Visitors have arrived at this site after searching for the meaning of phrases with the word "image" in Genesis chapter 1, verses 26 and 27, and specifically they wanted to know the Hebrew word as translated into current English from "Let us make man in our image". Here are the verses from the sixth day of creation.

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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Genesis 1:26 (KJV)

So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. Genesis 1:27 (KJV)

The Hebrew for image in the phrases "in our image", "in his own image", and "in the image of God" were translated from the word tselem (TSEH-lem) which means resemblance. The phrase "after our likeness" is from the Hebrew word demuth (dem-OOTH) which means resemblance, or shape.

This leaves no doubt from the plural form in "our image" that this refers to God and the angels, and later "in his own image" in reference to God that our human form resembles our spiritual body in shape, likeness, and resemblance to God and the angels.

Readers may want to learn more about the word "man" in these verses as taken from the Hebrew adam (aw-DAWM) which means "mankind" including all of mankind, male and female as cited in verse 27. This reference to man during the 6th day creation from Genesis 1 was all the races including men and women. In Genesis chapter 2 the word "man" in English (from the Hebrew adam) in reference to Adam as in "Adam and Eve" translates from the Hebrew "eth ha adam", or the specific person named Adam.

An article on the main site explains the difference between man in Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 in more detail.

We won't feel out of place in heaven, and for now consider each face you see in the diversity of human races is a glimpse of faces seen in heaven. The essence of the meaning of "image" or "likeness" as translated in the King James Version of the Bible is accurate, yet by today's English knowing the Hebrew definitions of "resemblance" and "shape" provides an even clearer meaning.

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The six day creation in Genesis chapter 1 of the Bible is unimaginable on a human scale with 24 hours in a day, and a recent comment from a visitor to the Ultimate Riddles website confirms this difficulty of human perception. They, and others, reference a verse about time and eternity in the New Testament as evidence that the universe in Genesis 1 was created in 6000 years.

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2 Peter 3:8 (KJV)

The word in 2 Peter for "day" in Greek is hemera (hay-MER-ah), and translates to the time space between dawn and dark, or the whole of 24 hours. In other words, this is the same as our 24 hour day, yet time for our eternal God is infinite which explains why 1000 years pass like the blink of an eye. This visitor has correctly understood the meaning of one day in that verse.

Next, consider the conclusion of each day of creation in Genesis that ends with the definition of day, as well. The Hebrew of the Old Testament properly translated without making assumptions about time is likewise speaking of days as 24 hours, not 1000 years or eons of time. God is omnipotent with the power to create by spoken word, and the six day creation was literally human 24 hour days. Here's the evidence.

And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. Genesis 1:5 (KJV)

The phrase "the evening and the morning were the first day" is repeated for each day replacing "first" with second, third, etc., including the sixth in the last verse of Genesis 1. The Hebrew word for day is yom (pronounced YOME), and means literal days from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next.

When Bible students encounter the word day with a cardinal or ordinal number, for example one or first, this is a literal day of 24 hours. Each day of creation in Genesis emphasizes this fact by including the phrase "the evening and the morning...", so there's no reason to imagine God created the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all things within them in any amount of time longer than six 24 hour days.

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A new article on the main site of Ultimate Riddles explains your Spiritual Life History in the Three Earth Ages. The article provides an outline of eons of history taken from a Bible study perspective for a snapshot of your past, present, and future.

The Ultimate Riddles website is one person's spiritual journey of Bible study for others to follow as they draw their own conclusions. Is Hell a physical place where sinners are tormented eternally? I don't believe it as shown in event 16.a of the article outline. This, and other answers, will take years to document, so be patient.

Famous theologians disagree on the definition of some truths such as "Where are the dead?" as just one example.

As it is written, the spirit of those humans who have died, and those presently alive who die before the millenium, instantly returns to heaven as stated in Ecclesiastes 12:7 referring to death.

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7 (KJV)

Heaven is divided by a space separating those saved from those who did not believe that it was necessary to establish a personal relationship with God. For the living, our purpose is having that relationship while we continue to grow spiritually through Bible study and understanding God's expectations.

