Ecologically Relevant Passages
Old Testament
An Asterisk (*) before a citation indicates commentary included about that passage
*Genesis 1:1 The Creation
Genesis 1:2 The earth was without form
*Genesis 1:3 Let there be light
Genesis 1:4-5 The first day
Genesis 1:6 Creation of the “firmament”
*Genesis 1:7-13 The separation of land and water
Genesis 1:14-19 Creation of the sun, moon and stars
*Genesis 1:20-22 The creation of the animals Genesis 1:24-25Creation of the land animals and man
*Genesis 1:26 Dominion over creation Genesis 1:27 The image of God and its dimensions
*Genesis 1:28 Replenish the earth Genesis 1:29-30 God provides sustenance for all creatures
Genesis 1:31 It was all very good.
Genesis 2:1-2 On the seventh day, God rested
*Genesis 2::4-24 A second beginning to creation
Genesis 2:8 Adam and Eve in paradise
*Genesis 2:9 Two trees and a river
*Genesis 2:15 Dressing and keeping creation *Genesis 2:16-17 Knowledge of good and evil
*Genesis 2:19 Naming the creatures
Genesis 2:21-22 The formation of woman
Genesis 2:24-25 Man and woman together and unashamed
Genesis 3:1-7 Disobedience: the beginning of sin
Genesis 3:8-16 God’s response to sin
*Genesis 3:17-19 The consequence of the fall
Genesis 3:22 Adam and Eve expelled: good and evil
Genesis 3:23 Adam’s duty was to till the earth
Gen. 4:2-15 Cain and Abel and God’s curse on Cain
Gen. 5:3-31 The deepening of the fall
Genesis 6:5-8 God’s decision to purge the earth
Genesis 6:11-17 Reason for the ark
Genesis 6:18-20 Bring all the birds and animals into the ark
Genesis 7:2-4 Take seven of useful animals into the ark
Genesis 7:7-24 The Story of the Great Flood
Genesis 8:1-5 The rains cease
Genesis 8:15,17 Bring two of every other creature
*Genesis 8:21-22 The stability of creation
*Genesis 9:1-3 The covenant between God and Creation
Genesis 9:6-7 The law of the world
*Genesis 9:8-13 The covenant between God and creation
Genesis 9:15-17 The rainbow: sign of the covenant
Genesis 9:20-29 Noah, the first farmer
Genesis 11:1-4 The first city
Genesis 11:6-9 The people are scattered
Genesis 13:5-9 Ancient people and the division of land
Genesis 13:10-12 Strife and division of the land
Genesis 14:18-23 The beginning of tithing
Genesis 15:1-18 A model for hearing the Word of God
Genesis 17:4-10 God’s covenant with Abraham
Genesis 19:15-26 Departing the city for the mountain
Genesis 26:2-4 Obedience leads to abundance
Genesis 27:28 God’s blessing gives the fatness of the earth
Genesis 28:4 Inherit the land
Genesis 28:11-15 The vision of Jacob
Genesis 28:16-17 The house of God, His presence is here
Genesis 33:10 The face of God
Genesis 41:14-45 Joseph discerns the times and visions
Genesis 41:46-57 Making provision for plenty in famine
Genesis 47:20-21 Pharaoh held a land monopoly
Exodus 1:7-14 The emergence of the Egyptian empire
*Exodus 3:1-6 The burning bush
Exodus 3:7 I will deliver my people into a good land
Exodus 7:26-29 The second plague: the swarms of frogs
Exodus 8:12-19 The third plague: attack of the mosquitoes
Exodus 8:25-28 Sacrifices to God deep in the wilderness
Exodus 9:22-25 Obedience brings the power of God
*Exodus 9:29 God's ownership of the earth
Exodus 19:5 All the earth is mine; you shall be obedient
Exodus 20:5-6 God’s mercy endures for 1000 generations
Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy
*Exodus 20:22-25 An altar of unhewn stone
Exodus 22:25 Prohibition of interest
Exodus 22:28-36 Prudence in the care of oxen
Exodus 23:10-12 Let the land rest and thy ox rest
Exodus 24 The cosmic shape of the temple
Exodus 24:7-10 The transparency of creation in God
Exodus 25:11-14 Gold and stones: meaning and properties
Exodus 25:15-40 Design of the ark of the covenant
Exodus 28:2-29 Precious stones on the high priest’s breastplate
Exodus 31:12-17 Declaration of the Sabbath
Exodus 32:15-19 The tablets left below the mount
Exodus 33:3 The promise of a land of milk and honey
