Tselem - Image, statue, representation (צֶלֶם) This Hebrew word is used 32 times in the Hebrew Bible. The author of Genesis 1 uses the word to describe God’s relationship to humanity. We were made to be the “image of God” (Genesis 1:26-27). The word is most often used to describe the earthly statues of gods and goddesses. People in the ancient world, however, did not view these statues as mere pictures of their gods/goddesses. Instead, they fed, bathed, clothed, and worshipped these statues, as if they were alive. They were divine manifestations on earth. This is the word that the author of Genesis 1 chose to describe humanity’s relationship to God. We were created to be the manifestation of God on earth.

Interestingly, in modern Hebrew, this same verb root and word is used for a picture or photograph