Hebrew word · H7287

רָדָה

radah

to rule

To rule, have dominion, govern, oversee. Used of kings (Ps 72:8, “may he have dominion from sea to sea”; Ps 110:2; 1 Kgs 4:24 of Solomon), of officials over workers (1 Kgs 5:16; 9:23), and of masters over servants.

Appears 26 times in 25 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to rule, have dominion, dominate, tread down

1a) (Qal) to have dominion, rule, subjugate

1b) (Hiphil) to cause to dominate

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Genesis 1:26

Range of meaning

To rule, have dominion, govern, oversee. Used of kings (Ps 72:8, “may he have dominion from sea to sea”; Ps 110:2; 1 Kgs 4:24 of Solomon), of officials over workers (1 Kgs 5:16; 9:23), and of masters over servants. It can describe harsh rule, but the harshness is then stated and condemned: “you shall not rule over him with harshness” (Lev 25:43, 46, 53); bad shepherds “ruled them with force and harshness” (Ezek 34:4).

Against the English

“Dominion” (KJV, ESV) and “rule” (BSB, NASB, NIV) are accurate. Modern ears may hear either licence to exploit or, in reaction, a soft “caretaking.” The Hebrew is a genuine word of royal authority, neither tyranny nor mere gardening.

How it drifted

From the early modern period, “dominion over nature” came to be read as mastery for human use (a theme in Francis Bacon). In 1967 the historian Lynn White blamed this verse for Western environmental damage, and many responses then rewrote it as “stewardship.” Both readings come from later debates, not from the word itself.

Used elsewhere in the period

Royal ideology across the ancient Near East described the ideal king as a shepherd who protects the weak and keeps order (Hammurabi's prologue; Psalm 72). Psalm 8:5–8 retells this verse: humanity “crowned with glory,” ruling sheep, oxen, wild beasts, birds and fish.

From the study of Genesis 1:28

Range of meaning

To rule or have dominion. It describes Solomon's rule (1 Kgs 4:24), the royal king's rule "from sea to sea" (Ps 72:8; 110:2), and masters over servants. Israel is told not to rule its own people "with harshness" (Lev 25:43, 46, 53), and Ezekiel condemns shepherds who ruled "with force and harshness" (Ezek 34:4). Some scholars link it to a second verb radah, "to tread", but that connection is uncertain.

Against the English

"Have dominion" (KJV, ESV, WEB) and "rule" (NIV, NASB, BSB, YLT) are both correct. "Dominion" can sound to modern readers like ownership or unlimited control. The Hebrew is the verb for a king's rule, and Israel's laws and prophets judged that rule by whether it was just.

How it drifted

In modern debates "dominion" has become shorthand for a right to use nature however one wishes. That meaning came from later economic and theological history, not from the Hebrew word.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 8:6-8 retells this verse in royal terms: "You made him ruler over the works of your hands... the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea." In the ancient Near East a king was called the "image" of his god, the god's representative on earth (Assyrian ṣalmu, the same root as Hebrew tselem in 1:27).

From the study of Isaiah 41:2

Range of meaning

To rule or have dominion over (Gen 1:26, 28; Ps 110:2), often with the nuance of forceful mastery. Some passages may suggest 'tread down'. The form here, yard, is unusual.

Against the English

KJV: 'made [him] rule over kings'. BSB: 'subdues kings'. ESV: 'tramples kings underfoot'. All say the same thing: kings become subjects.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 110:2: 'rule in the midst of your enemies'. Ps 72:8 and 1 Kgs 5:4 use it of imperial dominion over subject kings.

Where it appears

Genesis · 2

  1. Genesis 1:26 וְיִרְדּוּ֩ and they may rule

    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: A verb of royal rule. Its form after “let us make” expresses purpose: “so that they may rule.” Ruling is what being made as God's image is for. The plural “they” confirms that adam means humankind.

  2. Genesis 1:28 וּרְד֞וּ and rule

    God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”

    Here: The verb used for kings ruling. Humans are to exercise royal authority over the animals, as the beings made in God's "image" in the verse before.

Leviticus · 4

  1. Leviticus 25:43 תִרְדֶּ֥ה you will rule

    You are not to rule over them harshly, but you shall fear your God.

    Here: "You shall rule / dominate." The same verb used for humanity's dominion in Genesis 1:26–28 and for the overseers who drove Solomon's labour gangs (1 Kings 5:16; 9:23). The master does hold authority over the worker; the law limits how that authority is used. The "you" is singular: each individual Israelite householder is addressed.

  2. Leviticus 25:46 תִרְדֶּ֥ה you will rule

    You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But as for your brothers, the Israelites, no man may rule harshly over his brother.

  3. Leviticus 25:53 יִרְדֶּ֥נּֽוּ he will rule over him

    He shall be treated like a man hired from year to year, but a foreign owner must not rule over him harshly in your sight.

  4. Leviticus 26:17 וְרָד֤וּ and they will rule

    And I will set My face against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one pursues you.

    Here: To dominate or have mastery over. It is the same verb Leviticus 25:43, 46, 53 used when it forbade Israelites to 'rule harshly' over a fellow Israelite. Now foreigners will hold that mastery over Israel.

