Genesis 1:26

Hebrew Bible

25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the cattle according to their kinds, and all the creatures that creep along the ground according to their kinds. God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth.” 27 God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.

Samaritan Genesis 1:26

Samaritan Penteteuch
Samaritan

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, and according to our form: 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. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

 Notes and References

"... The anthropomorphic idea that one may get from Genesis 1:26–27, that man was created in the material image of God (םיהלא םלצב), is rejected in a kind of parenthesis. It is stated clearly that the human being resembles God in his inner substance (בבלה תרוצ), not in his outer appearance (ראתה תרוצ). The effort to avoid anthropomorphic representations of God is reflected in the Samaritan Arabic version of the Pentateuch (approximately 11th century) which renders םיהלא as הכיאלמלא, “the angels”, in Genesis 1. While old manuscripts of the Samaritan text are rarely concerned with the “humanization” of God, younger manuscripts tend to eliminate anthropomorphisms (Genesis 5:1; 9:6; etc.). At this particular spot in the Arabic column follows this trend: הכיאלמלא. This led Macdonald to opt for the translation “the Angels”, although no evidence in the neo-Samaritan Hebrew column exists. Note the unusual use of the negative particle ןיא, which substitutes the negative adverb אל. One possible explanation of this anomaly is the influence of the AC negation of existence סיל ..."

Tal, Abraham Tibåt Mårqe: The Ark of Marqe: Edition, Translation, Commentary (p. 148) De Gruyter, 2019

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.