Exodus 33:14 The presence of God in creation
Exodus 34:2 The Lord calls Moses to the top of Mt. Sinai
Exodus 34:10 A covenant to do marvels in the earth
Exodus 34:21 On the seventh day you shall rest
Exodus 34:26 Give to God the first fruits
Exodus 35:2-3 Requirements for observing the Sabbath
Exodus 37:1 An ark of shittim wood, rare and precious
Exodus 39:6-20 Gold and precious stones in the breastplate
Exodus 40:1-12 Order and design of the holy tabernacle
Leviticus 1:2-17 Rules for the sacrifices of animals
Leviticus 6:1-7 The ecological problem of deceit
Leviticus 7:1-6 No eating of unclean meat
Leviticus 7:22-27 Prohibition of eating meat
Leviticus 11:1-3 The clean animals which can be eaten
Leviticus 11:4-8 The unclean animals
Leviticus 11:9 The edible fish
Leviticus 11:10-20 Other animals which one may not eat
Leviticus 11:21-22 Edible insects
Leviticus 11:23-32 More unclean creatures you may not eat
Leviticus 11:33-34 Criteria for clean water: importance today
Leviticus 11:35 Rules for clean utensils
Leviticus 11:36-38 More rules for water and seeds
Leviticus 11:41-43 Do not eat the creeping things
Leviticus 11:45-47 The law of the beasts and the fowl
Leviticus 14:4-8 Herbs for cleansing the home of disease
Leviticus 14:44-47 Destruction of a contaminated house
Leviticus 14:48-57 Cleansing a house of leprosy
Leviticus 15:2-15 Rules of cleanliness amidst disease
Leviticus 16:20-22 Sending a goat with sins into the wilderness
Leviticus 17:3-7 Killing an animal without thanks to God is sin
Leviticus 17:10-13 Prohibition on eating the blood of animals
Leviticus 18:22-28 Homosexuality defiles the land
Leviticus 19:1-2 You shall be holy: Keep the whole law of God
Leviticus 19:9-10 Leave the gleanings of the harvest
Leviticus 19:19 Prohibition of the cross-breeding of species
Leviticus 19:23-25 No eating fruit from trees under three years
Leviticus 19:29 Prostitution and the defilement of the land
Leviticus 20:22-24 Keep the statutes for a fruitful land
Leviticus 20:25 Separate the clean from the unclean animals
Leviticus 22:5-8 Touching unclean animal makes one unclean
Leviticus 23:1-3 The Sabbath Day
Leviticus 23:9-12 The first fruits of the harvest are for the Lord
Leviticus 23:22 Do not harvest the corners of the field
Leviticus 24:21 Restoration required for killing of animals
*Leviticus 25:1-7 A Sabbath year for the land
Leviticus 25:9 The year of Jubilee
Leviticus 25:18-19 Obedience to God brings fruitfulness to land
*Leviticus 25:23-25 The land is God's; use it righteously
Leviticus 25:26-28 List of land owner rights and responsibilities
Leviticus 25:39-43 Ancestral family property, the jubilee
*Leviticus 26:3-9 Obedience to God brings fruitfulness
Leviticus 26:20,33-35 Disobedience brings loss of fruitfulness
Leviticus 26:42-46 A Sabbath for the land
Leviticus 27:14-21 Sanctifying home and fields
Leviticus 27:22-23 The blessing of the fields
Leviticus 27:24 Return purchased land in the year of Jubilee
Leviticus 27:30-31 The tithe of the land belongs to the Lord
Numbers 1:1 The Lord speaks to Moses in the wilderness
Numbers 3:1-8 The continual demand of obedience to God
Numbers 3:14 The Lord speaks to Moses in the Sinai
Numbers 5:1-4 Purging what defiles the community
Numbers 6:24 God’s blessing keeps us
Numbers 9:1 God speaks to Moses in the wilderness
Numbers 11:1 Ecological effect of complaining
Numbers 11:6-9 Manna from heaven on the ground
Numbers 14:7-8 A land of milk and honey
Numbers 14:20-24 The earth is filled with the glory of God
Numbers 14:32-34 Your children shall wander in the wilderness
Numbers 17-20 Forethought to avoid eco degradation
Numbers 19:6 Cleansing of disease with cedar wood
*Numbers 35:29 A criterion for judgement
Numbers 35:33-34 God's judgement over human dominion
Deuteronomy 1:8,21 I have set the land before you
Deuteronomy 1:31 The witness of the Lord in the wilderness
