Home › Image of God Study › Bibliography & Sources

Introduction

This bibliography provides the academic foundation for the Image of God study. Sources are organized by category and include specific usage notes indicating which sections of the study draw from each work.

Source Integration

This study synthesizes insights from biblical exegesis, Ancient Near Eastern studies, systematic theology, and contemporary applications. Each source contributes to multiple sections, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the topic.

Primary Sources - BibleProject Foundations

These podcast episodes and videos form the foundational framework for this study's interpretation.

Collins, Jon, and Tim Mackie. "Humans as Middle Management." BibleProject Podcast, Feb 18, 2016.
Genesis 1–2 ANE Background Overview Explains "subdue" and "rule" as cultivation/stewardship; democratization of the image to all humanity
Collins, Jon, and Tim Mackie. "The Garden Was Not Perfect." BibleProject Podcast, Mar 2016.
Genesis 1–2 Literary Design The "unfinished" nature of creation and human vocation to advance it; forming and filling patterns
Collins, Jon, and Tim Mackie. "Glory of God." BibleProject Podcast, May 2016.
Overview Study Hub Genesis 9:6 Ethics Clarifying "glorify God" as the result of imaging, not the purpose; kavod/glory vocabulary
Collins, Jon, and Tim Mackie. "You're Supposed to Rule the World (Here's How)." BibleProject Video, Mar 2016.
Overview NT Trajectory Study Hub Co-ruling mandate; contrast with human selfishness; Jesus as the "new human" restoring the image
Collins, Jon, and Tim Mackie. "God or gods." BibleProject Podcast, 2016.
ANE Background Context for idol/statue (tselem) usage in ancient cultures
Collins, Jon, and Tim Mackie. "Experiencing God Through Humans." BibleProject Podcast, 2016.
Royal–Priest–Prophet Overview Humans as mediators of God's presence; the integrated "human as temple statue" theme
Collins, Jon, and Tim Mackie. "Somewhere Between Humans and Animals." BibleProject Podcast (SOM-E2).
Male & Female Hebrew Wordplay Humans as distinct from animals but not gods; adam/adamah vocabulary tied to role and placement

Primary Sources - Biblical Texts

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1997.
All Sections Hebrew text and textual apparatus for Genesis 1–2 and canonical development
Nestle-Aland. Novum Testamentum Graece. 28th ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012.
NT Trajectory Greek text for New Testament image theology
Pritchard, James B., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. 3rd ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969.
ANE Background Enuma Elish, Code of Hammurabi, royal inscriptions, pp. 60-72, 164-180, 501-518

Major Commentaries

Wenham, Gordon J. Genesis 1–15. Word Biblical Commentary 1. Dallas: Word Books, 1987.
Genesis 1–2 Literary Design Comprehensive exegesis of Genesis 1:26–2:25, pp. 27-91
Westermann, Claus. Genesis 1–11: A Continental Commentary. Translated by John J. Scullion. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1994.
Genesis 1–2 ANE Background Form-critical analysis and Ancient Near Eastern parallels, pp. 142-161
Hamilton, Victor P. The Book of Genesis: Chapters 1–17. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.
Genesis 1–2 Hebrew Wordplay Detailed word studies on tselem and demut, pp. 134-142
Arnold, Bill T. Genesis. New Cambridge Bible Commentary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Genesis 1–2 Male & Female Gender egalitarian reading of image passages, pp. 42-58
Walton, John H. Genesis 1 as Ancient Cosmology. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2011.
ANE Background Literary Design Genesis 1–2 Royal–Priest–Prophet Functional interpretation of creation week, cosmic temple theology, priestly vocation context, pp. 123-156

Theological & Thematic Studies

Middleton, J. Richard. The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2014.
Overview Genesis 1–2 Royal–Priest–Prophet ANE Background Male & Female Comprehensive functional interpretation, ecological implications, gender equality, ANE democratization thesis, pp. 1-296
Alexander, T. Desmond. From Paradise to the Promised Land. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012.
Royal–Priest–Prophet NT Trajectory Eden as temple, priestly vocation, messianic trajectory, pp. 121-143
Beale, G.K. A New Testament Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011.
NT Trajectory Royal–Priest–Prophet Overview Christ as image, new creation theology, restoration themes, temple theology connections, pp. 398-427
Wright, N.T. After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters. New York: HarperOne, 2010.
NT Trajectory Royal–Priest–Prophet Virtue ethics, image renewal, vocation transformation, pp. 67-89, 145-167

