The “Ruling Over” Experience
According to Psalm 24:1, “the earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.” Typically, this type of ownership implies that the owner is personally responsible for the proper use and care of that which is owned. Yet very early in the God story, the Creator of everything seems to abdicate responsibility for that care. Humans are expected to obey with little or no instruction. We are not told to tend, conserve, or show our radical lovingkindness to the earth, even though we now believe this critical. Instead, we are told to fill, subdue, and rule over the earth and all animals. (Gen. 1:22, 26, 28). We have surely taken God at God’s word on this. The earth is full. Humanity rules. But some 4.5 billion years later some of our fellow inhabitants (e.g. scientists, ecologists) think that our stewardship of creation has been less than adequate –that we need to take immediate action to protect God’s gift. As preachers, this means we must call people (including ourselves) to repentance with respect to our actions in creation, by offering a different way of interpreting God’s word, freeing us to rethink our position within the created order.
One need only surf the internet for ecology-related web sites to hear the voices of those who presage eventual ecological disaster. Since creation, countless species have gone extinct, most during five cataclysmic events.[1] A number of scientists believe we are in the midst of a sixth cataclysmic event, but even those who do not believe this agree that among the greatest threats to the planet is the destruction of natural habitats.[2] We therefore must wonder whether we have truly understood the “ruling over” experience as God intended.
Suquamish Chief Seattle, a Native American orator, author, and diplomat, who fostered cooperation among the tribes of Puget Sound and the growing number of white settlers,[3] observed the following in 1854: “What is there to life if a man cannot hear the lonely cry of the whippoorwill, or the arguments of the frogs around a pond at night?”[4] Chief Seattle’s observation ascribes human feelings [loneliness, argumentativeness] to plants and animals, suggesting at the very least that all plants and animals are aware of each other and their places in the environment. This is not unusual theologically. Throughout history, ancient peoples ascribed some level of human cognition or action to animals, plants, and even inanimate objects like stones,[5] including the ancient Hebrews.[6]
In Genesis 1, earth, sky, seas, and dry land simply appear in response to God’s word. (Gen. 1:1-10). The sun, moon, and stars, also appear. God hangs them in the heavens and they accept God’s work assignments without question. (Gen. 1:14-19). Absent a magic wand, one could argue that this responsiveness to the word of God is, in and of itself, evidence that even inanimate objects can hear and obey the voice of the Creator. This point is further made when we consider that living things (plants and animals) do not simply appear the same way inanimate objects do. Instead, God empowers the earth, the sea, and the sky, to bring forth (yatzah) life in the form of grasses, trees, fruit trees, fish, birds, and animals. The earth sprouts (dasha), the seas and the skies swarm (sharatz), and the land brings forth (yatzah) life. Animals then receive a further distinction: they are all imbued with nefesh chaya in Hebrew; a “living soul.”
There is an interconnectedness to this order of creation (e.g. the earth brings forth grass, etc.) that implies each element plays a critical part in the creation, continued existence, and support of every other part. Ecologists would surely agree. Yet, this interconnected, cooperative quality of the natural world is lessened if we render Gen. 1:26 and 1:28 as follows:
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth,2 and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
Genesis 1:28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”
Typical rendering clearly puts human beings at the top of the food chain. We happily embrace our dominance, thinking we may do what pleases us. But to express how interconnected all parts of creation are, we need to rethink how we translate the preposition buh in the compound Hebrew words typically rendered as “over the fish of the sea” (beedgat hayam) and “over the birds of the sky” (beeohf hashamayim), and “over all living things that creep” (ub’col chaya haromeshet), as well as the verbs radah and cavash.