Deuteronomy 2:7 The Lord provides in the wilderness
Deuteronomy 4:1-2 Possess the land according to my command
Deuteronomy 4:12-19 Worship not the earth or its creatures
Deuteronomy 4:23 Remember the covenant
Deuteronomy 4:26 Invoking heaven and earth as a witness
Deuteronomy 4:33,36 On earth God speaks through His fire
Deuteronomy 4:39 Only one God in heaven and earth
Deuteronomy 5:7-8 No graven images from heaven or earth
Deuteronomy 5:16 Honor parents for earthly life to go well
Deuteronomy 5:23 The voice in the mountain burning with fire
Deuteronomy 5:31 Fulfill the commands of God in the land
Deuteronomy 5:33 You shall walk righteously in the Lord
Deuteronomy 6:1 Obey the Lord in the land
Deuteronomy 6:3 Obedience to God brings milk and honey
Deuteronomy 6:13-15 Do not forget the Lord or you bring destruction
Deuteronomy 6:17-18 Do what is right to possess a good land
Deuteronomy 7:12-13 Obedience brings a prosperous land
Deuteronomy 8:1-2 Recall the lessons of obedience in wilderness
Deuteronomy 8:7-10 A good land
Deuteronomy 8:11-18 Wealth is given you from the Lord
Deuteronomy 9:4-6 The Lord’s reason for giving you land
Deuteronomy 9:28 A voice from the land
Deuteronomy 10:10 Moses is on the mount for forty days
Deuteronomy 10:11 Possess the land as I have told you
Deuteronomy 10:14 Heaven and earth are the Lord’s
Deuteronomy 11:8-10 Keep the law of God and land will flourish
Deuteronomy 11:12 God sees all of creation (thru His presence)
Deuteronomy 11:13-15 Obedience brings rains and green hills
Deuteronomy 11:16-17 Disobedience brings the drought
Deuteronomy 12:1 Observe my statutes in the land
Deuteronomy 12:2-3 You shall abolish places of false worship
Deuteronomy 12:9-10 Obey me and dwell safely in the land
Deuteronomy 12:15-16 Eat the flesh of deer, but no blood
Deuteronomy 12:22-23 Don’t eat the blood of the deer
Deuteronomy 14:3 Thou shall eat no unclean thing
Deuteronomy 14:4-6 List of clean animals to eat
Deuteronomy 14:7-8 List of unclean animals; eat not
Deuteronomy 14:9-10 Water creatures you may eat
Deuteronomy 14:11 All clean birds, you may eat
Deuteronomy 14:12-19 Unclean birds you may not eat
Deuteronomy 14:21 Do not eat that which has died
Deuteronomy 14:22 Tithe the increase of field and seed
Deuteronomy 14:23 Tithe to learn to fear the Lord
Deuteronomy 14:25 Tithe of money can substitute for goods
Deuteronomy 15:10 With charity the Lord will bless your works
Deuteronomy 16:19-20 In justice you will live fruitfully
Deuteronomy 18:9-13 No abominations on the land of the Lord
Deuteronomy 19:8-10 Love the Lord and increase your land
Deuteronomy 19:14 You may not remove neighbor’s landmark
*Deuteronomy 20:19-20 Even in warfare, do not destroy trees
Deuteronomy 21:22 The condemned may be hung on a tree
Deuteronomy 21:23 A tree prefigures the cross
Deuteronomy 22:1-4 Return all lost animals to their owner
*Deuteronomy 22:6-7 Care for the productivity of creation
Deuteronomy 22:9 Plant one seed type at a time, no mixing
Deuteronomy 23:12-14 Bury human waste outside the city
Deuteronomy 23:19 Prohibition of usury among brethren
Deuteronomy 23:20 Permission for usury with strangers
Deuteronomy 23:24 You may eat a few of neighbor’s grapes
Deuteronomy 23:25 You may not harvest neighbor’s corn
Deuteronomy 24:8 Take precautions against leprosy
Deuteronomy 24:19 Leave some of the harvest for the poor
Deuteronomy 24:21 Leave grape gleanings for the poor
Deuteronomy 25:4 Do not muzzle the ox that treads corn
Deuteronomy 26:2 The first fruits belong to the Lord
Deuteronomy 26:15 Invocation to bless people and land
Deuteronomy 27:5-8 An altar of stones on the mountain
Deuteronomy 27:17 Cursed is he that moves landmarks
Deuteronomy 28:1-3 Listen to the Lord and the land shall be fruitful
Deuteronomy 28:4-5 Blessed be the fruit of the land
Deuteronomy 28:9-12 Obedience to the Lord brings abundance
Deuteronomy 28:11 Thru the Lord you and the land become fruitful
