Can Genesis 1:26 be used to infer that God is a "genus"?

Question

Genesis 1:26 ASV

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 heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

I was motivated to ask this question to see if the assertion of Nepesh Roi's answer to the question. "How can the Word be God and be with God simultaneously without creating the meaning of two Gods?" is biblical, part of his answer show,

In effect verse 26 says:

‘And God (Elohim) said, let Us make man according to Our own kind (genus)’.

Thus we understand from the Revelation in the Scripture that Elohim=Theos=God is the supreme Kind or Genus or Family.

Answer 1

Since you mention "genus or family" I'm assuming you are referring to biological classifications

The hierarchy of biological classification has eight major ranks:
Life, Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species.

Genus
According to Wikipedia

Genus (/ˈdʒiːnəs/ pl.: genera /ˈdʒɛnərə/) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses.

God is not a biological living or fossil organism. It does not make sense to impose a human devised system of categorizing living and fossil organisms upon God, a spiritual person.

Categorizing people and God misses the point of the passage.

Genesis 1

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

Verse 26 does not say "our own kind" it says "image, in our likeness"

Looking at the context, the why God made people in this way helps us understand what is meant.
Verse 26 "so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground"
Verse 28 "....Rule over the fish in the sea..."
Verse 29 "I give you every seed-bearing plant..."

God created and rules everything - He is sovereign.
God has made people in His "image" or "likeness" in that people are to exercise God's authority over creation according to God's direction.
People are to be God's representatives - His "image"

Answer 2

By the modern definition of "genus", no. The word is simply one of the classifications in the somewhat arbitrary division of life forms into various categories. It's important for taxonomy (naming things), but isn't actually a fundamental concept in the real world.

God is a spirit lifeform that is obviously different from physical lifeforms.

Mankind was created to resemble God in some ways, though those ways would be mostly mental and psychological, not physical.

People have the potential to develop a God-like character and eventually to be reborn as an immortal spirit being, effectively joining the Father's family as an offspring, a sibling to the Son.

So if one must fit God and mankind into the standard taxonomic classifications, "Family" would be a far more appropriate term.

Answer 3

At the level of a Word-Study, no. Genus introduces a new and different idea.

בְּצַלְמֵ֖נוּ = bəṣalmênū

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6754.htm Image, Likeness, Phantom

κατ᾽ εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν

https://biblehub.com/greek/1504.htm Image

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כִּדְמוּתֵ֑נוּ = kiḏmūṯênū;

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1823.htm - figure, form, likeness, resembling

καὶ καθ᾽ ὁμοίωσιν

https://biblehub.com/greek/3669.htm

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Neither "image" nor "likeness" is perfect and the semblance to the original words is so loose they can virtually be swapped round without losing anything further.

• the differences in register can be seen from the lexicon entries. But genus is to do with having a shared conception or beginning or origin (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/genus)

God isn't described as having a beginning - and it's normal to understand him as the uncreated creator e.g. based on Psalm 90:2 "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.", Isaiah 43:10 - "Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me." Exodus 3:14 - "I AM WHO I AM." Genesis 1:1 - "In the beginning God created"

And that takes him out of the most important part of the word genus' register.

It's possible there might be some specific senses of genus that fill in gaps in our words image or likeness. But it's for Nepesh Roi or the OP to explain that.

• Clearly it's not image to the exclusion of real qualities. At Genesis 3:22 there is acknowledged real similarity between Adam and God

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”

• Our relationship to God is that of children to a Father. If anything, our earthly relationships are provided to us to help us understand God's love.

• The breath of God animates Adam, so part of us is categorically alike to the Father

But those things don't imply there is a genetic likeness (in the non-scientific sense of genetic) between man and God. If the similarity is taken to an extreme and the events of Genesis are not Adam's creation so much as his demarcation from the rest of God, and Eve knew the difference between good and evil anyway, and they don't really die - then genus still becomes the improper word, because Adam's entry to the world is the world's genesis, and he no longer has one!

Genus is potentially quite dangerous - because it not only introduces a new term, but a floating one with an even wider register than what it's standing for. It's surely safer to read 'likeness' or 'image' whilst remembering that translation isn't 1:1, and that the fact Genesis 1:26 is translated "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" doesn't give us a general right to draw converses like "God is visible." or "God has two arms and two legs."

Answer 4

The OP's translation of צֶלֶם in Gen 1:26, as "kind/genus" is a stretch - the word does not mean anything biological, nor does it mean anything to do with categories.

Indeed, the Hebrew uses two words to describe the creation of mankind which makes humans distinct from all other things:

• according to Our (Gpd's) image
• according to Our (Gpd's) likeness

For example, note the contrast between the creation of the animals and plants vs the creation of mankind:

• Air, sea and land creatures were created “according to their kinds”, Gen 1:21, 24, 25
• Mankind was created, “in Our [God’s] image, according to Our likeness”, Gen 1:26.

Note also that, unlike the air, land and sea creatures:

• “God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”, Gen 2:7.
• Mankind was blessed, Gen 1:28
• Mankind was given vice-regent rulership of the earth, Gen 1:28
• Adam was asked to name other creatures, Gen 2:19, 20, just as God had named other things before man was created, Gen 1:5, 8, 10.
• Mankind was tested with a choice of allegiance, Gen 2:16, 17, and thus was given the freedom of moral choice requiring intelligence
• Mankind had personal communion with God, Gen 3:8, 9.
• Mankind was commanded to pro-create as the vice-regent of God on earth, Gen 1:28

Thus, mankind was fundamentally distinct from all other creatures and had many functions of God delegated to humans such as procreation, governorship, maintaining the world, etc.. As is well-known, this unique position of mankind was ruptured in Gen 3, whereupon, God immediately announced the plan of salvation with a coming Messiah (Gen 3:15) in order to restore mankind’s relationship with God and the image & likeness of God.

The effect of this ruptured relationship can be seen in the depraved sinful stated recorded by Paul in Rom 3:10-18, and by David in Ps 51:3-5.

Significantly, the genealogical record of Gen 5:3 says,

“When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.”

Thus, the image of God appears to have been replaced with the image of fallen humanity, Adam, that knew “good and evil” (Gen 3:22) and had thus, lost their innocence. The ground was also cursed, Gen 3:17.

Therefore, the plan of salvation's purpose is to restore the image and likeness of God in mankind:

• Christians have “the mind of Christ”, 1 Cor 2:16
• Converted Christian are to be transformed by the renewing of the mind, Rom 12:2
• Christians are to be like God and “follow God’s example”, Eph 5:1, by being loving, V2.
• By beholding the Messiah, Jesus Christ, 2 Cor 3:18. We are “transformed into His image”
• Jesus’ final instruction to the disciples was to go and make more disciples, Matt 28:19
• Followers of Jesus are called, “Christians”, = “like Christ”, Acts 11:26
• When Jesus returns, we will “be like Him”, 1 John 3:2
• The highest attainment of a follower of Christ is to “know the Lord”, Heb 8:11.