God, indeed, made man in His image and after His likeness; and man has the same ability to make things in his own image and likeness, of which, he exercises often. Before noticing some of man’s handiworks, however, let is first note what the image and likeness of God was. The Hebrew word for image in this verse is tselem and means an illusion, a shade, or a phantom. God was not referring to a ghost, as we often think of the word. It speaks of something which is intangible, such as that which was created in spirit in the Beginning. Neither is an illusion tangible, nor is a shade or a shadow. Therefore, we could see the verse as saying, "Let us make man using our intangible image as the pattern for that which is to come." The next phase for man is in the likeness of God. The Hebrew word is demuth and means resemblance, shape, or a model. Therefore, when man was shaped in His likeness, he was a model that resembled what was in God’s mind....

Close window to return to main page