Deuteronomy 28:15-21 Disobedience brings a curse upon the field
Deuteronomy 28:22 Disobedience brings mildew
Deuteronomy 28:24 The Lord shall bring the rain
Deuteronomy 28:25-47 List of various plagues for disobedience
Deuteronomy 28:60-62 The diseases that come to the disobedient
Deuteronomy 30:5-8 Obey God and he will return you to the land
Deuteronomy 30:9 The Lord makes you fruitful in the land
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 Choose life
Deuteronomy 31:13 Fear the Lord and live long in the land
Deuteronomy 32:1 Moses invokes heaven and earth as a witness
Deuteronomy 32:2 Let the earth hear my words
Deuteronomy 32:13 The Lord led Jacob to the high places on earth
Deuteronomy 32:48 The Lord calls Moses up to the mountain top
Deuteronomy 33:2 The Lord shines from Mount Paran
Deuteronomy 34:1 Moses called to the top of Mount Pisgah
Josuah 1:6 Divide the land among the people
Joshua 2:11 The Lord is God in heaven and earth
Joshua 3:11 The Lord of Earth passes before you
Joshua 4:6-7 The Lord commands twelve stones
Judges 9:8-15 Story of the trees
Ruth 2:14-18 The opportunity to glean the fields
1 Samuel 8:11-17 The Lord is owed a tithe
1 Samuel 10::9-11 The spirit of prophecy arrives while on a hill
1 Samuel 12:16-18 Samuel asks the Lord for thunder and rain
I Samuel 15:22 Obedience brings harmony and blessing
II Samuel 7:9 The Lord is with people, they didn’t know it
II Samuel 22:7-17 The Lord shakes the earth
*I Kings 4:29, Wisdom and largeness of heart
*1 Kings 4: 33-34 Solomon spoke of trees and had wisdom
I Kings 5:4-11 Trading for logging the cedars of Lebanon
I Kings 10:24 All the earth sought Solomon’s wisdom
*I Kings 19:9-12 Elijah and power over creation
II Kings 2:9-14 Passing the mantle of authority over creation
II Kings 21:1-22:20 Two modes of ruling over the land
*II Maccabees 7:28 Creation is made from no thing
I Chronicles 16:11-12 The Lord’s judgements are in the earth
I Chronicles 16:29-30 Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness
I Chronicles 16:31-34 Let the earth rejoice
I Chronicles 28:8 Care for the land
I Chronicles 29:11 Heaven and earth belongs to the Lord
I Chronicles 29:15-16 We are strangers and sojourners
II Chronicles 7:14 I will heal their land
*II Chron. 7:12-14 Ecological healing tied to spiritual healing
II Chron. 36:20-21 God requires his Sabbaths
Sirach 4:2 The formation of creation
Ezra 9:11 An unclean land
Nehemiah 9:6 You have made heaven and earth
Nehemiah 9:20-22 Sustenance in the wilderness
Nehemiah 9:25-27 Wealth brings not holiness
Nehemiah 10:32-36 Acknowledge God in tithes
Nehemiah 12:44-45 Wards of the Lord
Job 4:8-11 One reaps according as one sows
Job 5:8-10 God’s providential care of creation
Job 5:17-21 The person who trusts in God is happy
Job 5:22-23 With trust in God, no fear of the beasts
Job 7:7-10 My life is as wind....
Job 7:17 What is man?
Job 9:2b-7 A comparison between God and mortals
Job 9:8-10 God spreads out the heavens and the stars
Job 9:22-24 The earth is given unto the wicked
Job 11:7-9 The deep mysteries of creation
*Job 12:7-10 The animals have their own understanding
Job 12:15 God controls the waters
Job 12:22 Deep things out of darkness
Job 12:24 He causes people to wander in wilderness
Job 14:1-2 The troubles of a man born of woman
Job 14:7-9 The vitality of creation
Job 15:14 What is man that he should be righteous?
Job 16:16-22 O earth, my witness is in heaven
Job 21:5-11 Observations of nature
Job 26:7-14 God’s design of creation
Job 28:1-4 A place for minerals; the limits of creation
Job 28:5-6 The fruits of the earth
Job 28:12, 23-28 Where is wisdom?
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me
Job 35:10-11 God teaches man more than the fowls
Job 37:14-18 Consider the wondrous works of God
Job 38:4-7 Where were you when I laid the foundations
Job 38:28-36 What is the place of humans in creation?