After being fruitful (parah), becoming many (ravah), and filling (malah) the earth (Gen1:22, 28), humans alone are ordered (all verbs are in the piel imperative voice) to rule (radah) and subdue (cavash) (Gen. 1:28) the earth. Having just been created in Genesis 1:27, humans are the only subject of those two verbs. Everything else is subject to human rule. Bible translators have addressed this issue by either changing the translation of the radah and cavash verbs[7], or by paraphrasing[8]. This certainly helps, but even the replacement words ‘be master of’ (New Jerusalem Bible) or ‘be responsible for’ (The Message) still preserves the dominant position of humankind. However, if we translate the preposition (buh) as “among,”[9] the absolute superiority of human beings comes into question. That is, if humans rule “among,” there may be times when the needs of the rest of creation come first. Consider the following translations:
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion among the fish of the sea, and among the birds of the air, and among cattle, and among all the wild animals of the earth, and among every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
Genesis 1:28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion among the fish of the sea and among the birds of the air and among every living thing that moves upon the earth.”
Whenever we translate, we also interpret. Translating the preposition buh as among (my emphasis) implies a system that works together on an ongoing basis. This agrees with the role the earth, the seas, and the skies took in bringing forth animals, fish, and birds. All the cogs in the machine are necessary and must continue working together, or the machine ceases to function. In other words, one cannot continue to rule over what the rulers themselves have, by their carelessness, made extinct.
Thus, translating the preposition buh as “among” reminds us that although we are indeed powerful, we are at the center of a system that ceases to be if our actions benefit human beings without concern for the long term effects on the rest of creation. At the very least, our experience of ruling will be cheapened, making it empty, lonely, and possibly destructive. One could even say that Gen. 9:5 suggests there is a price to pay [a reckoning or seek from the hand] if we fail to live up to our responsibilities.[10] The Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament finds exceptions to the usual meaning of rule (radah)[11] and subdue (cavash)[12] in Genesis 1:26 and 1:28. The words do not carry the same meaning as when the object of the ruling and subduing are conquered peoples and lands. Even in ancient times, conquering came with responsibilities which conquering humans brutally overlooked. A more 21st century translation of Genesis 1:26 and 1:28 that implies interrelatedness helps foster a less anthropocentric mindset for the listeners. While the rendering of buh as “among” is atypical, it emphasizes the idea cooperative existence.
There are many ways for human beings to carefully and thoughtfully rule among the members of the created order. Knowledge helps. How many of us have researched the roles that honeybees, tadpoles, and trees play in the production of our food[13] and the cleansing of our water and air?[14] How many individuals know that incumbent power companies are starting to add solar power to the energy they purchase and resell? We must rethink some of the privileges we believe are afforded us in scripture and start reevaluating the results of taking those privileges for granted. In short, we must follow our hearts, caring for what matters to us and trusting that God will make sure all the bases are covered. No one can respond to every stewardship need on this planet. No person or group has the wealth or ubiquity for that. But if we start to rethink how we translate and interpret scripture, perhaps we will realize that, ironically, it is not ruling over creation but ruling among the rest of creation that truly places human beings at the center of life on earth.
[1] https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/extinction/massext/statement_01.html, Round Table Discussion, 5/24/2021
[2] https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/extinction/massext/statement_01.html, Panelist, Tundi Agardy, 5/24/2021
[3] History.com Editors. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chief-seattle-dies-near-the-city-named-for-him, 5/30/2021
[4] https://quotes.thefamouspeople.com/chief-seattle-043.php, 5/30/2021
[5] http://www.sapphyr.net/natam/quotes-nativeamerican.htm
[6] Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice. (Pro. 1:20)
[7] God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground.’ (Gen. 1:26 New Jerusalem Bible)
[8] Peterson, Eugene H. The Message Devotional Bible. The Navigators. Kindle Edition. God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, and, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.” (Gen.1:26-28)
[9] Brown, Francis, 1849-1916. The Brown, Driver, Briggs Hebrew And English Lexicon : with an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic : Coded with the Numbering System from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1996. pg. 88.
[10] For your own lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning: from every animal I will require it and from human beings, each one for the blood of another, I will require a reckoning for human life. (Gen. 9:5)
[11] Botteweck, G. Johannes, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdsmans, 1974. Vol. 13:331
[12] Botteweck, G. Johannes, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdsmans, 1974. Vol. 7:54
[13] https://www.honeylove.org/national-honey-bee-day/, 5/30/2021
[14] https://savethefrogs.com/why-frogs/, 5/29/2021
