The image of God and the likeness are similar, but at the same time they are different. Humanity as humanity was still complete, but the good and holy being was spoiled. When Adam fell, he lost the likeness, but the image remained fully intact. This likeness consisted of the moral qualities of God, whereas the image involved the natural attributes of God. While "image and likeness" is a Hebraism in which an idea is reinforced using two different words, a view arose that "image and likeness" were separate the image was the human's natural resemblance to God, the power of reason and will, while the likeness was a donum superadditum-a divine gift added to basic human nature.
Origen for instance viewed the image of God as something given at creation, while the likeness of God as something bestowed upon a person at a later time. Theologians have examined the difference between the concepts of the "image of God" and the "likeness of God" in human nature. James 3:9 Interpretation of the Biblical texts Image vs Likeness And God blessed them and God said to them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.' The phrase "image of God" is found in three passages in the Hebrew Bible, all in the Book of Genesis 1–11:Īnd God said: 'Let us make man in our image/b'tsalmeinu, after our likeness/kid'muteinu 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.' And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him, male and female created He them.
A Relational understanding argues that the image is found in human relationships with God and each other. The Substantive view locates the image of God in shared characteristics between God and humanity such as rationality or morality. The history of interpretation of the image of God has included three common lines of understanding. It stems from the primary text in Genesis 1:27, which reads: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him male and female created he them." The exact meaning of the phrase has been debated for millennia.įollowing Jewish tradition, scholars such as Saadia Gaon and Philo argued that being made in the image of God does not mean that God possesses human-like features, but rather the reverse: that the statement is figurative language for God bestowing special honor unto humankind, which he did not confer unto the rest of creation. This concept is a foundational aspect of Christian and Jewish understandings of human nature. The image of God ( Hebrew: צֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים, romanized: tzelem elohim Latin: imago dei) is a concept and theological doctrine in Christianity, as well as in Judaism. Doctrine in Judaism, Christianity and Sufi Islam
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