Creation and Humanity

Dr. Jay Shim

Draft
Creation
It is noteworthy to remember that the Bible begins with the creation of the heavens and earth. With
this popular Hebrew literary style of synecdoche (signifying all by mentioning parts) the author proclaims
that God made all that exists in the world. The Bible begins with neither salvation, church, nor even Jesus
Christ. It begins with the proclamation that God is the Creator of all things, that He only is the sovereign
Lord of all. The creation account reveals the comprehensive view of the creation, not part of it, not just
the spiritual or religious, but the complete world. This view of complete creation is highlighted in the text
where Paul describes what God is redeeming: For by him [Christ Jesus] all things were created: things in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things
were created by him and for him (Col 1:16). This passage demands the Creator Gods ultimate lordship
over the whole world against the spiritual background of the period, namely coercing Emperor worship on
all people in its domain. The creation accounts message, being written within the polytheistic culture of
the ancient Near East, is dramatically clear that the Creator is the supreme Lord over all creation.
The Hebrew verb bara (meaning to create) is used for a limited sense in the creation account (Gen
1:1-2:3) and other Old Testament texts. It is used exclusively to refer to the divine creation in such a way
that emphasizes the incomparability of the creative work of God and thus complete newness of creation
that is distinct from secondary making with existing material. The creation account in Genesis 1 is
structured in such a way to highlight Gods totally new creation of the whole universe. The verb bara is
used in an enfolding manner both in the overarching superscription of the creation, In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth (1:1) and in its concluding remark, because on it he rested from all
the work of creating that he had done (2:3, also in v. 4). It is also used between the two to describe Gods
creation of the animal kingdom (v. 21) and three times in verse 27 alone to designate Gods creation of
human being (also in 5:2 and 6:7). With this pattern the author made it clear the nonpareil character of
the creative work of God on the entire periscope.1
Deeper theological meanings can be gleaned from biblical scholarship on the diverse words that were
used to signify Gods creating activities. First, bara was used broadly to signify not only the creation of
the physical world, as in the creation account, but also other divine activities that refer to making
historical events (Ex 34:10 and Num 16:30), making the historical condition for blessing or judgment (in
pair with another Hebrew verb, yasar, Isa 45:7), and transforming people as in Create in me a pure
heart (Ps 51:10) and as in I will create Jerusalem to be a delight (Isa 65:18). Second, diverse Hebrew
verbs were used along with bara to denote Gods broad activities of creating in the world after the
original creation: creating future generations of humanity (bara, Ps 102:18), creating each human being
(bara, Eccl 12:1) and fashioning each in the womb (asa and yasar, Isa 44:2), creating his people in
human history (asa, Ps 100:3), and creating all nations in the world (asa, Ps 86:9).2
Scriptural teaching on creation is surely that God created all that exists in the world. It is quite right
that the Hebrew verb, bara, used in the creation account describes the primeval creation that God made
1

Helmer Ringgren, in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, eds. G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer
Ringgren, tr. John T. Willis, vol. 2, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974-2003, pp. 246-47; Arhus Otzen, in TDOT,
vol. 6, p. 261; Claus Westermann, Genesis 1-11: A Commentary, tr. John J. Scullion S. J., Minneapolis: Augsburg
Publishing house, 1984, pp. 86-87; Stek, What Says the Scripture? pp. 207, 211; The Hebrew meaning of bara
matches the New Testament Greek ktizo in that both are used exclusively to refer to Gods creation activity. The
divine activity of creation signified in these biblical verbs comes with further implication that all the creatures,
including human beings, depend on God not only for coming into life but also in actual life. Lifes total dependency
on God is also reflected in such Hebrew terms to signify human beings as nepes, ruah, basar, and leb as will shortly
be described below.
2
Ringgren, in TDOT, vol. 2, pp. 247-48; Stek, What Says the Scripture? pp. 207-12.

