To Conquer and Subdue: An Ecological Reading of Wilderness in Jeremiah 17:5–8 and Beyond

This chapter focuses on a dichotomy between wilderness and gardens found in biblical texts such as Jeremiah 17: 5–8. In addition, the author explores how this dichotomy—with its negative construal of wilderness—was appropriated by British settlers in nineteenth century New Zealand, that is, in ways that facilitated the large-scale destruction of perceived wilderness. The author explores what might be possible if we were to free wilderness from this dichotomy. By moving beyond the binary that has traditionally determined meaning in this biblical text, it becomes possible to perceive wilderness in an entirely new light as home.