Archived
Post
|
The
very first reference to the concept of the Imago
Dei occurs in Genesis 1:26 -
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.
But what is the "image" and likeness" referred to
here? I argue that it is an outward form
- a conclusion which is fully supported by the Hebrew
text itself. Let us begin with the Hebrew tselem,
which is translated here as "image."
From the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon:
tselem
1) Image.
1a) Images (of tumours, mice, heathen gods.)
1b) Image, likeness (of resemblance.)
1c) Mere, empty, image, semblance (figuratively.)
The point is driven home by the consistent use of
this word in the Old Testament, as the New English
Translation shows:
- Genesis
5:5.
When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years
he fathered a son in
his own likeness, according to his image
[tselem], and he named him Seth.
- Genesis
9:6.
"Whoever sheds human blood,
by other humans
must his blood be shed;
for in God’s image
[tselem]
God has made mankind."
- Numbers
33:53.
you must drive out all the inhabitants of the
land before you. Destroy
all their carved images
[tselem], all
their molten images
[tselem], and demolish their high places.
- I
Samuel 6:5, 11.
"You should make images
[tselem] of
the sores and images
[tselem] of
the mice
that are destroying the land. You should honor
the God of Israel. Perhaps he will release his
grip on you, your gods, and your land."
[...]
They put the ark of the Lord on the cart, along
with the chest, the gold mice, and
the images
[tselem] of
the sores.
- II
Kings 11:18.
All the people of the land went and demolished
the temple of Baal. They
smashed its altars and idols
[tselem] to
bits.
- II
Chronicles 23:17.
All the people went and demolished the temple
of Baal. They smashed
its altars and idols
[tselem.] They killed Mattan the priest
of Baal in front of the altars.
- Psalm
39:6.
Surely people go through life as mere ghosts.
*
Surely they accumulate worthless wealth
*The NET has
a footnote against "ghosts", which reads as
follows:
Heb 'surely, as an image [tselem]
man walks about.' The preposition
prefixed to 'image' indicates identity
here.
- Psalm
73:20
They are like a dream after one wakes up.
O sovereign Master, when you awake you will
despise them.
*
*The NET has
a footnote against "despise them", which reads
as follows:
Heb 'you will despise their form [tselem.]’
The Hebrew term ('form; image') also
suggests their short-lived nature. Rather than
having real substance, they are like the mere
images that populate one’s dreams. Note the
similar use of the term in Ps 39:6.
- Ezekiel
7:20.
They were proud of their beautiful ornaments,
but they made them into their abominable images
[tselem] — their detestable idols. Therefore
I will make these into something unclean for
them.
- Ezekiel
16:17.
You also took your beautiful jewels, some of
my gold and my silver I had given to you, and
made for yourself male images
[tselem] and engaged in prostitution
with them.
- Eekiel
24:13.
But she increased her promiscuity; she saw men
carved on the wall, images
[tselem] of the Chaldeans carved in bright
red,
- Amos
5:26.
You will pick up your images
[tselem] of Ninurta, your king,
and Saturn, your star god, which you made for
yourselves,
I have listed every single occurrence of this
word in the Old Testament. You can see for yourself
that it never refers to anything except
the visible, outward form. It is never
used in the sense of "character" or "glory", or
"mental disposition", or anything of that nature.
It is an incontrovertible reference to the outward
appearance, and nothing else.
There
is another word commonly associated with tselem.
That word is demuth.
According to the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew
Lexicon, it means:
demûth
1) Likeness, similitude.
2) In the likeness of, like as.
This word is used 25 times in the OT. As with tselem,
the context is consistent, and the meaning
is consistent.
A few examples:
- Genesis
1:26.
And God said, Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness:
[demuth] 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.
- Genesis
5:1.
This is the book of the generations of Adam.
In the day that God created man, in the likeness
[demuth] of God made he him;
- Genesis
5:3.
And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years,
and begat a son in his own likeness
[demuth], after his image; and called
his name Seth:
- Ezekiel
1:13.
As for the likeness [demuth] of
the living creatures, their appearance was like
burning coals of fire, and like the appearance
of lamps: it went up and down among the living
creatures; and the fire was bright, and out
of the fire went forth lightning.
The Hebrew word for "image" in these cases is,
of course, none other than our mutual friend tselem...
The
evidence of Scripture proves that God has chosen
to represent Himself in the form that we now know
as "human." That is why His primary agents (the
angels) can speak on His behalf, and stand in
His place, as if He were literally present.
Where do we see examples of God being "seen" as
if He had a literal, physical shape?
Here:
Genesis 28:12-13.
And he (Jacob) dreamed, and behold a ladder set
up on the earth, and the top of it reached to
heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending
and descending on it.
And, behold, the LORD
stood above it,
and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father,
and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest,
to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
Jacob saw a vision in which God stood at the top
of a ladder reaching up to heaven. Whatever it was
that he saw, one thing is clear: he saw a visual
representation of God.
