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

• Author: Propp, William H.C.
• Position: Book Review

In His Own Image and Likeness: Humanity, Divinity, and Monotheism. By W. RANDALL GARR. Pp. xx + 306. Culture and History of the Ancient Near East, vol. 15. Leiden: BRILL. [euro]55, $66.

W. R. Garr has established a sterling reputation in Northwest Semitic linguistics. Now he redirects his rigor and clarity in a literary-theological vein, to determine the precise meaning of Gen. 1:26-27, "Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness ...' So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created it, male and female he created them." The number of previous works touching on this topic is virtually limitless. Despite modest disclaimers (p. xi), Garr demonstrates familiarity with most major treatments in English, German, French, Italian, and modern Hebrew. His bibliography will serve as a good guide to future researchers.

After a preface, the work is divided into three sections, entitled "God and the Gods," "The Human-Divine Relationship," and "Creating the World." The preface states the well-known problems of Gen. 1:26-27. To whom is God speaking--to himself or to another? Does [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] mean the same thing as kidmutenu? Is either term meant literally? Properly understood, Garr suggests, the passage can reveal much about the Priestly author's concept of Yahweh's nature. Garr situates himself in the current discussion about P by reckoning with several strata of Priestly material; his reference to a "consensus," however, is premature and misleading (pp. 10-13).

Part one addresses the referent of the first-person plurals na'aseh, salmenu, and [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]. In chapter one, Garr notes that the dominant view today, that God is addressing fellow divinities, clashes with another commonly held assumption, that the Priestly Source is rigorously monotheistic, i.e., denies the existence of any deities beside Yahweh. These cannot both be true.

In chapters two and three, Garr ingeniously attacks the problem from the side, by comparing ordinary first-person utterances of deliberation or intention, introduced by the imperative haba. (There is also an excellent discussion of the mollifying particle na' [pp. 30-33].) Garr isolates the stereotypical rhetorical strategy and narrational context associated with haba: in response to a problem, a leader enlists the sympathy of his entourage and suggests a policy, which he implements with their implicit approval. This trope is...