Image

"Image" in biblical usage refers primarily to representations made for worship — what the Bible calls idols. The Second Commandment forbids the making of any carved image or likeness as an object of worship (Ex. 20:4–5; Deut. 5:8). The prophets ridiculed idol manufacture, pointing out the absurdity of cutting a tree and using half for firewood and half for a god (Isa. 44:13–20; Jer. 10:3–5). The Hebrew terms include pesel (carved image), massekah (molten image), and tselem (likeness or statue).

The "image of God" (tselem Elohim) in Genesis 1:26–27 uses the same root but carries an entirely different meaning — humans are made in the image and likeness of God, giving them inherent dignity and the capacity for moral and relational reflection of the divine character. The NT applies this concept to Christ, who is "the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15), and to believers who are being conformed to that image (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18).