Brian D. Lima, Ph.D. (in process) McMaster Divinity College – Mark J. Boda (Supervisor) Research Lecturer – McGilvary College of Divinity at Payap University, Chiang Mai, Thailand Contact Information:
[email protected]; Tel. 66-80-375-2130 “Image” as Kinship: Caring for Others Based on our Inclusion Within the Family of God The meaning of the word tselem or “image” in Genesis is most often understood as related to the function of idols in the ancient Near East. Recent scholarship connects the function of idols to represent the rule of the gods with the biblical command given to humanity to govern creation. To be created in the image of God, therefore, means to function as royal representatives. However, Beckerleg’s recent monograph complicates the connection of tselem to idols. Drawing on the mīs pî pīt pî or “washing of the mouth” and “opening of the mouth” rituals in Mesopotamia and Egypt, Beckerleg concludes that idols had a kinship connection with the gods as well. Beckerleg’s work opens up the possibility of a kinship meaning for tselem in Genesis. This paper will show how a synchronic linguistic study at the sentence, paragraph and discourse level reveals the prominence of the kinship meaning for tselem in Genesis. Hoey’s work with polysemous words will be used at the sentence level; Longacre’s textlinguistics for plot development; and van Dijk for the discourse or macrostructure. The implication of tselem as communicating kinship speaks directly to the issue of caring for those with disabilities. Humanity’s value is no longer based on their ability to represent the rule or government of God. Instead humanity has innate value because they are God’s children and also kin of one another.
doesn’t primarily lie with our ability to represent His rule. Instead value is placed on being a family member or child of God.
wasn’t created primarily for the task of representation. Instead humanity was created as children of God and fellow kinsmen with each other. Everyone is obligated to care for one another because all belong to the same kin group or family.
According to the creation account, everyone is obligated to view the challenges that others face as their own challenges. Kinship in the ancient Near East was expressed through the metaphor of one body with one blood flowing through it. Because of this unity, all members were obligated to care and protect each other. The command in to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is based on the one body metaphor of kinship groups.
In the most recent scholarship, the function of idols as physical representatives of a god serves to interpret the function of humanity. For example, humans represent the rule of God just
as idols served to mark the royal domain of an ancient Near Eastern king. But Beckerleg’s recent monograph complicates this connection of tselem to idols. Drawing on the mīs pî pīt pî or “washing of the mouth” and “opening of the mouth” rituals in Mesopotamia and Egypt, Beckerleg concludes that idols also displayed priestly and kinship functions as well. In this lecture I will show how a synchronic linguistic study at the sentence, paragraph and discourse level reveals the prominence of the kinship function for tselem in Genesis. Hoey’s work in polysemous words will be used at the sentence level; Longacre’s in textlinguistics for plot development; and van Dijk for the discourse or macrostructure. Kinship in the ancient Near East was expressed through the metaphor of one body with one blood flowing through it. Because of this unity, all members were obligated to care and protect each other. The command in to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is based on the one body metaphor of kinship groups. The implication of tselem as communicating this kind of kinship structure speaks directly to the issue of caring for those with disabilities. According to the creation account, everyone is obligated to view the challenges that others face as their own challenges. Everyone is obligated to care for one another because all belong to the same kin group or family.
