Genesis 1:26-28 explains that God created human beings in his own image, male and female, and gave them a role of care and responsibility over the living world. The passage answers two questions at once: what kind of creature a human being is, and what purpose God has given that creature. It appears on the sixth day of creation, right after God made the land animals and just before he rests on the seventh day.
26 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 sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26-28 (WEB)
Genesis 1:26-28 Summary
The passage moves in three steps. First, God speaks to himself, saying he will make humanity in his image and likeness and give them dominion over the sea creatures, birds, livestock, and the earth itself. Then the narrator reports that God did exactly this, creating humankind as male and female, both bearing his image. Finally, God blesses them and gives them a commission: to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it, exercising rule over the animal world.
The argument is that human beings are not an accident within creation, nor merely one more animal. They are made deliberately, given a special relationship with God, and entrusted with authority under him. Their dignity comes from what God has done, and their work is to reflect his care in the world he has made.
Context of Genesis 1:26-28
Genesis is the opening book of the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is traditionally attributed to Moses, though many scholars date its final form later and see it as drawing on older traditions. Its first audience would have been an Israelite community that needed to understand where the world came from and where they fit within it, and this creation account sets the pattern for everything that follows in the book.
The surrounding verses, Genesis 1:23-31, show a steady build toward the human creature. Each day God speaks, things happen, and the result is called good. When God makes humanity, the tone changes: he deliberates first, then creates, and the text pauses to name the image of God twice in one verse. Verse 31 then concludes the sixth day with the summary that everything God made was very good.
Genesis 1:26-28 Verse by Verse
Psalm 8:4-5
4 What is man, that you think of him? What is the son of man, that you care for him? 5 For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor.
(WEB)
The psalmist marvels that God cares for human beings and has made them a little lower than the heavenly beings, crowned with glory and honor. It echoes the dignity described in Genesis 1, presenting humanity as both small and deeply valued.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
(WEB)
Paul describes believers as God’s workmanship, created for good works that he prepared beforehand. It extends the idea of a purposeful creation into the life of faith, showing that the calling to good work continues in the new life God gives.
A Prayer Based on Genesis 1:26-28
Lord, you made me in your image, and that truth is larger than any failure or doubt I carry today. Help me to see myself and others the way you do, as people with real dignity and purpose. Teach me to care for the world you have entrusted to me with patience and wisdom, and to use whatever work and relationships you give me for good. When I forget who I am, remind me that I belong to you and that you delight in what you have made. Amen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean that humans are made in the image of God?
It means that human beings reflect God’s character in ways no other creature does, including reason, moral awareness, creativity, and the capacity for relationship with him. This image gives every person inherent dignity. Christians have long taught that it is not lost through sin, though sin distorts it.
Does “dominion” in Genesis 1:28 give humans permission to exploit nature?
Read in its context, dominion is a role of authority under God, not permission to abuse creation. Genesis 2:15 shows the same man placed in the garden to work it and keep it. Faithful stewardship, not exploitation, is the picture the wider Bible supports.
Why does the passage mention male and female together?
Genesis 1:27 states that God created humanity as male and female, and both are said to bear his image. This affirms that men and women share equal dignity before God. It also presents the two sexes as made to work together in the blessing and calling described in verse 28.
