Authored by: bonesbiscuit.

[This was originally part of a longer investigation about whether or not there is a universalizable ethic principle in Judaism. I have excerpted this section with some modification specifically for Urban Philosophy.]

That the creation of man is something unique in God’s creation is signaled not only by the fact that man, alone among beings, is created in God’s image, but that attendant on his creation is a blessing. The Scriptures say:

“And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them; and said unto them: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion…” [Gen 1:27]

This passage signals at least two things about man’s position on earth with respect to his being created in God’s image. First, man is blessed to be fruitful. As God is the Creator, so man, made in his image, is blessed to imitate God in this respect, by creating through progeny. As God filled the void with creation, so man is by his turn to “replenish” the earth. This is a direct commandment (‘mitzvot’), but it can understood as a commandment borne out of emulation for the Creator’s ways.

Second, and not incidentally, man is blessed to be in a position of dominion in the hierarchy of beings. As God is the Lord and King of Creation, so, under Him, is man the Lord and King of earth. We take from this that the doctrine that man is created in God’s image contains in its very conception two ways in which man must mirror God: one an action (creation) and one a position (dominion).

Being created in the image of God also underlies another important aspect of man, not concerning his proper activity or position, but his responsibility to other men.The text:

“And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it; and at the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made He man.” [Gen 9:5-6]

The Scripture then goes on to reiterate the commandment to be fruitful and multiply. What do we get from this passage? First and foremost, the blood of man is to be shed for the blood of man. Why? Because God made man in his image. How is this relevant? One who sheds the blood of man transgresses against God by violating the dignity of man that comes from being made in the image of God. God has a claim on man by virtue of making him a reflection of divinity. Thus it is God who requires the reckoning for blood, not man.

That creation in the image of God has attendant to it certain responsibilities for self and other is expressed by the Rabbis. In Midrash Rabbah we find:

“R. Akiba lectured: He who sheds blood is regarded as though he had impaired [God's] likeness. What is the proof? WHOSO SHEDDETH MAN’S BLOOD, etc. What is the reason? FOR IN THE IMAGE OF God MADE HE MAN. R. Eleazar b. ‘Azariah lectured: He who refrains from procreation is as though he impaired [God's] image. What is the proof? FOR IN THE IMAGE OF God MADE HE MAN, which is followed by, AND YOU, BE YE FRUITFUL, AND MULTIPLY.” [Gen. Rab. 34:14]

Being created in the image of God serves to give man two directions for conduct–don’t murder and do procreate. The Rabbis indicate that these are directly attendant on being created in God’s image by virtue of the sequence of verse. In the one case the commandment immediately follows the declaration, in the other it immediate proceeds. However, we see here that breaking these mitzvot involves not only a violation of man, but also a transgression against God. Killing a man is tantamount to disfiguring God. Thus it is that there is a direct link between God and man by virtue of man’s creation in His image. It is this very fact that establishes man’s relationship to God.

This relationship should not, however, be described in some antiseptic, ontological manner. It is not simply that man has special relationship to God that other beings don’t. We have this special relationship which means we must procreate, we must not murder, and we must assume stewardship of the earth. This is, in essence, what it means to be created in God’s image.