Work & Dominion

In Genesis 1:28 we have first of all a commandment to work. Dominion and subjugation require work to subdue the earth, to turn a wilderness into fertile farms and ranches, gardens, requires work. Work was ordained before the fall and there was no curse upon it. Work was very clearly a part of the state of innocence; it is not a product of sin. Then second the English translation “Replenish the earth” creates problems. In the Hebrew it is very literally “to fill”. Man has a duty to fill the earth, to colonize, to bring every area under man’s dominion.