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.
What does Genesis 1:26 mean?
Man was made last of all the creatures: this was both an honour and a favour to him.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Genesis 1:26-28 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Genesis 1:26
Here we evidently enter upon a higher scale of being. This is indicated by the counsel or common resolve to create, which is now for the first time introduced into the narrative. When the Creator says, "Let us make man," he calls attention to the work as one of pre-eminent importance. At the same time he sets it before himself as a thing undertaken with deliberate purpose. Moreover, in the former mandates of creation his words had regard to the thing itself that was summoned into being; as, "Let there be light;" or to some preexistent object that was physically connected with the new creature; as, "Let the land bring forth grass.
Key words
- let them
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let them. (f) Vet. Nizzachon, p. 5. Lipman. Carmen Memorial. p. 108. apud Wagenseil. Tela ignea, vol. 1.
- Image
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Image. "Likeness" is a more general term, indicating resemblance in any quality, external or internal.
Context in Genesis 1
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Genesis 1 belongs to the opening movement of the book, especially the section often described as primeval history from creation to Babel. Genesis opens the whole Bible with creation, fall, flood, Babel, and the long patriarchal story that carries the reader from Eden to Egypt. Read this chapter with the wider themes of creation, fall, and covenant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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A collection of passages on hope under pressure, future inheritance, resurrection expectation, and confidence in God’s final faithfulness.