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10 - From Imago to Imagines: The Image(s) of God in Genesis

from Part III - Themes and Literary Motifs of Genesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2022

By
Brent A. Strawn
Edited by
Bill T. Arnold
Bill T. Arnold
Affiliation:
Asbury Theological Seminary, Kentucky
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Summary

The image of God (Latin imago Dei) is a familiar, even fraught, biblical notion because it has served as something of an empty cipher that countless interpreters have sought to fill.1 Despite a great deal of spilled ink, what, exactly, the imago Dei is remains no small mystery because the notion goes largely undeveloped and underdeveloped in the Bible.2 References to the imago Dei appear almost exclusively in Genesis – “almost” because interpreters often find traces of the concept elsewhere, including in the New Testament.

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Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Genesis , pp. 211 - 235
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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Briggs, Richard S. “Humans in the Image of God and Other Things Genesis Does Not Make Clear.” JTI 4 (2010): 111–26.Google Scholar
Garr, W. Randall., In His Own Image and Likeness: Humanity, Divinity, and Monotheism. CHANE 15. Leiden: Brill, 2003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Humphreys, W. Lee., The Character of God in the Book of Genesis: A Narrative Appraisal. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001.Google Scholar
Jónsson, Gunnlaugur A. The Image of God: Genesis 1: 26–28 in a Century of Old Testament Research. ConBOT 26. Stockholm: Alqvist & Wiksell, 1988.Google Scholar
Kass, Leon R. The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2003.Google Scholar
McDowell, Catherine L. The Image of God in the Garden of Eden: The Creation of Humankind in Genesis 2: 5–3:24 in Light of the mīs pȋ and wpt-r Rituals of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. Siphrut 15. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2015.Google Scholar
Middleton, J. Richard., The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2005.Google Scholar
Miles, Jack. God: A Biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995.Google Scholar
Petersen, Ryan S. The Imago Dei as Human Identity: A Theological Interpretation. JTISup 14. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2016.Google Scholar
Strawn, Brent A. “Comparative Approaches: History, Theory, and the Image of God.” Pages 117–42 in Method Matters: Essays on the Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Honor of David L. Petersen. Edited by LeMon, Joel M. and Harold Richards, Kent. SBLRBS 56. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2009.Google Scholar
Strawn, Brent A. “The Image of God: Comparing the Old Testament with Other Ancient Near Eastern Cultures.” Pages 63–75 in Iconographic Exegesis of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: An Introduction to Its Method and Practice. Edited by de Hulster, Izaak J., Strawn, Brent A., and Bonfiglio., Ryan P. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015.Google Scholar
Briggs, Richard S. “Humans in the Image of God and Other Things Genesis Does Not Make Clear.” JTI 4 (2010): 111–26.Google Scholar
Garr, W. Randall., In His Own Image and Likeness: Humanity, Divinity, and Monotheism. CHANE 15. Leiden: Brill, 2003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Humphreys, W. Lee., The Character of God in the Book of Genesis: A Narrative Appraisal. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001.Google Scholar
Jónsson, Gunnlaugur A. The Image of God: Genesis 1: 26–28 in a Century of Old Testament Research. ConBOT 26. Stockholm: Alqvist & Wiksell, 1988.Google Scholar
Kass, Leon R. The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2003.Google Scholar
McDowell, Catherine L. The Image of God in the Garden of Eden: The Creation of Humankind in Genesis 2: 5–3:24 in Light of the mīs pȋ and wpt-r Rituals of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. Siphrut 15. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2015.Google Scholar
Middleton, J. Richard., The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2005.Google Scholar
Miles, Jack. God: A Biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995.Google Scholar
Petersen, Ryan S. The Imago Dei as Human Identity: A Theological Interpretation. JTISup 14. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2016.Google Scholar
Strawn, Brent A. “Comparative Approaches: History, Theory, and the Image of God.” Pages 117–42 in Method Matters: Essays on the Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Honor of David L. Petersen. Edited by LeMon, Joel M. and Harold Richards, Kent. SBLRBS 56. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2009.Google Scholar
Strawn, Brent A. “The Image of God: Comparing the Old Testament with Other Ancient Near Eastern Cultures.” Pages 63–75 in Iconographic Exegesis of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: An Introduction to Its Method and Practice. Edited by de Hulster, Izaak J., Strawn, Brent A., and Bonfiglio., Ryan P. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015.Google Scholar
Briggs, Richard S. “Humans in the Image of God and Other Things Genesis Does Not Make Clear.” JTI 4 (2010): 111–26.Google Scholar
Garr, W. Randall., In His Own Image and Likeness: Humanity, Divinity, and Monotheism. CHANE 15. Leiden: Brill, 2003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Humphreys, W. Lee., The Character of God in the Book of Genesis: A Narrative Appraisal. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001.Google Scholar
Jónsson, Gunnlaugur A. The Image of God: Genesis 1: 26–28 in a Century of Old Testament Research. ConBOT 26. Stockholm: Alqvist & Wiksell, 1988.Google Scholar
Kass, Leon R. The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2003.Google Scholar
McDowell, Catherine L. The Image of God in the Garden of Eden: The Creation of Humankind in Genesis 2: 5–3:24 in Light of the mīs pȋ and wpt-r Rituals of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. Siphrut 15. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2015.Google Scholar
Middleton, J. Richard., The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2005.Google Scholar
Miles, Jack. God: A Biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995.Google Scholar
Petersen, Ryan S. The Imago Dei as Human Identity: A Theological Interpretation. JTISup 14. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2016.Google Scholar
Strawn, Brent A. “Comparative Approaches: History, Theory, and the Image of God.” Pages 117–42 in Method Matters: Essays on the Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Honor of David L. Petersen. Edited by LeMon, Joel M. and Harold Richards, Kent. SBLRBS 56. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2009.Google Scholar
Strawn, Brent A. “The Image of God: Comparing the Old Testament with Other Ancient Near Eastern Cultures.” Pages 63–75 in Iconographic Exegesis of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: An Introduction to Its Method and Practice. Edited by de Hulster, Izaak J., Strawn, Brent A., and Bonfiglio., Ryan P. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015.Google Scholar

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