דְּמוּת

Genesis 1:26 כִּדְמוּתֵ֑נוּ according to likeness our

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.”

Here: Demut means resemblance, “something like.” Placed next to tselem it reinforces and slightly qualifies it: humans really resemble God, yet are “like” him, not God. There is no “and” between the two phrases in Hebrew; they describe one thing.

Genesis 5:1 בִּדְמ֥וּת in [the] likeness of

This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in His own likeness.

Here: 'Likeness, resemblance, something shaped like'. Only 'likeness' is used here, not the pair 'image and likeness' of 1:26. Verse 3 then uses the same words for Adam fathering Seth 'in his likeness, according to his image', so resembling God is set beside a son resembling his father.

Genesis 5:3 בִּדְמוּת֖וֹ in own likeness his

When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son in his own likeness, after his own image; and he named him Seth.

2 Kings 16:10 דְּמ֧וּת [the] likeness of

Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. On seeing the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction.

2 Chronicles 4:3 וּדְמ֣וּת and [the] likeness of

Below the rim, figures of oxen encircled it, ten per cubit all the way around the Sea, cast in two rows as a part of the Sea.

Psalm 58:4 כִּדְמ֥וּת [is] like [the] likeness of

Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears,

Here: 'Like' plus 'likeness'. The doubled comparison is deliberate: their venom is exactly the same kind of thing as a snake's. The noun is the same one used in Genesis 1:26 for humans made in God's 'likeness', which may give an unspoken irony: these people resemble serpents.

Isaiah 13:4 דְּמ֣וּת [the] likeness of

Listen, a tumult on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations gathered together! The LORD of Hosts is mobilizing an army for war.

Here: "The likeness of": the listener can only compare the noise to something. It is the language of someone who hears but cannot yet see.

Isaiah 40:18 דְּמ֖וּת likeness

To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him?

Here: This noun comes from the same root as the verb just used: 'to what likeness will you liken'. It means a resemblance or pattern, not specifically a statue. The same word appears in Gen 1:26 and in Ezekiel's vision of 'the likeness of the glory of the LORD'.

Ezekiel 1:5 דְּמ֖וּת דְּמ֥וּת a likeness of

and within it was the form of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: They had a human form,

Ezekiel 1:10 וּדְמ֣וּת and [the] likeness of

The form of their faces was that of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and also the face of an eagle.

Here: 'And the likeness of…'. Ezekiel's careful hedging word: he describes what the faces resembled and does not claim to give an exact account of heavenly beings. The same word builds up to 1:28, 'the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.'

Ezekiel 1:13 וּדְמ֨וּת and [the] likeness of

In the midst of the living creatures was the appearance of glowing coals of fire, or of torches. Fire moved back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it.

Here: Ezekiel's hedging word: not 'the creatures were' but 'what they resembled'. It keeps a reverent distance between what he saw and what he can say. The Greek translators read a different word here, 'in the midst of'.

Ezekiel 1:16 וּדְמ֥וּת and a likeness

The workmanship of the wheels looked like the gleam of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. Their workmanship looked like a wheel within a wheel.

Here: "And a likeness": the outward form something resembles. This is one of Ezekiel's careful hedging words, and he uses it ten times in this chapter.

Ezekiel 1:22 וּדְמ֞וּת and a likeness

Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of an awesome expanse, gleaming like crystal.

Ezekiel 1:26 דְּמ֣וּת דְּמ֣וּת דְּמ֞וּת [the] likeness of, a likeness

Above the expanse over their heads was the likeness of a throne with the appearance of sapphire, and on the throne high above was a figure like that of a man.

Here: 'The likeness of': a second hedge. What he saw resembled a throne. Ezekiel will not say flatly, 'There was a throne.'

Ezekiel 1:28 דְּמ֣וּת [the] likeness of

The appearance of the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking.

Here: "Likeness, resemblance": a second buffer. Ezekiel saw the appearance of a likeness, not God bare.

Ezekiel 8:2 דְמוּת֙ a likeness

Then I looked and saw a figure like that of a man. From His waist down His appearance was like fire, and from His waist up He was as bright as the gleam of amber.

Ezekiel 10:1 דְּמ֣וּת [the] likeness of

And I looked and saw above the expanse, above the heads of the cherubim, the likeness of a throne of sapphire.

Here: A third layer: a resemblance. Taken together the phrase is 'like the appearance of the likeness of a throne', a deliberately careful, reverent way to describe something too holy to name directly.

Ezekiel 10:10 דְּמ֥וּת a likeness

As for their appearance, all four had the same form, like a wheel within a wheel.

Ezekiel 10:21 וּדְמוּת֙ and [the] likeness of

Each had four faces and four wings, with what looked like human hands under their wings.

Ezekiel 10:22 וּדְמ֣וּת and [the] likeness of

Their faces looked like the faces I had seen by the River Kebar. Each creature went straight ahead.

Ezekiel 23:15 דְּמ֤וּת [the] likeness of

wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like officers of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth.

Daniel 10:16 כִּדְמוּת֙ like [the] likeness of

And suddenly one with the likeness of a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and said to the one standing before me, “My lord, because of the vision, I am overcome with anguish, and I have no strength.

Here: “Like a likeness of.” The doubled comparison (“like” + “likeness”) is careful language for a being that looks human but is not simply a man. Ezekiel uses the same kind of hedged wording for heavenly figures.