---
title: Genesis 1:26
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/genesis-1-26/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/genesis-1-26.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Genesis 1:26
testament: OT
section: Law
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Genesis 1:26

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”

## JW Usage

JWs explain the plural "Let us make man in our image" as God speaking to Jesus, his first creation and "master worker" (Proverbs 8:30). Before creating anything else, Jehovah created a powerful spirit being who later became known as Jesus, and through this intermediary "all other things were created" (Colossians 1:16, NWT with "other" inserted). The "us" may also include angels who assisted in creation.

## Protestant Usage

Genesis 1:26 uses first-person plural — "Let us make man in our image" — yet Isaiah 44:24 says Jehovah created "all by myself" and "alone." If Jehovah created alone, the "us" cannot refer to a separate created being — or Isaiah 44:24 is false. The plural must be internal to God himself. Genesis 1:2 already places the Spirit of God at creation, and Job 33:4 credits the Spirit with making humanity. John 1:3 attributes creation to the Word. The pattern is trinitarian: God speaks (the Father), the Word executes (the Son), and the Spirit hovers and gives life. Genesis 5:2 provides an analogy: God called both male and female by the same name ("Adam"). Sharing a name means sharing a nature, not being the same person — Eve shared Adam's name without being the man Adam. The Son and Spirit share the name "Jehovah" without being the Father.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [The Jehovah/Adam Name Analogy](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/jehovah-adam-analogy.md) — Genesis 5:2 — One Name, Two Persons [Deity of Christ]
- [Let Us Make Man — The Isaiah 44:24 Trap](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/genesis1-26-let-us.md) — Genesis 1:26 / Isaiah 44:24 / Job 33:4 [Deity of Christ]