the world out of nothing instantaneously by his words. However, as we have seen above, the usage of the
words that describe Gods creating acts is not limited to the primeval creation, but includes the enduring
effects of the divine decree on creation. The Creator who made sky by separating waters is making rain
(bara, Isa 45:8). The One who created Adam and Eve is continuously creating each human being (Eccl
12:1) and his own nation in the world. The One who issued the creation decree let there be light, who
called the light day, and who created luminaries to govern day and night is still governing day and night.
For the same God pronounced after the Flood: As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold
and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease (Gen 8:22). And the One who created all
living things according to their kinds blessed them to be fruitful and increase in number.
The consequence of the divine creation decree is then twofold. God by his decree creates and governs.
God created and is continuously creating, maintaining his will of creation. Stek concludes his study of the
words: Apparently, whatever the means or manner and in whatever time God had brought something into
being, it could, in the language of the biblical writers, be said that God had created (bara) it.
Gods word Let there be was a sovereign establishing and sustaining word. His creation decree was
and is the fundamental preserving and governing word.3
This fruit of biblical study should correct the popular but limited notion of creation as the
instantaneous creation out of nothing. The concept of creating out of nothing comes from the Greek
conceptuality of the progress from non-being to being, which was absent in the Hebrew mind. The Greek
mind sees deity as omniscient and everlasting, perfect in wisdom and love, and thus very different from
all other participants. Reading the creation account within Greek conceptuality may reduce God into
only being a creative participant in cosmic events. Then it misses the bigger teaching of the creation
account that God created the world out of his good will. God is not hindered by any influence, but acts out
of his free will. Creation was neither made from necessity of divine nature nor by accident. The biblical
author simply reveals the intention of Gods creation (bara) from his customary mindset that progresses
from a non-ordered to an ordered state.4
It should also correct the deistic notion of creation and worldview. The biblical text in no place teaches
that God created the world in a finished form and left it to run by itself. Rather it teaches that God expects
the world to develop within the continuing providential care of the Creator. The reason why the sun still
shines is not, again using Steks words, because in the beginning God created a very durable light but
because in the beginning God issued a decree enduring in its effect.5 The biblical text is not interested in
making a theological distinction between creation and providence, but emphasizes the proclamation that
the Creator-King originated the world and continues to rule over his entire world according to his creation
purpose.
The great Lord of the creation is making the world as an inhabitable house for the living creatures.
Contrasting with the totalitarian concept of kings in the ancient culture, the Creator is ordering the world
in such a way that his creatures can live with him in peaceful harmony. The Creator built his house and
invited us to it so that it becomes our home. The world as Gods house implies our belongingness to him
and our rest and happiness in it. A proper response to the creation of the world as our home is godly
delight in it and glorifying the Creator. Calvin well summarized the ideas of the Creators sovereignty and
care for his creation with the following words:
Meanwhile let us not be ashamed to take pious delight in the works of God open and
manifest in this most beautiful theatrethat he has so wonderfully adorned heaven and
earth with as unlimited abundance, variety, and beauty of all things as could possibly be,

Stek, What Says the Scripture? pp. 212, 246.

Schwarz, Creation, p. 173.
5
Stek, What Says the Scripture? p. 247. For more of his discussion on proposed correction of the unnecessary
theological distinction between creation and providence by biblical scholarship, see pp. 242-50
4