Next, we have Moses:
Exodus 33:20-23.
And he (God) said, Thou canst not see my face:
for there shall no man see me, and live.
And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by
me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth
by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock,
and will cover thee with my hand while
I pass by:
And I will take away mine hand, and thou
shalt see my back parts: but my face
shall not be seen.
As with Jacob, Moses saw a visual representation
of God; but a far more glorious vision than that
which Jacob had received, for he was only permitted
to see God's "back parts", while His "face"
remained hidden from view. The references to these
portions of God's "anatomy" (along with the
reference to His "hand") prove that God is revealing
Himself in the form that we know as "human."
Next, we have Isaiah:
Isaiah 6:1.
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also
the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted
up, and his train filled the temple.
As with Moses, Isaiah saw a visual representation
of God; this time, sitting on a throne. Here we
have a hint that this form which God uses to manifest
Himself in, is identical to our own.
Next, we have Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 1:26-28.
And above the firmament that was over their heads
was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance
of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness
of the throne was the likeness [demuth]
as the appearance of a man above upon it.
And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance
of fire round about within it, from the appearance
of his loins even upward, and from the
appearance of his loins even downward,
I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it
had brightness round about.
As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud
in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the
brightness round about. This was the appearance
of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.
And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I
heard a voice of one that spoke.
As with Isaiah, Ezekiel saw a visual representation
of God enthroned. He explicitly states that this
representation was in the
outward form of a man. (His deliberate
use of demuth
in verse 27 confirms the point.)
Next, we have Daniel:
Daniel 7:9.
I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and
the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment
was white as snow, and the hair of his head like
the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery
flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
As with Ezekiel, Daniel saw God sitting on a throne.
He refers specifically to "the hair of His head",
demonstrating that the figure he saw, was humanoid.
Next, we have the apostle John:
Revelation 4:2-3.
And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold,
a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on
the throne.
And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper
and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round
about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
As with Daniel, Ezekiel and Isaiah, John saw God
sitting on a throne. His description corresponds
almost perfectly to that of Daniel and Ezekiel,
and he continues to mention this vision of God
enthroned, throughout the course of his prophecy.
Other
passages in Scripture (where God describes His
"footstool", His "arm", His "hand", and His "heart",
etc.) correspond perfectly with this consistent
representation of God as One Whose chosen self-representation
is identical to our own visible form.
My argument is vindicated by a former Professor
of Ecclesiastical History at King’s College, London:
Irenaeus developed the thought that God created
man in his own image and likeness (Gen. 1:26-27).
The earthiness of this
argument, especially in Advr. Haer. 5.6.1, is
often overlooked.
God shaped man in his image and likeness (Gen.
2.7), conforming what he shaped to the image of
his Son (Rom. 8.29). What he made was not part
of man, so not just soul or spirit, but body and
soul. So the complete man and the true image and
likeness of God is
“the mingling and union of the soul which receives
the Spirit of the Father, and which is mixed with
that flesh which was
moulded in the image of God.”
All three elements, body, soul and Spirit, are
needed for the perfect man in the likeness of
God. Since the sin of Adam, the Spirit was lost,
and the image incomplete, imperfect. It could
not be restored, as long as the Word remained
invisible.
”But when the Word of God was made flesh, he affirmed
both [image and likeness]: he revealed the true
image, becoming himself what was in his image;
and he established firmly the likeness, making
man like the invisible Father through the visible
Word.” (Adv. Haer. 5.16.2).
It is thus precisely in his incarnate state that
the Word makes plain the image of God, and in
the flesh that man is complete.
The heretics of Irenaeus’
day, and most Christian thinkers from Origen onwards,
have rejected the idea that the human body is
in the likeness of God (Augustine himself could
not accept Christianity till he had rejected it.)
Some modern theological books evade it, even while
commending Irenaeus’ ideas in general.
But the cutting edge of Irenaeus’ thought was
precisely to defeat the view that mankind is saved
spiritually by escape from the body. To him that
was false. For the same reason, he was deeply
committed to the view that at the second coming
of Christ the dead would rise physically from
their graves, and the righteous would reign on
earth in a rich kingdom centring on a restored
earthly Jerusalem.
Hall, Stuart G. (1995), Doctrine and Practice
in the Early Church.
Yes, we are made in God’s image (tselem)
and likeness (demuth.) Contrary to the
commentaries of mainstream Christianity, we are
never told that this "image" and "likeness"
is something to do with our nature, our moral
propensities, or our personal characters. In every
case, we are assured that it is an outward, visible
form that is referred to - a form that the angels
undoubtedly share, as the weight of Scripture
confirms.
The fact that God does not actually possess a
physical body, is irrelevant. He has chosen to
represent Himself in this form, and He
has created mankind (the very apex of His
creation) to bear it, as a reflection of His own
self-revelation.
There is simply no way around it.
|
