Texts in Conversation
Genesis describes how humanity was blessed and commanded to multiply and rule over living creatures, connecting it with responsibility for creation. After the flood, Genesis repeats the command to multiply but does not repeat the language of ruling.
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Genesis 1:28
Hebrew Bible
26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth.” 27 God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I now give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has living breath in it—I give every green plant for food.” It was so.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Genesis 9:1
Hebrew Bible
1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you. Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority. 3 You may eat any moving thing that lives. As I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... human life is not absolutely inviolable; humans can forfeit their right to life if they take another’s life. Indeed, murderers are directly accountable to God for their actions, though human agents are no doubt in mind (but no court system is mentioned). This provision provides a continuing way of dealing with the ongoing violence evident in 6:11-13, but the effects will never again assume floodlike proportions. On the other hand, God herein directly addresses human beings, giving them responsibilities within the created order that are not unlike those received in Genesis 1:28. The commands to “have dominion” and “subdue the earth” are not repeated with the other commands in 9:1, 7. Yet, because both animals and vegetation (9:3, 4) are given over to the human for their limited use means that these commands, while qualified, are not set aside. Human beings remain in the image of God and have a fundamental dignity as human beings that is not to be ignored, trammeled upon, or snuffed out (9:6), and they retain fundamental responsibility for the larger created order (9:1-7) ..."
Fretheim, Terence E.
God and World in the Old Testament: A Relational Theology of Creation
(pp. 127-128) Abingdon Press, 2005
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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