quite like a spacious and splendid house, provided and filled with the most exquisite and
at the same time most abundant furnishings.6
The Kings care for his world is also seen in his bestowing of the gift of food. The God who created all
good things and blessed the living creatures saying be fruitful and increase in number (Gen 1:22, 28)
provides them with food (Gen 1:29-30). Food symbolizes a necessary condition to human earthly life in
the world and thus recurs in the Scriptures to elucidate dependency of human life on the Provider. More
than just a minimum requirement for physical life, food also symbolizes a full and blessed life within the
providential care of God. God provided Israel with water from the rock and Manna from the sky. God
provided food to Israel in the wilderness where there is no food. God provided food out of nothing as he
originally made food for living creatures in the creation account. Manna was the deposit to the promise
that will be fulfilled in the Promised Land. The Promised Land was known as the land that is filled with
milk and honey. We read in the wisdom literature we preciously used: Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food? (Job 38:41) Being a necessary
condition of full life, food comes to humankind as a rule of life. The Provider gave the regulation of life
before God in terms of right food and wrong food. The Fall took place with an occasion of food.
The theme of food as a symbol of full life before God recurs in both Testaments to materially illustrate
redemption in Christ and the status of eternal life.
The Kings care for the world is also illustrated with the motif of water in Genesis 2. Only with
Yahweh Elohims providence of rain can the world teem with plants and man can work the ground
(Genesis 2:5). God caused streams to come up from the earth to water the whole surface of the ground
(v. 6). With this condition for life set up, God formed man from the dust of the ground (v. 7). With the
four headwaters God caused all kinds of trees to grow in the world. The theme of water also recurs
along with the theme of food to illustrate eternal life. In the final blessed stage, Gods people will be
nourished by the tree of life and the water of life (Rev 22:14, 17). It is the consummation of Jesus
gift for his people of his own body as real food and blood as real drink (John 6:55).
The Image of God: Creation of humanity
The consequence of Gods creating activity was good creation, even good to Gods own standard. God
built his splendid house and filled it with good inhabitants with a consequence, in the language of Ps 19:1,
that it would and should reflect the glory of God. God created all living creatures according to their
kinds. This mode of living creatures illustrates the variety, order, and harmony among them. God said,
it was good (Gen 1:25). Between verses 25 and 26 is a big contrast. While God made all animals
according to their kinds, he made humankind with his own image. The sharp contrast between
according to their kinds and in our image leads us to wonder the nature of Gods image in humanity
and what kind of life they have before God. Though this text tells us a little about the nature, value, and
place of humanity in the world, it primarily deals with the process of the creation of human beings
rather than with human nature itself. Then, the proper question we should have for the text is what
purpose God had when he created human beings rather than with what nature human beings were made.7
A fuller understanding of our human nature anticipates the fulfillment of humanity in Jesus Christ as our
first fruit in the New Testament.
In the meantime we can harvest some gleanings from biblical scholarship about the nature of humanity
and the mandate given to them. The biblical author proceeds directly from creation of humanity with the
image of God to their ruling function: to rule over the animal kingdom (1:26) and subdue the earth
and rule over the animal kingdom (Gen 1:28). The human mandate is replicated in the second chapter in
a more domestic agricultural setting: work it and take care of it (Gen 2:15). Research has been made on
the relationship of the direct connection between the creation of humanity in Gods image and their ruling
over the animal kingdom. Richard Middletons examination of the syntax of the text shows that the ruling
6
7

John Calvin, Institutes, I.xiv.20.

Westermann, Genesis 1-11, on 1:26-28, pp. 155-56.

mandate of human beings is the purpose, not simply the consequence or result, of the imago Dei. In
other words, ruling is one of the most essential functions of humanity, a permanent implication of
human nature.8 However, Henri Blocher, agreeing with von Rad, does not find such a direct relationship
between the two because he reads the text as focusing on the creation of mankind as an image for its own
sake as the following verse 27 implies. He says, the command to subdue the earthdoes not seem to
belong to the definition of the imageIt is rather the consequence of that. Blochers notion of human
rule in the text is more of a delegation of the true King on earth than of the actual ruling within mankinds
own ability.9
Whether one finds the human ruling mandate as purpose or consequence of the image of God, we can
find a basic teaching of the text that the Creator-God entrusted human beings as his own royal delegates
on earth to rule over it according to his divine will and purpose. Westermann comments that verses 26 and
28, with the use of two Hebrew verbs, shows a definite purpose or goal that God had for humanity. The
Hebrew term for subdue is kabas, meaning to stamp and rule over and rada, meaning to tread down
the wine press. The term rada is derived from the ancient custom of the royal court. Kings treaded
down their subjects. Then, though rada is derived from ancient royal practices, it comes with a
significantly different meaning in the creation account. In the ancient pagan worlds, for example in the
Sumerian and Babylonian narratives, humans were born to minister to the gods, to relieve the gods of the
burden of everyday work. But in the biblical text the goal of the creation of humans is detached from
the life of the gods and directed to the life of this world. Then with this mandate a hierarchy of order is
created in the world with the Creator at the top who has the absolute Kingly authority and humanity in the
middle with a delegated authority from the King over the animal kingdom. The human authority to rule
over is not a kind of dominion that they can exercise at their whim. Their ruling excludes exploitation of
the animals. An example given in the text is using animals as food, for God provided only vegetation for
food (1:30). The whole created world is the object of human dominion, since it is the only living beings
upon which the Old Testament idea of ruling can be imagined. And the grammatical structure of kabas,
translated to subdue, shows the object of human rule includes the earth.10
The idea that humans were entrusted by God to rule over the created kingdom is well reflected in Ps 8,
though it comes with a different term for ruling in mashal.
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings (elohim)
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You made him ruler over (mashal) the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet.
Both lines suggest the relationship between God and humanity. While the first line shows the origin of the
delegated royal authority to humans, the second line portrays the exercise of the delegated authority over
Gods created kingdom.
The divine commission comes with certain authority to be exercised on earth. Such authority is
reflected in Adams naming of the animals (2:19-20). In the Hebrew and largely Eastern custom, the one
who names others is known to have authority over the people whose names are given. The creation
account records a sequence of naming that indicates that human authority over creation is our entrusted
authority from God. First, God named the light day, the darkness night, and the expanse sky. In
naming these God claims his ultimate sovereignty and ownership on the cosmic level. Then God formed
man (adam) out of the dust of the ground (adamah) and breathed into him his breath and adam became a
living being (nepes) (2:7). It is hard in the creation account to find whether the first man was referred to
by the collective name or by his proper name. It is probably only at 3:17 or v. 20 where he was referred to
8

