EOB: Official Site of the Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible (Old and New Testament)

Genesis 1:27

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

God created humanity in his own image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

EOB Footnote:

The MT includes “in the image of God” twice in the verse, stating both “in his image” and then clarifying “in the image of God he created him,” whereas the LXX has only a single reference to “the image of God.” The MT also has the singular “him” before shifting to the plural “male and female he created them,” while the LXX manuscripts vary slightly in their handling of this singular-to-plural transition. Codex Alexandrinus reads with the plural throughout the second half of the verse.

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

WEB (World English Bible):

God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

And God made man, according to the image of God he made him, male and female he made them.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

And God created man to his own image: to the image of God he created him: male and female he created them.

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

And God made man in his image, in the image of God he made him: male and female he made them.

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

GENESIS 1:27

The Image and Likeness of God

This verse stands as one of the most theologically significant statements in all of Scripture, forming the anthropological foundation for Orthodox Christian understanding of human nature, salvation, and deification. The declaration that humanity is created in the image (tselem) and likeness (demut) of God has generated profound reflection throughout the patristic tradition.

Patristic Interpretation: The Church Fathers, particularly the Cappadocians and later Saint John of Damascus, distinguished between image and likeness. Saint Irenaeus of Lyon taught that the image refers to human rationality, free will, and spiritual capacity, while the likeness points toward the goal of theosis—becoming like God through grace. Saint Gregory of Nyssa understood the image as encompassing human dignity, creativity, and capacity for virtue. This distinction became foundational: we possess the image by nature but must acquire the likeness through ascetic struggle and cooperation with divine grace.

Christological Significance: This verse finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ, who is the perfect Image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). The Incarnation reveals that humanity was created according to the pattern of the Logos who would become flesh. Saint Athanasius taught that the Word became human so that we might become divine—restoring and perfecting the image marred by the Fall. Christ as the New Adam demonstrates authentic humanity, showing what bearing God’s image truly means.

Male and Female: The creation of humanity as male and female reflects a complementary wholeness within the divine image. The Fathers saw this not as indicating that God possesses gender, but that relationality and communion belong to the image. Just as God exists as Trinity in eternal communion, humanity images God through loving relationship. Marriage thus becomes an icon of divine love, reflected in the Orthodox wedding service where the couple is crowned as witnesses to the Kingdom.

Liturgical and Spiritual Dimensions: Orthodox funeral services proclaim that humans are created in God’s image, grounding Christian hope in the resurrection. The Lenten Triodion repeatedly calls the faithful to remember their original dignity and return to the beauty of the divine image through repentance. Iconography itself is theologically justified by this verse—because humanity bears God’s image, and because Christ assumed human nature, material creation can convey spiritual reality.

This verse establishes human dignity as inviolable and grounds Orthodox ethics regarding the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. Every human person, regardless of condition, bears the sacred image and is called to the divine likeness through Christ in the Holy Spirit.

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