radah
Definition
Radah (Hebrew רָדָה, rādāh) is the verb “to have dominion” or “to rule over” that appears in Gen. 1:26 and Gen. 1:28 as part of the creation mandate to humanity: “let them have dominion (rādāh) over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing…” In Jones’ anthropology, radah functions as the technical designation for the dominion mandate delegated by God to Adam — a mandate that does not stand on its own but is derived from God’s sovereignty. Radah describes not dominating power but responsible stewardship: humanity rules as steward under God, accountable to the supreme Sovereign. After the Fall, Adam forfeited this mandate juridically (through debt-slavery per Ex. 22:3); Christ as the second Adam reclaims it and restores it through the overcomers to the whole of creation.
Usage in the corpus
Stephen E. Jones
Jones situates the radah mandate as the structural origin point of all delegated authority on earth. Radah does not stand on its own in his framework: it is the operational concept for how God exercises His sovereignty over creation through intermediaries. God delegates authority; humanity is the first-placed link in that chain, responsible for ordering and preserving the created order. This model of delegated authority structures all of Jones’ political theology — both human governance and the kingdom of Christ operate within this authority hierarchy, not outside it. Gen. 1:26-28 is for him the irreducible starting point:
“In Gen. 1:26 we read, ‘Then God said, Let us make man in our own image, according to our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ This was the dominion mandate given to man, and it was the point where man’s authority began, operating under the sovereignty of God.”
[Jones, The Restoration of All Things, ch. 6]
This quotation establishes the foundational axiom of Jones’ radah theology: the dominion mandate is received authority, not inherent ownership. Adam does not receive the mandate as his own property but as a delegated assignment from the Sovereign. This distinction — received versus self-owned — carries far-reaching theological consequences. If the mandate is delegated, the Fall does not mean the ontological annihilation of the mandate but a juridical rupture in the chain of authority: Adam’s estate was placed into debt-slavery (according to the Torah analogy of Ex. 22:3), but the mandate itself was not destroyed. It awaits restoration through the rightful heir. Furthermore, “operating under the sovereignty of God” implies that radah is always validated from above: humanity can only rule insofar as it submits to God’s sovereign will. Autonomous dominion — rule not delegated by God — is by definition illegitimate and will be reclaimed. This establishes the foundation for Jones’ broader political theology: every form of human authority is legitimate insofar as it functions as delegated authority, and illegitimate when it elevates itself to sovereignty. Jones makes this distinction precise by defining sovereignty and authority as two conceptually distinct categories:
Jones sharply distinguishes sovereignty (self-derived power, God’s alone) from authority (delegated, limited, accountable):
“Sovereignty is self-derived power; authority is authorized by a higher power and is therefore limited and subjected by that power. Man does not have sovereignty. Therefore, his authority is limited, and his liability for his actions are limited according to his level of authority.”
[Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, ch. 11]
The radah mandate in Jones’ system is historically continuous: passed from Adam through Seth, Noah, Shem, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, and finally to Jesus as the rightful heir — “the dominion mandate was given to Adam in Gen. 1:28, and this right to have dominion over the earth was passed down to Seth, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, and finally to Jesus.” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 7) The Fall did not break the genealogical line — it placed Adam’s estate into debt-slavery but did not annul the mandate itself. Christ as go’el (kinsman-redeemer) reclaims dominion over the earth and re-delegates it through the overcomers: the manifestation of the sons of God (Rom. 8:19) is the eschatological reactivation of the radah mandate. Radah is therefore not only a creational category but an eschatological one: restoration of dominion over creation is the goal of Christ’s second work.