J. Richard Middleton, The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1, Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2005, pp.
53-54, 60.
9
Henri Blocher, In the Beginning: The Opening Chapters of Genesis, Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1984,
p. 90; von Rad, Genesis, on 1:26-28, pp. 59-60.
10
Westermann, Genesis 1-11, on 1:26b, pp. 158-59.

by adam, in reference to his proper name in this case. Adam was named such by God. Then the Creator
himself appointed Adam to name animals (2:19-20). After that Adam named the woman Eve (2:23, 3:20).
From this sequence of naming we find the position, mandate, and the nature of the derived authority
mankind has in Gods creation.
The naming activity is not achieved without exercising a certain ability from Adams side, for naming is
not an act of magic or providing meaningless labels. Von Rods comment on Adams naming is helpful to
attain the presumed meaning of the creation mandate (to rule over the creation). This naming is thus both
an act of copying and an act of appropriative ordering, by which man intellectually objectifies the
creatures for himselfHere, interestingly, language is seen not as a means of communication but as an
intellectual capacity by means of which man brings conceptual order to his sphere of life name-giving
in the ancient Orient was primarily an exercise of sovereignty, of command.11 Though Von Rod here
focuses on the human ability of using language, naming is also related to exercising such abilities to
scrutinize natures of things and classify them into related categories for possible use for his life. In order
for Adam to name animals, he has to use his abilities to recognize, distinguish, imagine, and organize
things around him. Thus, when considered together with the creation mandate, Adams naming activity
anticipates Gods high expectation on human life itself on the one hand, and commands the development
of science, art, and civilization on the other. There are plenty of similar positive views of the God-given
creation mandate based on the creation account. One example is from Middleton:
The human task of exercising power over the earth is nevertheless modeled on Gods
creative activity, which, in Genesis 1, is clearly developmental and formative, involving
the process of transforming the tohu wabohu [formless and empty] into an ordered,
harmonious cosmos. By implication, then, the human calling as imago Dei is itself
developmental and transformative and may be helpfully understood as equivalent to the
labor or work of forming culture or developing civilization The human task thus
reflects in significant ways the divine artisan portrayed in Genesis 1 as artfully
constructing a world.12
We are now dealing with the purpose that God has when he created humanity. The spiritual context now
we are describing is the world that is not yet damaged by sin. We read from the Scriptures that sin
devastated the whole world so much that everything in it has been affected. Genesis 3-11 shows the great
influence of sin and similarly great changes effected by sin in humanity and the whole world. Thus it is
anachronic to assume that we are given for todays living such royal authority described in the creation
account without any qualification. Such an anachronic view may end up with a human-centered
selfishness and a triumphant attitude against the world. Another caution is necessary for us to have a
balanced understanding of the creation mandate. The God-given royal delegation should not be
understood solely by the hierarchical order that puts humanity between God and the world. Such a view
may provide a wrong understanding of humanity as if they are above the world and are given the
necessary and inherent right to such authority and ability. Rather the mandate should be understood within
a bigger picture of Gods creation. As we have seen above, humanity was created as part of the creation,
sharing bodily material with animals, and having them as helpers to fulfill the divine purpose of
creation. At the same time humanity was made with the image of God and was given the royal mandate to
rule over the world. The image of God, along with other Hebrew terms used to refer to the nature of
human beings, reveal not only their heightened status and authority but also their total dependence on the
Creator for their lives and living. In other words, humanity was not given any inherent ability or power
for their own lives as well as for ruling over others. Reading the creation account from Gods absolute
sovereignty and freedom, all the abilities and powers that humanity is decorated with are gifts of God
endowed to fulfill the divine purpose of the world. This view of creation provides a fuller understanding
of humanity, namely a more wholistic understanding of humans rather than a human-centered selfish view
11
12

