Define

• Hebrew: tselem (צֶלֶם)

  • Only the true King has the right to erect a צֶלֶם in His kingdom.
  • A visible, physical representative that embodies and exercises the authority of the original
  • It is the representative through whom the original is present, known, and obeyed.
  • It rightfully demands the honour and submission that belong to the original.
    • YHWH exercised that right on the sixth day of creation when He made mankind בְּצַלְמוֹ.
    • Any attempt by humans to make another צֶלֶם (whether of YHWH or of any other god or ruler) is high treason — an attempt to dethrone the Creator and set up a rival representative.

• Greek: eikōn (εἰκών)

  • An image, likeness, portrait, statue, resemblance
  • It carries the idea of something that represents or copies the original (a visible form or reproduction).
  • In classical Greek it was commonly used for statues of gods, emperors, etc.
  • Same word used in Genesis 1:26-27 for “image of God” (humanity made in God’s εἰκών) and in Colossians 1:15 for Christ as the “image (εἰκών) of the invisible God.” and In Revelation 14:9,11 for as the "beast and his "image (εἰκών)."

• The second commandment (Ex 20:4) does not use the word צֶלֶם. It forbids פֶּסֶל and every תְּמוּנָה (“form/likeness”) because God has already appointed His own צֶלֶם — mankind — and no rival image is allowed.

  • The Second Commandment is essentially saying: “I, YHWH, have already placed My official tselem (צֶלֶם) on earth (humanity). You are never to make a rival or replacement צֶלֶם of any kind —whether of Me or of any other being.”
  • The Second Commandment uses weaker, more generic words. These words describe the method and the appearance, but they do not carry the royal, representative, authority-bearing weight of צֶלֶם. Essentially saying: “The office of צֶלֶם is already filled — permanently and exclusively — by the creature I formed with My own hands.”
    • pesel (פֶּסֶל) = something carved or hewn (a technical term for idolatrous craftsmanship)
    • temunah (תְּמוּנָה) = any “form,” “shape,” or “likeness” (a broad catch-all)

Related words

Additional Info

• In the ancient Near East, kings would set up a צֶלֶם (Aramaic/Hebrew) or ṣalmu (Akkadian) of themselves in conquered cities. This was not just a portrait for decoration. It was a legal extension of the king’s presence and rule. To bow to the צֶלֶם was to bow to the king himself.
• The word צֶלֶם is therefore almost never neutral in the Hebrew Bible
  • When it refers to man - it is glorious (Psalm 8:5; Gen 1:26-27)
  • When it refers to anything man makes to represent deity or a rival king - it is an abominable usurpation of God’s sole right to have a צֶלֶם on earth.

Connections