26 God said, "Let us make human beings in our image who are like us.*1:26. This aspect of being "like" God conveys the idea of being "patterned" after God. The word is also translated "similitude," "figure" or "form." The most essential aspect of this resemblance is surely that of character. They will have authority over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over the whole of the earth and every creature that moves on it." 27 So God created human beings in his own image. He created them in the image of God. He created them male and female.*1:27. The repetition of "created" in this verse is surely significant, which is why this is placed first in each sentence. 28 God blessed them and told them, "Reproduce, increase, and spread throughout the earth and control it; exercise authority over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the earth."