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Part One
Foundations![]()
Genesis 1:26–30; 2:18–25
1. Women as the image of God
‘“Begin at the beginning”, the King said gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”’1 The King’s advice to the White Rabbit in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is sound advice in undertaking an exploration of any theological theme, especially that of the role of women in the Bible. While we may despair of ever reaching the end, since the discussion of woman’s role seems intractable among Christians, the chance of our doing so is greatly reduced unless we start in the right place. Many discussions of the role of women plunge into one scripture or another without any awareness of the unfolding biblical context in which they may be set. Or they take up the story halfway through and show ignorance of what has gone before or of other scriptures that are less convenient to the argument. Getting to one’s destination is greatly helped by having the right starting point.
When discussing God’s intention for women, the beginning comes very early in the Bible. The opening three chapters set the direction which is then followed through in the numerous twists and turns of the rest of Scripture. They teach us at least the essential truths about women in relation to God (1:26–27; 2:21–22), in relation to men (2:18–24) and in relation to our fallen humanity (3:1–24). This chapter deals with the first two of these foundation truths.
1. Created in God’s image (1:26–30)
Genesis 1 provides the headlines that the following chapter is going to explore more fully. It presents God creating the world in a progressive and orderly fashion until he reaches the pinnacle of his work and brings humanity into being. In reporting this, the headline reads like this:
Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
The essential truths flagged up in a preliminary way regarding men and women concern their identity (made in God’s image), their unity (mankind), and their plurality (male and female). Both men and women are made in the image of God, with a job to do on earth, and the full meaning of humanity is to be found neither in the one nor the other but in both in relationship.
a. Identity: ‘Let us make mankind in our image’
While creation in its totality is the handiwork of God, only humanity bears his image and likeness. God’s majesty is seen ‘in all the earth’2 and yet human beings have a special place in that creation and God is mindful of them in a way that distinguishes them from all else.3 So much can be (and has been) read into these words that the wonder of them is sometimes lost. Human beings bear the image of God as no other creature does.
Whatever else this means, it conveys the sense that humans are born to relate to God and, as his image, to reflect him in his world. Image means that we replicate and mirror God in his world, although we clearly do not do so in all respects since we are not creators ex nihilo, nor are we like him physically. It is generally thought that the word likeness was added to clarify this and remove any misunderstanding that humans are exact copies of the deity and that having done so in verses 26–27 the word is not used again.4
The meaning of ‘made in God’s image’, besides placing humanity in a class all of its own, is hinted at in the surrounding verses. The claim is embedded in soil that is rich in the use of plural language. Then God said, ‘Let us . . . ’ (26) and in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them (27). The us to whom God refers might mean he is talking with the angels, or a heavenly council, but there is good reason to think it is a reference to plurality in the Godhead, especially if 1:2 is saying ‘the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters’ and not merely ‘the wind of God’.5 The image of God then becomes an image about unity among diversity, harmony among difference in the Trinity.
The next phrase in verse 27 connects the image of this trinitarian God to the creation of male and female, as if this is intended to explain what the image means. Both are made in the one image. God’s image is seen in them, not in him or her. Inherent in the image, then, is the idea that we are made for relationships, that we are only truly human when we are beings-in-fellowship6 and will only become complete persons through others. ‘Humanity’, writes Paul Jewett, ‘is in its deepest root, a shared humanity . . . Humanity that is not shared humanity is inhumanity’ because this is what the creator has implanted of himself within us.7
Another hint in the surrounding verses about what it means to be made in God’s image is that the male and female are immediately commanded to Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it and to rule over the creation (28). God instructs Adam and Eve to act as his representatives in creation, doing what he himself has done both in populating the earth and bringing order to it. Ruling over creation gives humanity no permission to exploit it, treat it abusively or become distant authoritarian overlords over it, since this is not how God rules over his creation. The objective of ruling is to bring peace, provide welfare and encourage prosperity, just as God does. Rule ‘reflects royal language. But this rule is to be compassionate not exploitative’.8 Given the context, some have argued that being in the image of God is essentially about our responsibility to the twin assignments of procreation and exercising dominion.
What is important for our purposes is that these commands are given to the man and the woman equally. While in filling out the details of the headline verses of 16–17 in 2:4–20, it appears that man rules over the creatures before the woman is created, 1:28 makes clear that these responsibilities were entrusted to them, not exclusively to him.
b. Unity: mankind
Some confusion exists because the word ’ādām is used in two senses, as a generic word for humanity or mankind and also as the personal name of the first man, Adam. In fact, Adam is not used unambiguously as a personal name until Genesis 4:25.9 We need to distinguish carefully between these two uses since when Adam is being used in its generic sense it is not used to indicate that humanity is primarily male.
The Hebrew language forces one to choose a masculine or feminine case since no neuter exists. Even if there were a suitable neuter it might import other disadvantages into the discussion by, say, detracting from the personal nature of human beings. The verse undermines the view that humans were first created as bisexual beings and only later were the sexes differentiated. Rather, verse 27 asserts that ‘in the beginning’ ‘God created in his image a male ’ādām and a female ’ādām’.10 Equally without foundation is the view that ‘God’s naming of the race “man” whispers male headship . . . ’11. Neither the context nor the linguistic understanding of the use of ’ādām gives any support to such a view.12
Man (’ādām), as the title for human...