This latest article about spiritual existence in the three earth ages provides a simple outline of eternal history for Christian believers and those interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and spirituality.

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The next article from our Bible study of the book of Genesis was released earlier, and explores the relationships from Abraham to the 12 patriarchs including the 14 generations from Abraham to King David. Intermarriage between the families of brothers Abraham, Nahor, and Haran is examined including the significance in future Bible history.

One aspect of this study is family bitterness over the second born sons of Abraham and Isaac having preeminence over their older siblings, Ishmael and Esau, and the impact to look for in later studies of the Old Testament.

Finally, the 12 patriarchal male children of Jacob by his two wives and their two handmaids is documented showing the 12 names, plus one sister, by birth mother. To help put this period of ancient Bible history in perspective, mention of the paternal line of Moses as descended from Jacob is included, also.

This completes the first pass through Genesis in my personal spiritual journey, and we will begin exploring Exodus next. Readers are encouraged to read Genesis and the entire Bible from cover to cover, and then form their spiritual and personal theology as the Holy Spirit guides them.

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The next article of Bible study in Genesis was just released, and discusses Bible history from Noah to Abraham, and the first hint of the ultimate riddle of the Bible. God spoke with Abram with promises of blessing, and later renamed him Abraham from Abram, and his wife Sarah was renamed from Sarai.

These blessings were for all generations of Abram's seed which included his firstborn, Ishmael, born by his wife's handmaid, Hagar. His wife, Sarai had given her handmaid to Abram to raise up an heir because she was thought barren due to advanced age. She later conceived as promised by God, and the same blessings applied to the royal seed which was his son Isaac, from whom would come the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

This article from Genesis in the Old Testament documents the first hint of the ultimate riddle of the Bible, and reveals the full mystery looking ahead at the New Testament. Read the full article about the significance of Bible history from Noah to Abraham here to learn more about the ultimate riddle.

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The next article and lesson of Bible study was released earlier on the main Ultimate Riddles site, and is entitled "Races on Ark During Flood of Genesis 7". Individual words from the original Hebrew of the Old Testament, and Greek in the New Testament, are sometimees translated to English as a single word when a phrase or paragraph is needed for clearer understanding. This review of the occupants of Noah's ark during the flood is another example.

Were all the races on Noah's ark? This study reviews Scripture in Genesis 7, Genesis 8, and one reference to the ark and Noah in the New Testament to show evidence that only 8 people were on the ark. The races did survive. Read the full article to learn about Bible Evidence to Dispute Races Aboard Noah's Ark, and then a further explanation of today's wonderful and diverse racial mix of God's children, and why we are not all descendants of Noah.

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The next Bible study topic and full article was added earlier to the main site of Ultimate Riddles, and is entitled The Origin of the Giants of Genesis 6. Understanding the paternity of these kingsized giants is discussed in detail with reference to the original Hebrew language of the Old Testament for clearer understanding. Here's an excerpt of the article relating to the size of these giants:

Rapha was the most prominent of the Nephilim, yet there were many other named giants including Anak, the root ancestor of the Anakims, and the last of the giants, Og the King of Bashan. Just how huge was Og? Here's a clue from the book of Deuteronomy:

For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man. Deuteronomy 3:11 (KJV)

Og required a bed 9 x 4 cubits made of iron as described in the above verse, and for approximate modern measurements convert 1 cubit to 18 inches, or just under 1/2 meter (0.4572 meters). His bed was 13.5 feet long by 6 feet wide (4.1 meters by 1.83 meters). This giant descendant of a supernatural fallen angel was likely 12 feet tall minimum if you allow 18 inches for his Mommy to tuck his feet in at night.

This article is not just about the size of the Biblical giants. Read the full article about the origin and purpose of Bible giants and their parents.

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Our next Bible study topic continues in the book of Genesis with secrets found within Bible genealogy that help us date the life of Adam, follow the paternal line to Jesus Christ, plus some interesting surprises. Read the full article on the main site which is entitled Generations of Adam in Genesis 5.

