Genesis Chapter 1, Verse 26
From BibleWiki
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.
26: And he said: Let us make man to our image and likeness: and let
him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air,
and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that
moveth upon the earth.
26: And God said, Let us make man according to our image and likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the flying creatures of heaven, and over the cattle and all the earth, and over all the reptiles that creep on the earth.
"Let us" - the plural here has a number of interpretations:
- The plural is a plural of majesty, the royal we
- The plural is referring to the triune nature of God
- God is addressing the angels he has created, and hence "us" refers to God and the angels working together
- The plural is a remnant of early polytheist beliefs
- The plural indicates that the Bible teaches the existence of many Gods
(2) is a Christian interpretation, whereas (1) and (3) are adopted by both Jews and Christians. Explantion (4) is favoured by some liberal scholars. Explanation (5) is taught by some cultic groups, but clearly contradicts the text of the Bible as a whole.