Von Rod, Genesis, on 2:19-20, p. 83.

Middleton, The Liberating Image, p. 89.

which leads to a grateful recognition of Gods high expectation on us, the proper place and mandate we
have to serve in diverse relationships in the world, a positive but fearful attitude toward life and the world,
and humility before the One who provided all of these.
God rested on the seventh day after six days of his creating activity and he blessed the day. The
seventh day sabbath culminates the creation activities of God. Westermann reads the creation account in
such a way that God is in time that began with the first day of creation. Thus, he seems to see the
continuity of the measured time by sun and moon from the six days of creation to the following history.
He reads the divine blessing of the seventh day in terms of the separation of light from darkness with the
effect that by resting on the seventh day God instituted a polarity between the everyday and the solemn,
between days of work and days of rest, which was to be determinative for human existence. But the
seventh day rest does not simply anticipate the sabbatical law of Israel, but points beyond it to the goal of
the creation in the sense that it gives the power to stimulate, animate, enrich and give fullness to life.13
It is interesting to find that, after examining the structure of the six days of Gods creation against the
literary customs of the ancient Near East, Westermann reads the much later development of sabbatical law
into the rest of the Creator. Stek reads the rest of God within the ancient literary custom. For Stek, it is not
a matter of the author whether God is in time or not since he reads the creation account of Genesis 1 as a
narrative and not as a historiographical record. The author recorded Gods creation in a story-form that
was borrowed from the popular culture. The author was moved to sequence them [Gods creation
activities] after the manner of human acts and time them after the pattern of created time in humanitys
arena of experience. The measure and sequence of time in the creation account are Gods pattern of
activity and thus are not supposed to be considered in our experience of time. Such measures and
sequences of time were used by the author to story the divine acts of creation thus the seven-day cycle
was employed by the author to indicate the completed time. The rest of God and his blessing of the
seventh day reflect the completeness of Gods creative work and the goodness of the created realm. It
also introduced a structure of time that is not governed by the Sun and Moon (humans have little choice
but to honor solar and lunar time periodscf. Ps. 104:23; 127:2) but is grounded solely in the divine
paradigm of the Creator at work. Then, any effort to calculate the length of the days in the creation
account and the age of the world in modern time frame is a mistake.14
The creation of humanity at the end of Gods creating activities means certain significant things15 as
the order and sequence of such activities invoke all kinds of deliberation. First, humanity is a created
being. The Lord God formed man (adam) from the dust of the ground (adamah) (Gen 2:7). The word play
in this text on forming man reflects the relationship between man and the world. The relationship attests
that human beings and earth belong together, that the earth is there for humanity and human beings are
there to populate it.16 And the Lord God made animals out of the same adamah (v. 19). The fact that
human beings are made out of the same material as animals indicates that they are to be harmoniously
populated in the world along with animals, being limited in their existence and thus totally dependent on
the Creator for life. God created animals to be helpers suitable for him (2:18) exactly in the same way
to create woman (2:20). Thus, it is to be remembered that Gods purpose of creation is not achieved til the
human community, man and woman, is joined by the animal community. At the same time, in bodily
existence, human beings have a close and fundamental affinity with other creatures. Humanity is blessed
and given the same command with animals to be fruitful and multiply and share food with land animals.
Humanitys solidarity with the natural order becomes more prominent when the natural world becomes
corrupt due to the fall of humanity. The whole of creation was cursed (Gen 3:17) and subjected to
13

Westermann, Genesis 1-11, pp. 171-72.

