What does רָדָה (rādāh) mean in the Bible?
Ruling or having dominion concerns authority over those named by a passage, and the context describes its exercise and limits. Genesis addresses humanity's rule over living creatures within creation.
Hebrew · H7287
רָדָה
Ruling or having dominion concerns authority over those named by a passage, and the context describes its exercise and limits. Genesis addresses humanity's rule over living creatures within creation.
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רָדָהH7287
Pronunciationrādāh
What does רָדָה (rādāh) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for רָדָה (H7287) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H7287?
The BSB source-word alignment has 26 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include rule (4), to rule (2), [and] subdues (1), A ruler will come (1), and it overpowered (1).
Where does רָדָה (rādāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 1:26. Its strongest book concentrations include Leviticus (4), Psalms (4), 1 Kings (3), Isaiah (3).
What This Word Actually Means
Ruling or having dominion concerns authority over those named by a passage, and the context describes its exercise and limits. Genesis addresses humanity's rule over living creatures within creation. Leviticus forbids ruthless rule over an impoverished fellow Israelite, while Ezekiel condemns shepherds who rule the flock harshly instead of caring for it. Psalm 72 places royal dominion alongside deliverance for the needy and oppressed.
Psalm 110 announces the addressed ruler's rule amid enemies within its own royal oracle. Judges uses the same lookup identifier in Samson's taking honey, a concrete action that must not be explained as governance. These witnesses require attention to the actual form and setting. Authority does not permit coercive control, neglect or private violence, and a word associated with dominion cannot make every instance an instruction for a present leader.
How the Bible Uses It
Creation dominion, limits on human rule, condemned shepherding and royal psalms require different assessments. The honey-taking witness remains a distinct contextual use rather than a hidden political metaphor.
- Gen.1.26
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.”
Humanity's stated rule concerns the named creatures within the creation account rather than ownership of other people.
- Lev.25.43
You are not to rule over them harshly, but you shall fear your God.
The command forbids ruthless rule over an impoverished fellow Israelite within the chapter's ancient economic setting.
- Ezek.34.4
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.
The Lord condemns shepherds for harsh rule and for failing to strengthen, heal, bind or seek the flock.
- Ps.72.8
May he rule from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
The royal prayer's wide dominion remains alongside its care for the needy, afflicted and oppressed.
- Ps.110.2
The Lord extends Your mighty scepter from Zion: “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
The oracle addresses the ruler's rule amid enemies rather than granting every reader a private mandate to subdue opponents.
- Judg.14.9
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.
Samson takes honey in his hands from the lion's carcass; the action is not a statement of political rule.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itrule4×Genesis 1:28, Psalms 110:2, Jeremiah 5:31, Ezekiel 29:15
to rule2×Genesis 1:26, Leviticus 25:43
[and] subdues1×Isaiah 41:2
A ruler will come1×Numbers 24:19
and it overpowered1×Lamentations 1:13
and rule1×Isaiah 14:2
had dominion1×1 Kings 4:24
he had taken1×Judges 14:9
it subdued1×Isaiah 14:6
May he rule1×Psalms 72:8
may rule1×Leviticus 25:46
rule over him1×Leviticus 25:53
ruling them1×Psalms 68:27
So he scooped1×Judges 14:9
supervisors1×2 Chronicles 8:10
supervisors over1×1 Kings 9:23
trample the grapes1×Joel 3:13
who had dominion1×Nehemiah 9:28
who supervised1×1 Kings 5:16
will rule1×Leviticus 26:17
will rule them1×Psalms 49:14
you have ruled1×Ezekiel 34:4
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 1:26וְיִרְדּוּ֩toto ruleConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine pluralGenesis 1:28וּרְד֞וּtoruleConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine pluralLeviticus 25:43תִרְדֶּ֥הtoto ruleVerb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singularLeviticus 25:46תִרְדֶּ֥הtomay ruleVerb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singularLeviticus 25:53יִרְדֶּ֥נּֽוּtorule over himVerb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singularLeviticus 26:17וְרָד֤וּtowill ruleConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common pluralNumbers 24:19וְיֵ֖רְדְּtoA ruler will comeConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Jussive - third person masculine singularJudges 14:9וַיִּרְדֵּ֣הוּtoSo he scoopedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singularJudges 14:9רָדָ֥הtohe had takenVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular1 Kings 4:24רֹדֶ֣ה׀tohad dominionVerb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 1:26
Aligned rows26
Books represented13
Genesis2Leviticus4Numbers1Judges21 Kings32 Chronicles1Nehemiah1Psalms4Isaiah3Jeremiah1Lamentations1Ezekiel2Joel1
Source forms
הָרֹדִ֣ים2xhā·rō·ḏîm1 Kings 5:16, 1 Kings 9:23
תִרְדֶּ֥ה2xṯir·dehLeviticus 25:43, Leviticus 25:46
הָרֹדִ֖ים1xhā·rō·ḏîm2 Chronicles 8:10
וְיֵ֖רְדְּ1xwə·yê·rədNumbers 24:19
וְ֭יֵרְדְּ1xwə·yê·rədPsalms 72:8
וַיִּרְדֵּ֣הוּ1xway·yir·dê·hūJudges 14:9
וְיִרְדּוּ֩1xwə·yir·dūGenesis 1:26
וַיִּרְדּ֣וּ1xway·yir·dūNehemiah 9:28
Parsing patterns
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural3x1 Kings 5:16, 1 Kings 9:23, 2 Chronicles 8:10
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Jussive - third person masculine singular2xNumbers 24:19, Psalms 72:8
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural2xLeviticus 26:17, Isaiah 14:2
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural2xNehemiah 9:28, Psalms 49:14
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular2xLeviticus 25:43, Leviticus 25:46
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular2x1 Kings 4:24, Isaiah 14:6
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine plural1xGenesis 1:26
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person feminine singular1xLamentations 1:13
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Examine harmful control and unmet needs even when a leader invokes biblical authority.
