Anonymous Coward
User ID: 4009

YOU SAID–“From the words "Let us make man" we might expect mankind to be created by multiple creators. The word ???????? "let us make" is the 1st person plural (qal future) of the verb ???? (to do, to make). The ?- prefix indicates that it is "us" which seems to imply multiple creators. Similarly, from the words ???????????? ????????????? "in our image after our likeness" we might expect man to be made in the images of multiple individuals. The suffix -??? at the end of each word is the possessive suffix which means "our". We might think that "our" image and "our" likeness refers to multiple individuals with similar characteristics with which mankind was to be endowed. Yet when the creation of mankind actually takes place, in the very next verse, it says, "And (he) Elohim created man in His image, in the image of Elohim He created him" ?????????? ???????? ??? ??????? ?????????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ????? (Gen 1:27). So man was not created by the multiple "we" but by the single individual Elohim who is termed "He".”

REPLY--So, by this distorted logic, when you quote “in the image of Elohim He created him” you must mean Elohim created only males, because of the word “him” at the end of the sentence. However, the word “man” means “human”. So, Elohim created humans. The plural of “man” is also indicated by the final part of that sentence which you conveniently omitted: “male and female created he them.” Therefore, even though the words “He” and “His” are used, they are no more indicative of a singular person than is the word “man” as used in this sentence. It simply means Elohim in “His” entirety, meaning there were more than one beings considered "god".