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mashal מָשַׁל

to rule; to govern; to exercise entrusted dominion

Begin by reading Deuteronomy 33:13 to 16 and Psalm 8:6. Notice that the deepest treasures rest beneath the surface, and that human dominion is a granted authority, never a self-made claim.

The Heart of This Word

מָשַׁל (mashal) means to rule, to govern, to have dominion. It is used of kings and stewards, of husbands and creditors, of the sun and moon over day and night, and of God over all the earth. The word itself says nothing about whether the rule is good. Scripture supplies that judgment, and it does so relentlessly.

Read the occurrences together and a question rises out of them: rule by whose right, and answerable to whom? "The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof" (Ps 24:1). Every other dominion in the Bible is held on loan.

Linguistic Nuances

⛏️ *See Hebrew Treasures for a deeper look at Hebrew verb stems.*

**Where the Word Is Used**
Mashal occurs about eighty times, nearly always in the simple Qal. Its range is wide and deliberately ordinary: the lights of heaven rule the day and the night (Gen 1:18); Joseph is made ruler over all Egypt (Gen 45:8); the borrower is servant to the man who rules him by debt (Prov 22:7); a man who rules his own spirit is better than one who takes a city (Prov 16:32); Babylon's oppressor is the ruler who struck the nations in wrath (Isa 14:5). A large share of the forms are participles, mosheil, which is simply how Hebrew names someone in an office: a ruler, the one ruling. That is a fact about usage, not a doctrine hidden in the form.

**Psalm 8:6 and Job 25:2**
Three occurrences are causative Hiphil, and one of them is Psalm 8:6: *tamshileihu*, "thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands." The verse states outright what the form suggests: this dominion is conferred. The psalm frames it with wonder that God should be mindful of man at all, and it opens and closes by blessing the LORD's name, not man's. The other notable Hiphil is Job 25:2, where dominion and fear belong to God, who makes peace in His high places.

**A Small Note on Psalm 103:19**
In the Psalter mashal appears most often as a participle. The one completed form is in Ps 103:19, where the LORD's kingdom "ruleth over all." It would be too much to make a doctrine of that distribution, but the verse itself makes the point without help: His throne is prepared in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all, while every other ruler in the Psalms is passing (Ps 146:3-4).

Hidden Riches Beneath Ordinary Ground

There is an old saying that the meek may inherit the earth, but not the mineral rights. It is a play on our Lord's beatitude (Matt 5:5; Ps 37:11). It is meant as a joke, yet it reveals how people think. Surface rights may let someone walk the land, but deeper rights hold hidden value.

The Bible often reminds us that what lies beneath the surface matters most. "The LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart" (1 Sam 16:7).

Some men have looked across barren land and seen only dust. Others believed treasure rested far below. History is full of stories of those who drilled for years through disappointment, expense, and silence before finally striking wealth hidden in the deep. So too in the life of faith. There are seasons when the surface looks dry. Prayer feels unanswered. Labor appears fruitless. Growth seems buried. But God often stores His richest mercies below the level of immediate sight: "I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel" (Isa 45:3).

The Deep That Coucheth Beneath

When Moses blessed Joseph, he spoke of "the precious things of heaven," the fruits of the sun, and "the deep that coucheth beneath" (Deut 33:13). The Hebrew word for deep is תְּהוֹם (tehom), used for the great depths. Here it pictures hidden reserves resting quietly beneath the ground, waiting in God's appointed time.

What a comfort this is. The Lord sees what others cannot see. Beneath hard soil may lie abundance. Beneath delay may lie wisdom. Beneath grief may lie compassion: "though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men" (Lam 3:32-33). Beneath years that seem wasted may lie a reservoir of grace prepared for the right hour. We judge by the visible surface. God governs the unseen depths.

Surface Rights, Mineral Rights, and Covenantal Rights

There is a kind of hierarchy here.

**Surface rights** are the blessings of ordinary life: daily bread, work, shelter, relationships, opportunities.

**Mineral rights** speak of deeper gifts: wisdom gained through suffering, character formed through trial, strength discovered in weakness, treasure hidden in difficult places.

**But above both stand covenantal rights.** These are the privileges granted to all who belong to Christ, the privileges named in the great catalogue of Ephesians 1:3-14: chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, adopted as sons (Rom 8:15), redeemed through His blood, sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, given an inheritance that, as Peter promises, is "incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you" (1 Pet 1:4).

Markets may rise and fall. Wells may run dry. Leases may expire. Earthly titles may change hands. But what God deeds to His children remains forever.

Through Scripture's Story

**Creation**: Humanity is placed over the works of God's hands, crowned with glory and honour, and given a charge to keep (Gen 1:28; Ps 8:5-6). The office is real, and it is derived.

**The Fall**: Dominion goes wrong in two directions at once. To the woman it is said, "he shall rule over thee" (Gen 3:16), a word of judgment describing the distortion of the created order rather than a blessing to be defended. To Cain, sin is a crouching thing he is told to rule, and he does not (Gen 4:7).

**Israel and Her Kings**: When Israel offers Gideon a dynasty he refuses it: "I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you" (Judg 8:23). The standard for human rule is set plainly: "He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God" (2 Sam 23:3). Israel's history is largely the story of rulers who were not, and of a people who ended up saying, "Servants have ruled over us" (Lam 5:8).

**The Promise of a Ruler**: The prophets do not respond to bad kings by abolishing kingship. They promise a better King. "Out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old" (Mic 5:2). Zechariah sees one who "shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne" (Zech 6:13), the two offices joined in one man. Isaiah announces the Lord GOD coming with a strong hand, "and his arm shall rule for him," and in the same breath says He will feed His flock like a shepherd and carry the lambs in His bosom (Isa 40:10-11).

How This Points to Christ

Micah's ruler was born in Bethlehem, and Zechariah's priest on a throne is the one who offered Himself and then sat down (Mic 5:2; Heb 10:12). Jesus rules by right of who He is and by right of what He purchased: "the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). Before He is our pattern of authority, He is our substitute; the throne He occupies He entered through a cross and an empty tomb (Phil 2:8-11).

His reign is present, not deferred. God set Him at His own right hand, "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion" (Eph 1:20-22). All things were created by Him and for Him, and in Him all things hold together (Col 1:16-17). He is appointed heir of all things (Heb 1:2), and He reigns until every enemy is put under His feet, the last of them death (1 Cor 15:25-26).

And Psalm 8 finds its true man in Him. Hebrews admits the plain fact that we do not yet see everything put under humanity, and then says, "but we see Jesus" (Heb 2:8-9). The dominion Adam forfeited is restored in the last Adam, and those united to Him are joint-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17).

For Your Soul

Perhaps you are in a season of dry holes and expensive disappointments. You have worked, prayed, waited, and seen little return. Scripture does not promise that the field will yield in your lifetime, and it will not let anyone tell you what God is doing in the dark. It does tell you who holds the deed: "The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance" (Ps 16:5).

Or perhaps you hold real authority: over a business, a classroom, a household, a congregation. Then take 2 Sam 23:3 as your own text. Rule justly, in the fear of God, remembering that you are a steward and that stewards give account (Luke 12:48).

And if your experience of authority has mostly been of being ruled badly, by an employer, a parent, a government, or your own appetites, hear the promise of a King who is just, who was Himself oppressed and did not open His mouth, and who has never once misused His power. Whatever rules over you now is temporary. He is not.

As 1 Cor 3:21-23 puts it, all things are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's. The world fights over what lies above and below the ground. The redeemed belong to the One who owns it all.

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