | Genesis 1:26 Deep Dive

Grab the 52 Weeks of Bible Investigation: https://www.discernmentmadeclear.com This study examines the plural pronoun in Genesis 1:26 and the ancient Near Eastern meaning of the Hebrew words tselem and demut. It walks through the four main interpretations of the “us” one at a time, tests each against the grammar of the Hebrew text, and then turns to the half of the verse that receives far less attention: the claim that human beings are the image of God. The evidence includes a ninth century BC statue recovered in Syria, Egyptian and Mesopotamian royal titles, and the New Testament passages that apply the same word to Christ. What’s covered in this video: The basalt statue of Hadad-yith’i, king of Guzana, recovered at a mound in northeastern Syria in 1979, carries a bilingual Akkadian and Aramaic inscription that calls the statue both demuta and tselem. Genesis chapter one uses a consistent third person command pattern for twenty-five verses, and that pattern breaks immediately before the creation of humanity. The Hebrew phrase na’aseh adam betzalmenu kidmutenu shifts to a first person plural verb and plural pronoun suffixes. The plural of majesty reading, the royal “we” of a monarch, is weighed against the fact that Elohim takes singular verbs throughout the chapter while verse 26 turns the verb and the suffixes plural. The reading that God addresses the earth or the dust is tested against the phrase “in our image.” The divine council reading is examined through Job chapter 38, Micaiah’s vision in First Kings chapter 22, the Babel passage in Genesis 11:7, and the throne room call in Isaiah 6:8. The objection that angels are never called the image of God is explained, along with the plural of deliberation reading that most careful readers across traditions adopt. Genesis 1:27 uses the singular verb bara three times, which limits how far the plural of verse 26 can be pushed. The question of whether an Israelite at Mount Sinai would have read the Trinity off this verse is addressed directly, followed by what John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:15-17, and the hovering Spirit of Genesis 1:2 contribute. The Hebrew verb rachaph in Genesis 1:2 reappears in Deuteronomy chapter 32 describing an eagle hovering over its young. The word tselem elsewhere in Scripture refers to physical objects, including the images of Canaan in Numbers chapter 33 and Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue on the plain of Dura in Daniel. The word demut appears with tselem again in Genesis 5:3, where Adam begets Seth in his own likeness and image. In ancient practice a king set up a carved image of himself in a distant city or temple to represent his rule where his body could not be. The Egyptian throne name Tutankhamun means living image of Amun, and the earlier form Tutankhaten means living image of the Aten, reflecting a royal title restricted to the monarch. Genesis applies that exclusive royal title to the whole human race, male and female, in a world where Babylonian creation accounts describe humanity as labor for the gods. The dominion clause using the Hebrew verb radah flows directly out of the image clause rather than standing as a separate idea. The prohibition on carved images in Exodus 20:4 is explained in light of the image God had already made, and Genesis 9:6 grounds the protection of human life in the same claim. James 3:9 and Psalm chapter 8 extend the point to speech and to the royal language of being crowned with glory and honor. Hebrews 1:3 uses the Greek word charakter, the die struck into a coin, and Romans 8:29, Second Corinthians 3:18, and First Corinthians 15:49 describe an ongoing transformation into that image. Mentioned in this video: Genesis 1:26, Genesis 1:27, Genesis 1:2, Genesis 5:3, Genesis 9:6, Genesis 11:7, Tell Fekheriye, Hadad-yith’i, Guzana, Syria, Akkadian, Aramaic, tselem, demut, demuta, Elohim, na’aseh, betzalmenu, kidmutenu, bara, radah, rachaph, plural of majesty, divine council, Job 38, First Kings 22, Micaiah, Babel, Isaiah 6:8, Mount Sinai, Trinity, John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:3, charakter, Deuteronomy 32, Numbers 33, Second Chronicles 23, Daniel 3, Nebuchadnezzar, plain of Dura, Adam, Seth, Cain, Eden, Noah, Moses, Exodus 20:4, James 3:9, Psalm 8, David, Tutankhamun, Tutankhaten, Aten, Amun, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Babylonian creation accounts, Second Corinthians 4:4, Romans 8:29, Second Corinthians 3:18, First Corinthians 15:49, New King James Version, Nazareth