Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
IM'AGE. " Col 1:15; Heb 1:3. The term used of our Lord imports a complete likeness, like that which exists between a seal and its impression when the original is perfectly preserved in the representation. Used of man, the term refers especially to man's knowledge and capacity to comprehend God, Col 3:10; to his original holiness, Eph 4:24, thus being like God in the tone of his moral nature; and to his dominion over the creatures of the earth. Gen 1:28. The word is usually employed to denote an object of idolatrous worship. See Man, Idol.