Recent Scholarship

McDowell, Catherine L. The Image of God in the Garden of Eden: The Creation of Humankind in Genesis 2:5-3:24. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2015.
Genesis 1–2 ANE Background Male & Female Archaeological and textual analysis of ancient Near Eastern parallels to Genesis creation accounts
Reinders, Hans S. "The Image of God as a Hermeneutical Key to the Anthropological Debate." In Disability and the Gospel: How God Uses Our Brokenness to Display His Grace. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012.
Overview NT Trajectory Theological anthropology engaging disability studies and image of God theology
Peters, Ted. "The Image of God as a Model for Artificial Intelligence." Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 53, no. 4 (2018): 717-731.
Overview Royal–Priest–Prophet Contemporary applications of image theology to AI ethics and human distinctiveness
Cortez, Marc. ReSourcing Theological Anthropology: A Constructive Account of Humanity in the Light of Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2018.
Overview NT Trajectory Christocentric anthropology, contemporary theological method

Ancient Near Eastern Context

Walton, John H. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018.
ANE Background Cultural background, divine image concepts, pp. 185-208
Matthews, Victor H., and Don C. Benjamin. Social World of Ancient Israel 1250-587 BCE. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1993.
ANE Background Royal–Priest–Prophet Social structures, royal ideology, family dynamics, pp. 67-89, 142-168
Hornung, Erik. Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many. Translated by John Baines. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982.
ANE Background Egyptian divine kingship, pharaonic ideology, pp. 135-154
Miller, Patrick D., Jr. The Religion of Ancient Israel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000.
ANE Background Royal–Priest–Prophet Israelite distinctives, office development, pp. 181-203

Gender & Equality Studies

Trible, Phyllis. God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978.
Male & Female Hebrew Wordplay Feminist reading of Genesis 1–3, gender equality, pp. 72-143
Spencer, Aída Besançon. Beyond the Curse: Women Called to Ministry. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1985.
Male & Female NT Trajectory Egalitarian biblical interpretation, ministry applications, pp. 23-49
Meyers, Carol. Rediscovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Male & Female ANE Background Archaeological evidence, women's roles, social reconstruction, pp. 67-89

Contemporary Applications

Stevens, R. Paul. Work Matters: Lessons from Scripture. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012.
Royal–Priest–Prophet NT Trajectory Theology of work, vocational calling, pp. 34-56, 89-112
Volf, Miroslav. Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theology of Work. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
Royal–Priest–Prophet NT Trajectory Pneumatological work theology, transformation themes, pp. 79-98
Van Duzer, Jeff. Why Business Matters to God (And What Still Needs to Be Fixed). Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2010.
Royal–Priest–Prophet NT Trajectory Business as co-creation, economic applications, pp. 45-78
Kuyper, Abraham. Lectures on Calvinism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1931.
Royal–Priest–Prophet Sphere sovereignty, cultural mandate, common grace, pp. 78-109

Historical Reception

Clines, David J.A. "The Image of God in Man." Tyndale Bulletin 19 (1968): 53-103.
Overview Survey of interpretive history, structural, relational, functional views
Irenaeus. Against Heresies. Book V. Translated by Alexander Roberts and William Rambaut. ANF 1. Buffalo: Christian Literature Publishing, 1885.
Overview NT Trajectory Early church image/likeness distinction, recapitulation theory
Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Translated by Ford Lewis Battles. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960.
Overview NT Trajectory Reformed understanding of image, original righteousness, I.xv.3-4
Barth, Karl. Church Dogmatics III/1: The Doctrine of Creation. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1958.
Overview Male & Female Relational interpretation, male-female correspondence, pp. 183-206

Digital & Reference Resources

Brown, Francis, S.R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2014.
Hebrew Wordplay Genesis 1–2 Etymology of tselem, demut, semantic fields, pp. 853-854, 198-199
Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Edited by G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren. 15 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974-2006.
Hebrew Wordplay Overview צלם article (vol. 12, pp. 386-405), דמות article (vol. 3, pp. 250-260)

Citation Guidelines & Methodology

Source Selection Criteria: Sources were selected based on scholarly rigor, canonical scope, methodological diversity, and contribution to understanding the Image of God across biblical, theological, and applicational dimensions.

Primary Methodology: This study employs a canonical-theological approach that honors the Hebrew text, engages seriously with Ancient Near Eastern background, traces development through Scripture, and applies insights to contemporary contexts. The BibleProject podcast episodes provide the foundational interpretive framework.

Minimum Source Requirements by Section:

  • Genesis 1–2: 3+ exegetical commentaries, 2+ literary studies, BibleProject foundations
  • ANE Background: 3+ ANE specialists, primary source collections, archaeological evidence
  • Literary Design: 2+ literary critics, structural analysts
  • Hebrew Wordplay: 2+ lexical studies, 1+ linguistic analysis
  • Royal–Priest–Prophet: 2+ theological syntheses, 1+ historical study, BibleProject integration
  • NT Trajectory: 2+ NT theologians, 1+ biblical theology

Citation Format: Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition (standard for biblical studies). All quotations and specific insights are properly attributed with page references.

Interpretive Framework: While engaging multiple perspectives, this study adopts a functional-vocational emphasis on the Image of God, viewing it primarily as humanity's calling to represent God through integrated royal-priestly-prophetic service, following the BibleProject's interpretive approach.