In His Own Image and Likeness: Humanity, Divinity, and Monotheism

Culture and History of the Ancient Near East #15

by Randall Garr

This book is about nothing less than Genesis 1, or human creation. Humanity, the author convincingly argues, is created within the Priestly tradition as a replacement of God's divine community; human creation marks the decisive moment that P's God separates himself from other gods and institutes monotheism.
After discussing the references of God's self-inclusive yet plural first person speech and examining the ramifications of this speech pattern in other biblical texts, Randall Garr discusses the divine-human relationship as it is represented by carefully analysing the prepositions and nouns that characterize it. After highlighting some themes and theological concepts elaborated in Gen 1, it clearly situates the creation of humanity within the programmatic agenda of the Priestly tradition.

Genres: Biblical Studies

328 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2003

Reviews

[Christopher Kou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Randall Garr has done us all a great service in his meticulous and exhaustive examination of every facet of the Hebrew text. Those looking for a discussion of every possible nuance of the Hebrew should certainly peruse.

His exegetical conclusions stemming from the grammatical analysis, however are flawed, as they depend almost entirely on how he has read and categorized the JEDP sources and set P and J against each other. His explanation of the plural cohortative Genesis 1:26 verges on the incredible, though he disallows that the "P" source intends to suggest that man was created in the image and likeness of the gods.

[John Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Garr's treatment of what Genesis 1:26 means exactly, that humans are created in God's image and likeness, is overwhelmingly concentrated on the Hebrew language. A reader need not have any knowledge of Hebrew to follow and understand the arguments, but it would certainly be helpful. With or without prior knowledge of Hebrew, though, a reader will finish the book with an intense understanding of how the Hebrew language plays into possible interpretations of God's likeness in humanity and how to properly see divinity in the Hebrew Bible.

This book, though, is not for the faint of heart. The amount of detail and heavy-handed thoughts and diction is a drain on the mind. The book is clearly meant for an advanced scholarly audience.

If you aren't part of the advanced scholarly crowd, or don't want to be, but you have the time and energy to read through this one, I highly suggest that you read this book. If you are at all interested in what the language of the Bible actually says and how it should affect our interpretation of the text, this is a must. Garr knows what he is talking about and his work is deeply researched. It'd be a 5-star recommendation if it were more accessible to me, despite my sheer genius.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a highly technical critical commentary on the account of creation from the Hebrew Bible. It is a source-critical look at the text, based on the Documentary Hypothesis (JEDP). If you have no idea what the Documentary Hypothesis is, start with Brevard Child's Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture or some other biblical literature introduction.
The Documentary Hypothesis has, among many scholars, dropped out of favor. This text does some work to restore its viability.

Summary: Provocative, but only recommended to advanced students of Hebrew Bible in an academic setting.