Job 39:1-2 God cares for all of the creatures
Job 40:4 Human vileness versus God’s goodness
Psalm 1:1-3 The Law establishes person in righteousness
Psalm 5:8-10 Addressing issues with faithfulness
Psalm 8:1 Thy name is excellent in the earth
Psalm 8:3-5 Christian anthropology
*Psalm 8:6-9 Human dominion over God’s works
Psalm 9:8 He shall judge the world in righteousness
Psalm 11:7 The Lord loves righteousness, i.e., order
Psalm 15:5 Prohibition on money to usury
Psalm 18:6-24 How the Lord manifests in the world
*Psalm 19:1-2 Creation reflects the Creator
Psalm 19:3-7 The rule of God fills the earth
Psalm 22:19-28 The ends of the world remember the Lord
Psalm 24:1-2 The earth is the Lord’s...
Psalm 24:3-5 Who ascends into the hill of the Lord?
Psalm 27:4 Behold the beauty of the Lord
Psalm 29:3-8 The voice of God in creation
Psalm 31:19-21 The secret of the Lord’s presence
Psalm 33:8-9 Let the earth fear the Lord
Psalm 33:14-22 Strength is in God
Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good
Psalm 36:5-9 God’s faithfulness extends to creation
Psalm 37:1-3 Do not fret because of the wicked
Psalm 37:8-11 The meek shall inherit the land
Psalm 37:18-20 God’s providence provides in famine
Psalm 42:1 Parallels bet. animals, earth, humans & God
Psalm 46:8-10 Behold the works of the Lord
Psalm 50:9-12 God owns the animals
Psalm 65:5-6 The love of God extends to the clouds
Psalm 65:9-10 The Lord enriches the land
Psalm 65:11-13 The joy in creation; it relies upon God
Psalm 65:17-18 New heavens and a new earth
Psalm 67: 5-7 When people praise God, the land yields fruit
Psalm 74:4-9 Cutting trees and failure of holiness
Psalm 74:12-17 The works of the Lord
Psalm 77:11 Meditate on the works of the Lord
Psalm 77:16-19 Creation discerns the Lord
Psalm 78:12-17 Marvelous works of God in creation
Psalm 78:43-51 The wrath of God through creation
Psalm 78:69 He has established the earth forever
*Psalm 85:8-13 The virtues bring harmony to creation
Psalm 89:5 the heavens praise the wonders of God
Psalm 90:1-3 We have dwelled in the Lord
Psalm 90:4 A thousand years is as a watch in the night
Psalm 90:16-17 Let the beauty of the Lord appear to us
Psalm 92:6 The deep designs of nature
Psalm 93:1 The world shall not disappear
Psalm 95:4-8 The hand of the Lord in creation
Psalm 96:3 Declare his wonders
Psalm 96:9 Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness
*Psalm 96:10-13 Creation rejoices
Psalm 97:1-6 The Lord reigns over earth
Psalm 98:4-9 Creation praises the Lord
Psalm 100:1 The land rejoices in the Lord
Psalm 102:25 The heavens are the work of the Lord
Psalm 103:14-15 Out of the dust: A primal connection
Psalm 103:22 Praise the Lord in His dominion
Psalm 104:1-12 The Lord and His creation
Psalm 104:13-15 The land and rain: the hydrological cycle
*Psalm 104:16-19 God's Providence cares for creation
Psalm 104:20-23 God's Providence cares for creation
Psalm 104:24-25 In wisdom you have made them all
Psalm 104:26 The leviathan in creation
Psalm 104:27-29 The Providence of God extends to animals
Psalm 104:30-34 The Lord renews the face of the earth
Psalm 104:35 Sinners shall be consumed out of the earth
Psalm 106:14-15 The effect of wilderness on human soul
Psalm 107:1-3 Give thanks to God
Psalm 115:16 The earth is for humans
Psalm 119:27 Loving the law of the Lord
Psalm 119:89-91 Your Word established and sustains earth
Psalm 121:1-2 My help comes from the hills, and the Lord
Psalm 136:3-9 His love endures forever
Psalm 139:7-10 Where can I flee from your presence?
Psalm 139:14 Thank you for amazing order to human body
Psalm 144:3-10 What is man in creation?
Psalm 145:3-7 I will meditate on your majesty
Psalm 145:8-9,13 The Lord’s dominion endures forever
Psalm 145:16-17 The Lord is righteous toward what He’s made
Psalm 146:5-7 Lord makes heaven and earth
Psalm 147:7-8 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving
Psalm 147:9-20 The bounty of the Lord fills creation
Psalm 148:1-5 Creation praises its Lord
Psalm 148:7-13 Fruitful trees praise the Lord
Psalm 150:6 All creation praises the Creator
Proverbs 1:7-14 The way of wisdom
Proverbs 1:16-19 the way of destruction
Proverbs 2:21-22 The upright dwell in the land