Stek, What Says the Scripture? pp. 237-40.
15
The Hebrew verb bara is used three times in verse 27 to signify Gods intensive creating human being as high
point of his creation. Von Rod, Genesis, on Gen 1:16-28, p. 57.
16
Westermann, Genesis 1-11, on Gen 2:7, p. 206.
14

frustration (Rom 19-22) when humans became sinners. Such solidarity is clearly reflected in Gods plan
of redeeming the world. God invited all kinds of animals to Noahs Ark (Gen 7:14-16). The text
emphasizes that all kinds of animals entered the Ark by highlighting every animal according to their
kinds, pairs of all creatures, and male and female of every living thing. God made his covenant of
salvation with all the animals (Gen 9:10, 15). When such a plan of salvation is fulfilled, the animal
kingdom will be restored to the harmonious and shalomic status of creation (Isa 11:6-9).
Second, the distinctiveness of humanity as Gods image with Gods breathing the breath of life (Gen
2:7) and finally becoming a living being (nepes in Hebrew, which will be discussed shortly) means
much in who human beings are and how they are supposed to live in the world. The uniqueness of
humanity lies in the image of God. The image of God, which becomes the grounds of the shortly
following creational mandate, underscores the potential that the Creator endows humanity. The creation of
human beings reveals the Creators great pleasure and high expectation on humanity for the sake of the
world.
Though the biblical text does not provide a systematic understanding of the image of God, some
wisdom can be construed from the relational description of humanity in the world. First of all, the image
of God describes who humans are which in turn stipulates his relationship to the Creator-God. With the
image of God that serves in humanity being as a channel to communicate with God, man can listen to
God and live for him. Humanity, as persons who have their own independent consciousnesses, can
communicate with God, obey, and live out his will. The order of the text that goes from creating humanity
in Gods image directly to their mission to rule over the world may mean much in respect to whom
humans are and what they are called to do. The term image came from the practice of erecting kingly
statues in the ancient Near East. The king at that time established his statues in the remotest places
where he cannot personally be present and rule. The statue meant much more than a simple figure; it
represents the king himself. With this as background, the Creator-God is placing human beings as his own
delegation in the created world. Creation of humanity as the image of God indicates neither duplication
nor division of the godhead nor emanation of his nature. The human being does not have divine nature.
Thus, any form of polytheism or pantheism is rejected in regard to the biblical teaching of the God-human
relationship. Rather creating in the image of God reveals creating an independent being other than God,
but being shaped by something of God. It is interesting to note in the biblical text that the author
highlights the manner of making humanity in our image and in our likeness after using according to
their kinds seven times for making animals. Instead of using the term according to human kind, the
author emphasizes the created affinity of humanity to God. Though being made of the dust of the ground,
the same raw material with which animals were made, but being instilled with Gods breath of life, which
is unique for humanity, they were made to have an independent consciousness and free will.17 Thus the
manner of creating humanity in Gods image emphasizes the relationship between the sovereign CreatorGod and his royal emissary sent to the world to live and rule over it according to his will. With this
identity as Gods own royal emissary and the ability of the image of God, men can have authority in the
various creational relationships. The human authority over the world thus reflects the Creators own
lordship. This authority is symbolically reflected in the fact that Adam names the animals (Gen 2:19).
Such royal identity and ability are the foundation for shalomic life among fellow humans. Humans,
male and female, are made in the image of God. They are also made of the same material for woman was
made out of mans rib. The mutuality and unity is expressed by man (ish) when he calls on woman (ishah).
Adam calling Eve, bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, beautifully illustrates who humans are and
how they are supposed to live (Gen 2:23). The human duality, male and female, is the essential foundation
for genuine human life. One cannot stand-alone but needs each other to fulfill Gods creation will. Thus,
anything that harms the character of each sex or mars the relationship, either physical or spiritual,
devalues humanity itself and defies Gods will. Such human duality internally reflects among the human
17