- Support protection and accountable care without asking threatened people to remain under ruthless treatment.
Avoid claiming...
- This vocabulary cannot sanctify coercion, slavery or private violence by a present ruler.
- A shared lookup identifier cannot turn Samson's honey-taking into a political command.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Dominion achieved through forceful subjugation—trampling an enemy underfoot into submission or crumbling resistance.
Strong'sH7287
Lexical occurrences27 versesWord forms2 forms12 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkGenesis 1:26-28Source Gloss
to tread down, i.e. subjugate ; specifically, to crumble off
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Dominion achieved through forceful subjugation—trampling an enemy underfoot into submission or crumbling resistance.
to tread down, i.e. subjugate; specifically, to crumble off BDB: scrape out Usage: (come to, make to) have dominion, prevail against, reign, (bear, make to) rule,(-r, over), take.
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups2Aligned forms12
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense11×
PerfectJudg 5:13 · Judg 14:9 · Ezek 34:44×
ImperfectLev 25:43 · Lev 25:46 · Jer 5:313×
Participle active1Kgs 5:4 · Isa 14:62×
Infinitive constructEzek 29:151×
Sequential imperfectPs 110:21×
Hiphilcausative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action1×
ImperfectIsa 41:21×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
God grants humanity authority to rule over creation and all living creatures
Divine empowerment of a king to exercise dominion and subjugate nations under God's authority
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 27 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
רָדָה is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
The selected rule witnesses do not allow power to become its own justification. Genesis speaks of creatures within the creation account; Leviticus names a prohibition against ruthless rule; and Ezekiel confronts shepherds whose control has injured the flock. Psalm 72 gives royal dominion a setting that includes rescuing the needy and ending oppression, while Psalm 110 addresses its own ruler through an oracle.
Judges 14 then requires a different reading altogether: Samson takes honey, and the physical action is not a moral account of governance. Teach these distinctions without collapsing the forms into a universal definition. Leviticus' ancient chapter also includes slavery regulations that must not be hidden or made a modern permission. A congregation can examine the treatment of vulnerable people and require accountable care, but cannot turn creation dominion or a royal oracle into authority for coercive control or private attacks.
Anchor passage
Ezek.34.4
Doctrinal connections
- Genesis names humanity's creaturely dominion within the Lord's creation account and its stated boundaries.
- Leviticus forbids ruthless rule over the named impoverished fellow Israelite in its ancient setting.
- Ezekiel holds shepherds accountable for harsh rule and neglected care for the flock.
- Psalm 72 places the royal prayer's dominion alongside rescue for the needy and oppressed.
- Psalm 110 addresses a particular ruler through the Lord's royal oracle rather than every leader.
- Judges' honey-taking action requires contextual reading without an invented hidden leadership lesson.
The licensed comparison and tagged forms include rule vocabulary and the distinct taking-out honey use. Twenty-six directly tagged BSB tokens in twenty-five verses remain separate from the canonical count of twenty-seven; neither the identifier nor a stem label erases contextual differences.
From Old to New Testament
Mark 10:35-45 answers the disciples' pursuit of places of honor with Jesus' instruction concerning service and His giving His life as a ransom. This is a canonical comparison with accountable authority, not a lexical equation or permission to ignore the severe ancient settings of the Hebrew passages.