Kejadian 1:26
Konteks1:26 Then God said, “Let us make 1
humankind 2 in our image, after our likeness, 3 so they may rule 4 over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, 5 and over all the creatures that move 6 on the earth.”
Kejadian 8:21
Konteks8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma 7 and said 8 to himself, 9 “I will never again curse 10 the ground because of humankind, even though 11 the inclination of their minds 12 is evil from childhood on. 13 I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.
Kejadian 30:30
Konteks30:30 Indeed, 14 you had little before I arrived, 15 but now your possessions have increased many times over. 16 The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. 17 But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” 18
Kejadian 34:30
Konteks34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought ruin 19 on me by making me a foul odor 20 among the inhabitants of the land – among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I 21 am few in number; they will join forces against me and attack me, and both I and my family will be destroyed!”
[1:26] 1 sn The plural form of the verb has been the subject of much discussion through the years, and not surprisingly several suggestions have been put forward. Many Christian theologians interpret it as an early hint of plurality within the Godhead, but this view imposes later trinitarian concepts on the ancient text. Some have suggested the plural verb indicates majesty, but the plural of majesty is not used with verbs. C. Westermann (Genesis, 1:145) argues for a plural of “deliberation” here, but his proposed examples of this use (2 Sam 24:14; Isa 6:8) do not actually support his theory. In 2 Sam 24:14 David uses the plural as representative of all Israel, and in Isa 6:8 the
[1:26] 2 tn The Hebrew word is אָדָם (’adam), which can sometimes refer to man, as opposed to woman. The term refers here to humankind, comprised of male and female. The singular is clearly collective (see the plural verb, “[that] they may rule” in v. 26b) and the referent is defined specifically as “male and female” in v. 27. Usage elsewhere in Gen 1-11 supports this as well. In 5:2 we read: “Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and called their name ‘humankind’ (אָדָם).” The noun also refers to humankind in 6:1, 5-7 and in 9:5-6.
[1:26] 3 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.
[1:26] 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.
[1:26] 4 tn Following the cohortative (“let us make”), the prefixed verb form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result (see Gen 19:20; 34:23; 2 Sam 3:21). God’s purpose in giving humankind his image is that they might rule the created order on behalf of the heavenly king and his royal court. So the divine image, however it is defined, gives humankind the capacity and/or authority to rule over creation.
[1:26] 5 tc The MT reads “earth”; the Syriac reads “wild animals” (cf. NRSV).
[1:26] 6 tn Heb “creep” (also in v. 28).
[8:21] 7 tn The
[8:21] 8 tn Heb “and the
[8:21] 9 tn Heb “in his heart.”
[8:21] 10 tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.
[8:21] 11 tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can be used in a concessive sense (see BDB 473 s.v. כִּי), which makes good sense in this context. Its normal causal sense (“for”) does not fit the context here very well.
[8:21] 12 tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”
[8:21] 13 tn Heb “from his youth.”
[30:30] 15 tn Heb “before me.”
[30:30] 16 tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”
[30:30] 17 tn Heb “at my foot.”
[30:30] 18 tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”
[34:30] 19 tn The traditional translation is “troubled me” (KJV, ASV), but the verb refers to personal or national disaster and suggests complete ruin (see Josh 7:25, Judg 11:35, Prov 11:17). The remainder of the verse describes the “trouble” Simeon and Levi had caused.
[34:30] 20 tn In the causative stem the Hebrew verb בָּאַשׁ (ba’ash) means “to cause to stink, to have a foul smell.” In the contexts in which it is used it describes foul smells, stenches, or things that are odious. Jacob senses that the people in the land will find this act terribly repulsive. See P. R. Ackroyd, “The Hebrew Root באשׁ,” JTS 2 (1951): 31-36.
[34:30] 21 tn Jacob speaks in the first person as the head and representative of the entire family.