Anthony A. Hoekema summarizes the nature of humanity as created person, emphasizing the sovereignty of
God and responsibility of humankind based on the endowed free will in Created in Gods Image, Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1986, pp. 5-10.

community the intimate relationship between God and humans. God, who is love, created humanity with
his own image in the world so that they can love God and each other. Such an intimate relationship and
solidarity among humans become the foundation of the corporate personality later in the history of
Israel.18 Such a corporate understanding of humanity leads in the New Testament to the second great
commandment; love your neighbor as you love yourself. The image of God illustrates the identity and
mission of humanity in relational terms. Dyrness summarizes the image of God as follows: in sum it can
be said that the image of God implies the personal, responsible existence of men and women before God,
suited to reflect their creator in their work, to know and love him in all that they do.19
Such a relational understanding of the image of God as the essence of humanity is supplemented by
other Old Testament terms that are used to refer to humans. The nature of humanity that these terms
reveal may provide a fuller and complementary understanding of humanity than one that is exclusively
based on the view of humans on direct relation between the mention of the image of God and mankinds
ruling over the world. Such a broad understanding of humanity may correct the selfish and triumphalistic
view of humans that can mistakenly be produced by Gen 1:26-28. A popular Hebrew word to refer to
humans is nepes that is popularly translated as soul. The term nepes is an all-inclusive, more concrete
than abstract, term to refer to whole person rather than soul in a narrower sense in its distinction to the
body. The term describes the created human being as a living individual. Human beings live as souls;
they do not possess souls.20 The breath of life that is breathed into adam (Gen 2:7) means simply
being alive. The breath of life does not mean that, as in Hellenistic dualism, God breaths into human
beings something of the divine, namely an immortal soul, and consequently that human being come to
have a number of different parts such as body and soul.21 When the shama commandment of Deut 6:5
encourages Israelites to love their God with all your soul (nepes), it does not mean loving God with the
inner soul separated from body, but with the whole person with all human functions. In the Scriptural
texts the term nepes is found to disclose mans need and desire for vital longing or striving, as in our
hearts desire. This basic sense of nepes is reflected perfectly in the fact that hoping and waiting for
Yahweh have nepes as their subject, comments Seebaas. In extension, it may mean the fundamental
human self as the center of spiritual experiences. Ps 33:20 sings the nepes of us waits for the Lord. The
nepes is also the subject to be revived by the Lord as in he will be renewing your nepes when Ruth
gives birth to a son (Ruth 4:15). In sum, nepes means the living individual, not in the sense of an
indestructible spiritual substance, rather in concrete, needy, physical life. It comes from God and is in
constant need of refreshing; in itself it offers no protection against creaturely limitations. The OT believer
cannot count on inherent immortality; this must come from God and be guaranteed by him.22
Another term is ruah that is usually translated into spirit, while its fundamental meaning is wind or
breath. While the term is more often used to refer to Gods great power, it is also used to mean vital
powers when referred to humans. Other times it was used to mean spirit or mind in todays usage, a
function of physical body. But the connotation remains that of strength or vital powers for which
ultimately a person is dependent upon God and which cannot be claimed or held for oneself That a man
has spirit, is living, desires the good and acts as authorized beingnone of this proceeds from man
himself.23 The relational understanding of nepes and ruah comes within the sinful human context, and
thus, they highlight human dependency on God for righteous living. But it should be remembered that
human beings as living individuals and the human spirit was created with an innate longing for God.
It is evident that the Scriptures do not teach any dualistic understandings of human beings as being
composed of immortal souls and a soul-encasing body. Most dualistic images of human beings represent
the immortal soul as the essential component of the human nature while depicting the body as an object to
18

