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Thursday, April 25th, 2024
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Language Studies

Hebrew Thoughts

rādâ - רָדָה (Strong's #H287)
To have dominion, rule

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Occurrences

The verb רדה (H2787) occurs 27x in the Bible. It is found in Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings—the three major divisions of the Bible according to Jewish tradition—and is not clustered around any one particular section. The largest clustering is three occurrences in Lev 25.

According to Strong's concordance, all 27 occurrences are of the same lexical root with three distinct meanings:

to tread under foot
to rule, have dominion
to take possession of

I follow BDB who recognize two distinct lexical entries: רדה (I) meaning to rule, and רדה (II) meaning to scrape out, take possession of.

The meaning "to scrape out, take possession of" is found twice in Judges 14:9 when Samson takes honey from a lion carcass.

Strong's also views "to tread under foot" as a meaning by preferring to emend the text of Joel 4:13(not counted in the 27 occurrences) and translating Psalm 49:15 as "to tread." The Arabic cognate means "to tread, trample," but in Hebrew it came simply to mean "to rule."

Usages

To Rule

It is often used as "to rule" in reference to a king or kingdom as in Ezekiel 29:15:

neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.

To Oppress

Some usages are better translated as "oppress" as the one ruling is not part of a state or kingdom. In Leviticus 25:43 if an Israelite takes another Israelite as an indentured servant, he is commanded:

Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God

In this instance, it is better understood as "You will not harshly oppress him."

Exegetical Considerations

The first two occurrences of this word are in Genesis 1:26 and 28, where newly created mankind is said to have:

...have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ( Genesis 1:26)

The use of this word makes it clear that mankind's role in the created order is to "rule" over creation. Our role is not to trample it under our feet but to rule as vice-regents of God.

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Meet the Author

Charles Loder has an MA in Jewish Studies from Rutgers University. His work is in Biblical Hebrew and comparative semitic linguistics, along with a focus on digital humanities. His work can be found on his Academia page and Github.