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 24:19 וְיֵ֖רְדְּ and he will rule

    A ruler will come from Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city.”

Judges · 2

  1. Judges 14:9 וַיִּרְדֵּ֣הוּ רָדָ֥ה and he scraped out it, he had scraped out

    So he scooped some honey into his hands and ate it as he went along. And when he returned to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass.

1 Kings · 3

  1. 1 Kings 4:24 רֹדֶ֣ה׀ [was] ruling

    For Solomon had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates—over all the kingdoms from Tiphsah to Gaza—and he had peace on all sides.

    Here: A participle, so it describes an ongoing state: 'was ruling', 'held sway'. This is the strong word for rule over others, the same one used of humanity's dominion in Genesis 1:26–28 and of the ideal king in Psalm 72:8.

  2. 1 Kings 5:16 הָרֹדִ֣ים who ruled

    not including his 3,300 foremen who supervised the workers.

  3. 1 Kings 9:23 הָרֹדִ֣ים who ruled

    They were also the chief officers over Solomon’s projects: 550 supervisors over the people who did the work.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 8:10 הָרֹדִ֖ים who ruled

    They were also the chief officers for King Solomon: 250 supervisors.

Nehemiah · 1

  1. Nehemiah 9:28 וַיִּרְדּ֣וּ and they ruled

    But as soon as they had rest, they again did evil in Your sight. So You abandoned them to the hands of their enemies, who had dominion over them. When they cried out to You again, You heard from heaven, and You delivered them many times in Your compassion.

Psalms · 4

  1. Psalm 49:14 וַיִּרְדּ֘וּ and they ruled

    Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.

    Here: 'And [they] will rule / hold sway.' This is the verb of Genesis 1:26 ('have dominion') and of a master over a subject. Here the people who once lorded it over others are lorded over themselves. The verb form usually narrates past events, but poetry uses it freely, and most render it as future.

  2. Psalm 68:27 רֹדֵ֗ם [is] ruling them

    There is Benjamin, the youngest, ruling them, the princes of Judah in their company, the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.

    Here: A participle ("ruling") with the ending "them". In a procession the best sense is "leading them, at their head", though it may also recall that Israel's first king, Saul, was a Benjamite. Ancient Greek and Latin versions read the same letters as "in a trance".

  3. Psalm 72:8 וְ֭יֵרְדְּ and may he rule

    May he rule from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.

    Here: The "and" joins this line to the run of wishes in verses 5–7. The shortened verb form marks a wish or prayer ("may he rule"), not a prediction. It is the same verb used of human dominion in Genesis 1:26–28 and of Solomon's reign in 1 Kings 5:4 (4:24 in English).

  4. Psalm 110:2 רְ֝דֵ֗ה rule

    The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion: “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”

    Here: A command: "Rule!" or "Hold dominion!" The verb means firm and often forceful mastery over those beneath you. It is not mild administration.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 14:2 וְרָד֖וּ and they will rule

    The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess the nations as menservants and maidservants in the LORD’s land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.

    Here: 'And they will rule.' A strong verb for mastery. It is the verb Leviticus 25 uses when it forbids ruling over a fellow Israelite 'with harshness'.

  2. Isaiah 14:6 רֹדֶ֤ה [which] ruled

    It struck the peoples in anger with unceasing blows; it subdued the nations in rage with relentless persecution.

  3. Isaiah 41:2 יַ֔רְדְּ he subdues

    Who has aroused one from the east and called him to his feet in righteousness? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.

    Here: The vowels point to the causative form of 'rule': 'he makes him rule over kings' (KJV). It can also be read as 'he subdues / tramples kings.' The form is unusual and may be pointed slightly differently (see textual notes). The image is kings brought under his feet.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 5:31 יִרְדּ֣וּ they are ruling

    The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?

    Here: Most likely 'they rule, hold dominion', the verb of Genesis 1:26. It is often used of forceful or harsh mastery (Leviticus 25:43; Ezekiel 34:4). The form describes ongoing, habitual rule. The supplied lexical tag points to a homonym meaning 'scrape out', but the contextual gloss 'they are ruling' fits the sentence. See textual notes.

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 1:13 וַיִּרְדֶּ֑נָּה and he mastered it

    He sent fire from on high, and it overpowered my bones. He spread a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me desolate, faint all the day long.

    Here: As vowel-marked in the standard Hebrew text: 'and he (or it) mastered it' or 'overpowered it'. The fire takes over the bones completely. The Greek translation read 'he brought it down' instead (see debates).

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 29:15 רְד֥וֹת to rule

    Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the nations. For I will diminish Egypt so that it will never again rule over the nations.

  2. Ezekiel 34:4 רְדִיתֶ֥ם you have ruled

    You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.

    Here: 'You have ruled over.' This is the verb of mastery used for masters over slaves and for conquerors (Lev 25:43; 1 Kgs 5:4). It is no longer the vocabulary of shepherding.

Joel · 1

  1. Joel 3:13 רְדוּ֙ tread

    Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great.

    Here: 'Tread!' means trample the grapes underfoot. The same letters also spell 'go down!', which is how the Vulgate and KJV take it: go down into the sunken press. Either way the picture is workers stepping into the press to crush the fruit.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.