William Dyrness, Themes in Old Testament Theology, Downers Grove: IVP, 1979, p. 82.
Dyrness, Themes in Old Testament Theology, p. 84.
20
Dyrness, Themes in Old Testament Theology, p. 85.
21
Westermann, Genesis 1-11, on Gen 2:7, pp. 206-207.
22
Bonn Seebass, TDOT, vol. IX, p. 510; Dyrness, Themes in Old Testament Theology, p. 85.
23
Dyrness, Themes in Old Testament Theology, p. 87.
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be overcome by the soul. This dualistic image of humanity is probably the most serious enemy to the
biblical teaching of humanity and the human life. The Scripture provides a holistic image of the human
being as a living person, all functions corresponding to each other and organized under the lordship of the
Creator, totally dependent on him and desiring him in all they experience. Such knowledge of humans is
also reflected by the connotations of Hebrew words for flesh (basar) and heart (leb).
The term basar is used to mean the physical existence which is more often used for animals than
humans and never used of God. It denotes the whole physical mode of living. When Ps 145:21 invokes
let every flesh praise his holy name, he is admonishing that all people seek the Lord with their whole
physical life. Significant in the connotation of the flesh in the Hebrew Bible is that it is neither opposed to
soul nor inherently weak or evil. The flesh is simply the physical mode of living, being a proper medium
of life before God. As in the cases of nepes and ruah, though basar is weak and may be tempted under
sinful influence, it is part of Gods good creation. Thus Ps 63:1 cries out that my nepes (whole person)
and my basar (all of my physical life) are seeking after the Lord. The Hebrew word leb is used to signify
the person, center of personality, or simply life. Hebrew wisdom does not know the dualistic
understanding between heart and head. The leb, as the deepest place of persons being, guides the whole
person and it is God who directs the heart. When the heart is hardened as in the case of Pharaoh, his
whole person is not listening to counsel and his mind is blocked. The dichotomy the Hebrew religiosity is
warned against is not between faith in heart and faith in head, since the heart guides the whole person
including ones head. It is between an outward profession and inward disposition.24
Combining the meaning of the image of God and those of the Hebrew terms used to refer to human
nature, we can summarize the human nature as created person, being created in the image of God to be
the royal emissary in the world to fulfill the creational ordinance, and continuously depending on God for
life and action.
Third, the creation of human beings culminates the creation process. Creating light as the worlds
foundation, shaping the habitable environment by making space and time, by separating sky, land, and sea
for various living creatures, the ordering of days and seasons, and the subsequent creation of a progressive
food-chain point to Gods building a habitable structure. The creation account describes more than Gods
building of a habitable structure. God blessed all the living creatures so that they become multiplied and
fill the earth. And God placed humankind to serve as his own royal emissary to rule over the whole
creation according to his divine will. All of the descriptions of creation point to the image of God creating
the world as his cosmic house to be the home of the living creatures in it. Following the images of
creation, we can say that we humanity are invited to Gods cosmic house to live and work for him.
The creation account was not written in a cultural vacuum, but against a concrete historical
background, a polytheistic pagan culture. Thus, the creation account comes with a necessary apologetic
intent. The creation account was written with an aim to reveal the absolute sovereignty of the Creator
against the religious background where ancient people worshipped many different gods. Within such
cultures, the sun, moon, stars, and great sea creatures were regarded as gods and goddesses. The creation
account claims that God separated light from darkness and is using the sun, moon, and stars as
instruments to measure days, night, and seasons. All of the great celestial things, the powerful river and
thunder, and the mysteriously powerful sea creatures are created inhabitants in Gods kingdom. Then, a
question is raised in regard to the relevance of the text to the modern readers: can we still properly
understand it and grasp its meaning for today? Schwartz answers with the following words: Even if its
worldview is outdated, though we can also detect modern-looking features, the theological intent of the
Priestly creation account, still valid today, does not allow nor need any modernization.25 In fact, the
theological issue that penetrates the whole scriptural texts from its beginning is the sole lordship of God
over the world. That is clearly revealed in the book of Exodus against the Egyptian polytheistic worldview,
24
25

Dyrness, Themes in Old Testament Theology, pp. 89-91.

Schwartz, Creation, p. 171.

in the land of Canaan against it religious culture, during the exiles against the cultures of the great
empires, and in the New Testament against the emperor worshipping pagan culture. God moved his
people into the cultural situations, had his people conflict with the pagan ways of religions and lives,
saved them from the bondages of the evil lords, and eventually proved his sole lordship over the entire
world. Indeed, the issue is still very relevant today. The fundamental queries regarding who we are, how
we are saved, and how we think and live as redeemed people hinge on the answer to the question of
whom the lord is.

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