bara' (created)

[cizz]

http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/40_genesis1.html

And God created man in his own image

Create (Strong's #1254)
The Hebrew word behind created is the Hebrew verb ברא (bara). The idea of "creating" is an abstract thought that is foreign to Hebrew thought. The concrete understanding behind this word can be seen in 1 Samuel 2:29, "Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?" In this passage is the word "fattening" which is the same Hebrew verb ברא (bara). By extension this word also means to "fill up."

When we read "And God created man in his own image" our minds form a mental picture of what we look like and then attribute this picture to God himself. In the Hebrews mind it is not the appearance of something that they concentrate on but its function. This passage is not implying a picture of man or God but their function. Through the Hebrew words of this text we see that God had placed within man a shadow or representation of his own function - goal, purpose, thought, etc. It is our responsibility to live our lives as representatives of God, acting in the same manner as he would.  

[cizz]

http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/bookstore/e-books/tlw1.pdf  Page 20


The first verse of Genesis begins, according to most modern
translations, "In the beginning God created." According to most
theologians, the word "create" is understood to mean "to make
something out of nothing." This definition is an abstract concept
with no concrete foundation and is therefore not a Hebraic
concept. To discover the original meaning of the Hebrew behind
this English word, we will need to take a close look at the
Hebrew word bara [H:1254], the word behind the English
word "create."

In Genesis 2:7 it states that God "formed" man. The Hebrew
word translated as "formed" is the verb yatsar [H:3335] and is
best understood as the process of pressing clay together to form
an object such as a figurine. We can plainly see from this verse
that man was made from something; however, in Genesis 1:27
we read, according to most translators, "God created man." As
we have discovered, man is made from something, therefore the
word "create" in Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:27 cannot mean to
make something out of nothing.

If the word bara [H:1254] does not mean "create" then what
does it mean? By examining other passages where this word
appears, we can begin to uncover its true meaning.


Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine
offering, which I have commanded in my
habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to
make yourselves fat (bara) with the chiefest of all
the offerings of Israel my people?

1 Samuel 2:29 (KJV)

Believe it or not, the word bara is translated as "fat" in the verse
above and is the original concrete meaning of this word. What
does it mean in Genesis 1:1 when it literally says, "God fattened
the heavens and the earth" When an animal is chosen for the
slaughter, it is placed in a pen and fed grain so that it can be
fattened, or "filled up." This idea of "filling up" is now more
relevant to the next verse.

Because the land was empty and unfilled

Genesis 1:2

With a better understanding of the word bara we can now see the
meaning of Genesis 1:27.

And Elohiym filled (bara) the man with his image,
with his image he filled (bara) him, male and
female he filled (bara) them.

The Hebrew word translated as "image" above is tselem
[H:6754] meaning an outline of a shadow, a representation or image
of the original. Once God "formed" the man, he filled him up
with a representation of himself, and according to this verse, his
image is "male" and "female." We are comfortable calling God a
"he" and assigning masculine attributes to him but the fact is, he
is male and female, not in appearance, but in function. In a
previous section, we caught a glimpse of his feminine
characteristics with the word shaddai.