Dominion over Animals

Preamble

In Genesis 1:26-28, we are told that humankind is to have dominion over animals.  I intend to investigate the meaning of this dominion and what is might mean for how we are to treat animals.

Meaning of "Dominion"

The Hebrew verb radah (dominion) occurs twice in Genesis 1:26-28:

Then God said, "Let us make humankind [adam] in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion [irdu] 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, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."  So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.  God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion [rdu] over the fish of the sea and over the the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."

The meaning of radah in the rest of the Old Testament for the most part has to do with one entity ruling another.  1 Kings 5:24 is typical:

For he [Solomon] had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates; and he had peace on all sides.

It is interesting to note here that the seeming result of Solomon's dominion was peace!  Psalm 72 is also about Solomon and his dominion.  It begins by asking God to give the king justice and righteousness so that he may defend the cause of the poor, deliver the needy and crush the oppressor.  Then it asks that the king be granted dominion (72:8).  It is noteworthy that even though Solomon's rule was over foreign peoples (72:9-11), the king himself was benevolent.  Psalm 110:1-2 is also interesting, especially from a Christian perspective:

The Lord says to my lord, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool."  The Lord sends out from Zion your mighty scepter.  Rule [rde] in the midst of your foes.

For Christians, this passage has Jesus in mind (see Acts 2:34; 1 Cor 15:25; Heb 1:3, 13) and Jesus' dominion is perfectly benevolent.  In this connection, dominion is applied to the "shepherds of Israel" in Ezekiel 34:4.  Since dominion is said in connection with shepherding, and since Jesus is the Good Shepherd, it goes without saying that dominion can be applied to a benevolent shepherd.

Leviticus 25 thrice mentions dominion in connection with a master not ruling a hired servant with harshness (vs. 43, 46, 53).  Again, this rule is benevolent.

In God's Image

Some scholars think that the meaning of the "image of God" in Genesis 1:26-27 has to do with the mandate for humanity to be the representative of God on earth.  This accords with the concept of the king as the icon of his god found in Mesopotamia.  Compare this with Psalm 8 where the human is a little lower than elohim crowned with glory and honor.  The human is given dominion (different word than radah but same word for 'rule' used in Genesis 1:16) over the animals (!) in vs. 7-8.  Psalm 8 and Genesis 1:26-28 are very similar.  The upshot of this is that there does seem to be a connection between the "image of God' and dominion.  The proximity of the two ideas in Genesis screams that this is the case.

Upshot for Treatment of Animals

If humanity is to be God's representatives on earth, it goes without saying that their treatment of animals ought to be as God would treat them.  First of all, Genesis 1:29 proves that human dominion excludes killing animals for food.  It was not God's plan that animals be killed for food, that only come after the fall.  A certain symmetry is set up between animals and humans because God blesses both and tells both to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:22, 28).  There is no doubt that God loves animals.  He saved them from the flood and included them in his covenant thereafter.  In Jonah, God has regard for the animals too (4:11).  In this regard, humans ought to love animals with the same care.  Also, as Christians, we are told to make future realities present realities.  A big theme in Paul is to make the the future resurrection a present reality.  We Christian could also make the future reality where animals are in peace and where carnivores are vegetarians (Isaiah 11:6-7 and 65:25) a present reality by treating animals likewise.

Conclusion

Both in Hebrew (nephesh) and in Greek (psyche) animals are refered to as "living souls".  It's high time for us Christians to start treating them thus!