D. The
Divine Likeness in the OT.
1. The distinctive meaning of the divine likeness
in the OT can be understood only when we see it in strict connection with a
faith which is basically orientated by the sense of the greatest possible
distance from God. The central point in OT anthropology is that man is dust and
ashes before God and that he cannot stand before His holiness. Thus the witness
to man’s divine likeness plays no predominant role in the OT. It stands as it
were on the margin of the whole complex. Yet it is highly significant that OT
faith adopted this theologoumenon in dealing with the mystery of man’s origin.
Whereas in J man is made up of earthly material on
the one side (עָפָר
מִן הָאֲדָמָה)
and the breath of life from God (נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים) on the other, P looks in a different
direction from the theological standpoint. The strict sequence of the process
of creation is broken after the creation of the animals, and a special resolve
on God’s part points to something extraordinary which is to follow. It is
important that in Gn. 1:1–2:4b the tendency is to separate God from the
creature. Instead of direct action, the word of command is enough to call forth
the creatures. In the creation of man, however, there is a significant change. In
Gn. 1:28 we have the technical term for constructing out of a material
(בָּרָא) so that
by origin man is brought into a direct relationship with God. To give
theological precision to this relationship is the main point of the divine
resolve in Gn. 1:26: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Gerhard Kittel, “Εἰκών,” ed.
Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament
(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 2:390, emphasis added [note: v. 28 does not use ברא so I am guessing Kittel means its verse 27 where it is used])