Recall our earlier discussion of the original rebel of Genesis 3 who was cast down to “earth” (Hebrew: ʾerets, a term that can refer to the ground or Sheol). It would be understandable to see that particular divine rebel as lord (first in rebellion and thus authority) of earth. This lordship could even extend to the “air” (the heavens), since that space was considered in ancient Israelite cosmology to be beneath God’s domain, which was above the waters of the earth (Job 22:13; Amos 9:6; Pss 29:10; 148:4).