Reading the language of the original Bible manuscripts allows students to go beyond words that truly require phrases to fully understand. Reading long lists of paternal lines of begat or begot may tempt some readers to skip a chapter. Hopefully, this lesson will encourage Christians and those interested in our beliefs to take a closer look at each word in God's Word.

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Some students of Bible study have concluded that Satan was the father of Cain, the son of Eve in the Garden of Eden, and not Adam. This is shocking compared to what I learned in Sunday School, and later as an adult. Was Cain's daddy the devil? Read the full article on the main site which is entitled The Paternity of Cain in Genesis 3.

Certain words and phrases from the original Bible manuscripts in Hebrew or Greek, as taken from the Old Testament and New Testament respectively, cannot be translated to a single word in English without losing some of the meaning. This study presents Scripture that could be interpreted to prove Satan as the father of Cain. Read the article and then you decide, or try searching for further evidence.

The point behind sharing this journey of Ultimate Riddles is to encourage readers to study the Bible on a regular basis, and develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. God knows us including the number of hairs on our head and how many steps we've taken in this world. He wants us to get to know Him on a personal level, and taking a little time each day for Bible study is the perfect means.

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The newest Bible study article on the main Ultimate Riddles website explains the Hebrew word for "man" found in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 of the Bible, and the different meanings based on "man" being used as a single word or in a phrase.

Certainly the original languages of the Bible include individual words that cannot be simply translated to a single word in English without losing some of the meaning. The man named Adam of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2 who was formed after the 6 day creation of Genesis 1 is assumed by some to be the same "man" in both chapters.

God rested on the seventh day after the six day creation in chapter 1, and then Adam and Eve are presented in chapter 2. The plural use of "man" in Genesis 1 and the word "them" referring specifically to male and female being created, not formed, presents a whole new light on human genealogy.

You may read the full article here about Defining "Man" in the Bible Comparing 'Adam in Hebrew, and return here to comment. Keep in mind this Bible study presents my opinion of truth based on taking the English verses back to the ancient languages of the original manuscripts for a deeper understanding of God's Word.

Readers are encouraged to follow this spiritual journey, and even if you disagree, my hope is you will look for answers by studying the Bible daily.

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Riddles can be fun, yet some of the most complex and difficult puzzles to solve remain a mystery. The ultimate riddle is the age old question of life after death, and we need to solve this while we are still alive. This blog introduces study topics documented on the main site that explore the King James Version of the Bible compared to the ancient and original manuscripts as translated by expert linguist EW Bullinger.

Some Christian teachers take a single verse out of context, and justify condemning a person based on the traditions of mankind instead of the truth. This Bible study site is for Christian believers and non-Christians interested or curious about discovering deeper meaning about spiritual and human existence. Fortunately, language scholar EW Bullinger provided an extraordinary guide more than 100 years ago with his Companion Bible.

Just as a word in any language is better understood by reading a full definition in a dictionary, some words in the Bible require a paragraph to precisely define some words or phrases. Unless you are able to understand the Bible in the original languages of Hebrew, Chaldee, and Aramaic for the Old Testament and Greek for the New Testament, the chance for error is inevitable.

Furthermore, truth becomes lost in the traditions of mankind, and applying human values complicates what God teaches in very simple terms. Until I understood that the Bible is not entirely literal, the metaphors, figures of speech, and types were overlooked. By studying the translation and going back to the original ancient languages, vague verses become crystal clear.

Join my spiritual journey as I document my conclusions, and then form your opinions towards understanding your spirit and personal spiritual growth. Jesus will return. Knowing what to expect and being prepared will be the best decision you ever make in this life. You may want to begin with the Introduction to the Earth Ages of Genesis or the Introduction and Overview of Spiritual Study.

Special Note: Each Bible study lesson on the main site is available for republication in print or online subject to keeping the author and links information intact according to the Creative Commons License at the bottom of each article page.

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