Subject: [b-hebrew] Gen. 1:26--Connotation of the beth preposition
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 09:06:33 -0800 (PST)
I have a friend who is arguing that the inseparable
beth in Gen. 1:26 does not mean "in" (IE man was
created *in* the image of God), but rather "as" (IE
man was created *as* the image of God). The parallel
suggested for this usage is Exod. 6:3, where the
preposition does indeed appear to have this type of a
connotation.
(The point of this argument is to say that God doesn't
have an image of his own, and he created man to be his
image, as a representation of him, or something like
that.)
His proposal strikes me as an unnatural reading, but I
am curious what people here think. So,
Does the preposition *be* sometimes mean "as" (in a
representational sense)?
Is that its likely meaning in Gen. 1:26? Why or why
not?
If that were the intended meaning of the text, is
there a more natural way to say it in Hebrew than with
a beth preposition?
(BTW, I have checked a bunch of translations, and I
cannot find this idea attested in the English
translational tradition.)
Thanks in advance for your help.
Kevin Barney
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
klbarney AT yahoo.com
=====
Kevin L. Barney
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
klbarney AT yahoo.com