God created the land animals on the sixth day of creation. Then He created man. But suddenly the verses start using plural nouns and pronouns in place of the expected singular.
Here is the verse that introduces the creation of man:
26. And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
Ramban’s Questions
Though Ramban doesn’t explicitly state the questions that he plans to answer, we can figure them out from the context of his commentary.
1. Why does Genesis 1:26 begin with the phrase “And God said …”? This was already stated at the beginning of the 6th day.
2. What is the meaning of “Let Us make”? Why is the plural being used in this verse?
3. What is the meaning of “in Our image, after Our likeness”?
4. How are we to understand the Hebrew words tzelem and demut?
Now let’s look at how Ramban answers these questions.
In the coming paragraphs I will explain Ramban’s answers. This is not a translation of his writing, rather an explanation. I’ve tried to make it clear when I’m inserting my thoughts on his commentary.
“And God said …” Repeated
The events on the 6th day of creation are recorded from Genesis 1:24 – 31. Already verse 24 stated:
24. And God said, Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind; and it was so.
Why does verse 26 repeat the phrase, the command, “And God said”?
Ramban explains: there is a special command about the creation of man due to his superiority over the animals. His nature is not like those beasts and animals whose creation was commanded in verse 24.
“Let Us make” Explained
Why is the verse written in the plural, “let Us make”? It should have been in the singular: let Me make.
Ramban explains that the act of creating something from nothing (Hebrew: yeish mei’ayin) only happened on the first day of creation. From then on, from those basic elements created on the first day, He formed and made the rest of the physical world.
(Ramban, based on the science of his time, would have understood there to be 4 basic elements: earth, water, wind, and fire. Even though we would understand that there are many more elements, Ramban’s concept still applies.)
This is illustrated in an earlier verse.
20. And God said, Let the waters be filled with many kinds of living creatures, and birds that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
God gave “the waters” the power to bring forth an abundance of living creatures.
We see a similar idea in verse 24, “Let the earth bring forth …” That is to say, the earth was given the power to bring forth the animals.
But as to the creation of man, verse 26 says, “Let Us make man …”
Who is “Us”? It’s God and the earth which was mentioned in verse 24. It is as if God said, “Me and the earth, let Us make man.”
The earth is to bring forth the body from the basic physical elements, just as it made the animals and beasts.
This “partnership” is also stated a bit later in the Torah:
7. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Man’s physical body was formed from the “dust of the ground” and it was God Who gave man the spirit from His mouth.
“in Our image, after Our likeness”
Genesis 1:26 includes the phrase “in Our image, after Our likeness.” Why is the language here still in the plural? It seems it should have been written: in My image and in My likeness.
Ramban states that Man is to be similar to both the earth and God.
The physical content of man’s body is similar to the earth that he was taken from. And man is similar to the higher spiritual beings because the spirit is not a body and does not die.
The next verse in Genesis 1 writes:
27. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female He created them.
This verse shows the great distinction between man and the rest of the created beings. Only man is made in God’s image.
At this point, Ramban gives credit to Rabbi Yosef Kimchi for stating these ideas. Ramban thinks this is the best and most clear explanation of these verses that he has come across.
R. Yosef Kimchi is not as well known as his son, Rabbi David Kimchi (Radak) who lived from 1160 – 1235. Radak was a grammarian and wrote commentaries on many parts of the Jewish Bible. His commentary is included in many editions of Tanach.
Tzelem and Demut Explained
Both verses Genesis 1:26 and 27 contain the Hebrew word “tzelem” (spelled tzade-lamed-mem).
Ramban quotes a few other verses that contain the word tzelem.
Daniel 3:19. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the expression [tzelem] of his visage was changed …
Psalms 39:7. Surely every man walks in a vain show [tzelem] …
Psalms 73:20. As a dream when one awakes; so, O Lord, in the city, You make their image [tzelem] despised.
These 3 verses all contain variations of the Hebrew word tzelem. In each verse, tzelem means the appearance of their countenance.
Based on these verses, Ramban explains that tzelem means “to’ar” which we could translate as appearance.
The Hebrew word “demut” is translated in Genesis 1:26 as “likeness.” This means a similarity in form and in action. Things that are close together in some subject are described as similar to one another.
Man is similar to the lower creations and the higher beings in appearance and in honor, as we read:
6. For You have made him [man] a little lower than the angels, and have crowned him with glory and honor.
The phrase “after Our likeness” means that man has an orientation toward wisdom, knowledge, and skilled action. In addition, man is actually in their image: his body is similar to the ground and his soul is similar to the higher beings.
Further Reading
You might be interested in a summary of Parshat Bereshit.
There’s also an article on Cain and Abel.