Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is a biblical paradise described in the book of Genesis, where the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, lived until their expulsion due to disobedience to God. The narrative illustrates themes of innocence, temptation, and the consequences of human actions. Scholars often interpret the story metaphorically, suggesting it symbolizes the loss of innocence or a shift from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to settled agriculture. Although the Garden's exact location remains a topic of debate, it is commonly associated with a fertile area in ancient Mesopotamia, particularly near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day Iraq. Despite the rich imagery, geographical clues in the biblical text have led to various theories about Eden's location, including possibilities in Southeast Asia, India, and even submerged regions of the Persian Gulf. The narrative also resonates with similar myths from ancient cultures that describe earthly paradises, indicating a shared human fascination with idealized landscapes. The Garden of Eden continues to inspire diverse interpretations and discussions about humanity's relationship with nature and the divine.
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Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is the biblical paradise on earth described in the creation story in the book of Genesis. Eden was home to Adam and Eve, the first man and woman who lived in the garden until they were expelled for disobeying God. While scholars consider the story of Adam and Eve to be a metaphor and the literal Garden of Eden a myth, many also believe it was inspired by a real location. The name Eden is derived from a Sumerian word meaning "plain" or "steppe" and the Bible itself contains geographical clues to its location. The most common theories suggest the garden was a fertile area in the southern region of modern-day Iraq or has been submerged in the waters of the Persian Gulf, while others place it as far away as Southeast Asia, India, or Africa.
Background
The story of a mythical earthly paradise is also found in the beliefs of several ancient cultures. In Mesopotamian myth, the gods created great city-gardens full of grain, fruit trees, and vegetables on the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. To care for these gardens, the gods later made the first man. In one myth, the first man, Adapa, is told by the god Ea not to eat the food of death or he will die. Adapa listens to Ea's command, but the food put before him is actually the food of life, and by refusing to eat it, Adapa loses the gift of immortality for himself and all humans. Researchers believe it is highly likely the author of Genesis was influenced by these Mesopotamian myths.
According to the Bible, God created the heavens and the earth over the span of six days. Out of the dust of the earth, god was said to have made Adam, the first man. In the land of Eden, God then created a rich garden for Adam to live in. In the middle of this garden were two tress—the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told Adam he could eat from any tree in the garden but forbade him from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
To keep Adam company in the garden, God created all the animals of the world. He then took one of Adam's ribs and made Eve, the first woman. One day, as Eve was walking in the garden, she came upon a serpent. The serpent tempted Eve to eat from the forbidden tree, telling her that if she did so she would attain the wisdom of God. Eve ate from the tree and gave some of the fruit to Adam. When God discovered that they had disobeyed him, he drove Adam and Eve from the earthly paradise, forcing them to live lives of hardship. To ensure no humans could return to Eden, God placed an angel armed with a flaming sword there to guard its entrance.
Overview
Some religious leaders who adhere to a literal interpretation of the Bible believe Eden was a real garden and take the story of Adam and Eve at face value. Scholars, however, view the garden in purely metaphorical terms, interpreting the images of an earthly paradise, forbidden trees, and Adam and Eve in several different ways. Some see it as representing a loss of childhood innocence, a breaking of humanity's relationship with God, or humanity's rejection of nature. Other theories suggest it is an archetypal memory of a distant past when ancient humans left behind their hunter-gatherer existence for a more settled, agricultural-based lifestyle. Even many who view Eden as a metaphor believe it may have been based on a real region located somewhere in the ancient world.
The biblical account of the Garden of Eden mentions that it was located in a land to the east. It was a lush region watered by a river that split to form four other rivers. The first was called Pishon and was said to wind through the land of Havilah. The second river was the Gihon which ran through the land of Cush. The third and fourth rivers were the Tigris and Euphrates, the two major rivers of ancient Mesopotamia. The Tigris and Euphrates are real rivers and still exist in modern-day Iraq. This has led many to believe the inspiration for the Garden of Eden may have been a fertile region in southern Mesopotamia. The area is home to an expanse of marshland that may have been viewed by ancient peoples as a green garden in a land surrounded by desert.
One problem with placing the ancient Eden in modern Iraq is that only two of the four rivers flow through the area. The Pishon and Gihon do not correspond to any known historic waterways. For many years, early Christian theologians thought the Pishon was a major river in India. The Gihon was said to flow through Cush, the biblical name for Ethiopia, leading some to think it referred to the Nile and placing Eden in Africa. Other speculation put the garden in Turkey at the source of the Tigris and Euphrates, or in even more exotic locations such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, or the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean.
One possible theory is that the concept of Eden arose from stories of a fertile region located in what is now below the waters of the Persian Gulf. More than seven thousand years ago, the landscape of the Middle East was much different than it is in modern times. Much of the Gulf was dry land and the Tigris and Euphrates would have flowed through the region. Satellite imagery also suggests that the remains of two long-dry riverbeds in the area may be the traces of the mythical Pishon and Gihon. About six thousand years ago, sea levels around the world began to rise and the Gulf slowly filled with water. If a fertile land did exist there, it would have been covered by the sea, forcing any inhabitants of the region to move. Stories of such a land may have been passed down through the generations, becoming legends about a garden lost to humanity.
Bibliography
Delumeau, Jean. History of Paradise: The Garden of Eden in Myth and Tradition. University of Illinois Press, 2000.
"Genesis 2:4-3:24." Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+2%3A4-3%3A24. Accessed 19 Mar. 2017.
Hamblin, Dora Jane. "Has the Garden of Eden Been Located At Last?" Smithsonian Magazine, vol. 18, no. 2, May 1987, www.ldolphin.org/eden/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2017.
Koutoupis, Petros. "A Paradise Lost: In Search of Eden." Ancient Origins, 4 July 2014, www.ancient-origins.net/human-origins/paradise-lost-search-eden-001821. Accessed 19 Mar. 2017.
Mattfeld, Walter. The Garden of Eden Myth: Its Pre-Biblical Origin in Mesopotamian Myths. Walter R. Mattfeld, 2011.
Ochsenschlager, Edward L. Iraq's Marsh Arabs in the Garden of Eden. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 2004.
Phippen, J. Weston. "The 'Garden of Eden' Becomes a UNESCO World Heritage Site." The Atlantic, 18 July 2016, www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/07/unesco-iraq-marsh/491801/. Accessed 19 Mar. 2017.
Tilghman, Joshua. "What does the Garden of Eden Represent?" The Spirit of the Scripture, 8 Jan. 2014, www.spiritofthescripture.com/id2347-what-does-the-garden-of-eden-represent.html. Accessed 20 Mar. 2017.