The Garden of Eden

What is the Garden of Eden?
  

The Garden of Eden was a biblical "garden of God" described in the Book of Genesis, and also mentioned in the biblical books of Ezekiel and Isaiah, and discussed indirectly in other sections of the Old Testament. The name "Eden" is in some dispute of its original origin. Some believe the word is derived from a Sumerian word meaning "plain", while others believe the word has Aramaic roots meaning "fruitful and well-watered". For many centuries the derivation of the name Eden has been surrounded by uncertainty.

Where was the Garden of Eden located? 
 

There have been various locations associated with the Garden of Eden, most notably at the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates in northern Iraq. Other scholars have laid claim that the biblical garden was located in Africa, while others say the heavenly land was in [what is now under] the Persian Gulf. According to some theologians, Eden in Ezekiel is unequivocally located in Lebanon. Another favorite locale for the garden is Turkey, because both the Tigris and the Euphrates rise in the mountains there, and because Mount Ararat, where Noah's Ark came to rest, is there.  For many centuries the location of Eden has been surrounded by uncertainty.

How does the Bible describe Eden's locale?

In Genesis 2, Moses described the site of the Garden of Eden with precise words, yet today its location still remains a mystery. The rivers  Pishon and Gihon no longer exist and only speculation of the experts gives mankind a theory as to its original locale.

"And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed" (Genesis 2:8). Then the majestic words become quite specific: "And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pishon: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel [Tigris]: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates" (Genesis 2:10-14).

The area thought to be the Garden of Eden, which was flooded when Gulf waters arose, is shown in green.
Yellow areas of Bahrain and Arabian coast represent Dilmun, paradise land of Ubaidians and Sumerians

The ancient land of Mesopotamia has been identified as the original vicinity of Eden, but for many centuries the actual locale of Eden has been surrounded by uncertainty. 

What was the purpose of the Garden of Eden?

According to the Bible, the garden was created for Adam and Eve (the world's common ancestors) to live in and take care of. In Genesis 2, the creation narrative opens with God creating the first human and placing him in Eden. God instructs Adam to tend the garden, but forbids him to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Then God forms a woman (Eve) from Adam's rib. When the man and woman disobey the commandment of God and eats from the forbidden tree, the Creator evicted them from the Garden of Eden to prevent them from eating from a second sacred tree known as the Tree of Life. The expelling from the garden was permanent for these first humans. For many centuries the reason for their eviction from Eden has been surrounded by uncertainty. 

An artist's depiction of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

What other uncertainties surround the Garden of Eden?

Besides the original derivation of the name 'Eden' and its actual location, other mysteries surround the Genesis garden story, such as (1) whether the garden was in the east of Eden, or if Eden itself was located in the East, or whether "east" is even the correct term. According to Hebrew, the word "east" is associated with the term "of old"; (2) whether the river mentioned in Genesis 2:10 [perhaps a fifth river] "flows from" or "rises in" Eden, and the relationship [if any] of the four rivers to each other; and, (3) whether the land of Cush, where one of the four rivers flows, means Ethiopia (in Africa) or Elam (east of Mesopotamia). For many centuries the mystery of the Garden of Eden has been surrounded by uncertainty.

Why are there so many theories surrounding the Garden of Eden?

As with any unsolved mystery many theories will surface in search of answers. Some are based on scientific deductions while other hypothesis are based on folklore and ancient summations. There have been a number of claims as to the actual geographic location of the Garden of Eden, though some of these have little or no connection to the text of Genesis. Most put God's garden somewhere in the Middle East, but this list shows a few more locations you might not have considered:

> Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe the Garden of Eden to have been located in Jackson County Missouri. Founder of the Mormon church, Joseph Smith, discovered a stone slab that he claimed was an alter built by Adam after being expelled from the Garden. The garden itself was located 40 miles south, near present-day city, Independence. As for its location in the western hemisphere, some Latter-day Saints have presumed the continents were not yet separate before the Great Flood and that this approach would be consistent with the configuration of the super-continent Pangaea.

> In the nineteenth century, a theory was developed that a continent, Lumeria, occupied what is now the Indian Ocean The wide range of the animals inspired the name Lemuria, which was coined in 1864 by the zoologist Philip Sclater  in an article “The Mammals of Madagascar” in The Quarterly Journal of Science. Puzzled by the presence of fossil lemurs in both Madagascar and India, but not in Africa nor the Middle East, Sclater proposed that Madagascar and India had once been part of a larger continent. Other scientists have suggested Lumeria was the cradle of the human race and therefore must have been the site of the garden.

> General Charles Gordon supported the theory that Africa and India were part of the same continent. During an expedition he found the Praslin Island in the Seychelles group. He became convinced this was the location of the Garden of Eden, particularly the Valle de Mai. His reasoning was based on the coco-de-mer, a rare tree, which is only found on one other island of the Seychelles. Gordon concluded this was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

> Some people believe that Garden of Eden was somewhere in Northeast Africa. Evidence given in support of this includes the fact that the oldest human remains have been found in Africa, and that the Gihon is usually thought to be a name for the Nile.

> Many believe that the Garden must have been in the Holy Land and the original river that flowed into the garden before it split into four separate rivers must have been the Jordan. The Gihon would be the Nile and the Havilah would be the Arabian Peninsulas. Eden is also tied with Jerusalem by the prophet Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 28:13-14, he recorded, “You were in Eden, the garden of God;” … “You were on the holy mount of God.” In most Jewish and Christian traditions, “the holy mount of God” is Mt. Moriah, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (see Isaiah 2:2-2:3, Psalm 48:1-2 e.g.).

> Another possibility was proposed by archaeologist David Rohl, based on archaeological evidence, putting the Garden of Eden in northern Iran. According to him, the garden was located in a vast plain referred to in ancient Sumerian texts as Edin east of the Sahand Mountain, near Tabriz. He cites several geological similarities with Biblical descriptions, and multiple linguistic parallels as evidence. The region today is bound by a large mountain range to the North, East and South, and marshlands to the west. The eastern mountain region has a pass leading in and out of the Edin region. This fits with the Biblical geography of Eden containing marshlands to the west, and the Land of Nod to the east, outside the Garden.

> Dr. Juris Zarins, of Southwest Missouri State University, believes that the Garden of Eden vanished long before Genesis was written by Moses and presently lies under the waters of the Persian Gulf. This theory is based on the Flandrian Transgression, also known as the last glacial period, which caused a sudden rise in sea level around 5000 BC.

> According to the website, Evidence for God, Rich Deem states, "Although it is possible that the garden of Eden was in Africa, it would have to be at the very boundary of potential locations. In addition, such a location would contradict the Genesis 2 narrative that says God planted the garden "toward the east" (presumably east of Israel). Ethiopia is to the southwest. Therefore, the Persian Gulf region matches the description of the biblical narrative the best." godandscience.org/out of africa

> In the rabbinic literatures of the Talmud and the Jewish Kabbalah, the scholars agree that there are two types of spiritual places called Garden in Eden. The first is rather terrestrial, of abundant fertility and luxuriant vegetation, known as the "lower Gan Eden". The second is envisioned as being celestial, the habitation of righteous, Jewish and non-Jewish, immortal souls, known as the "higher Gan Eden". The Rabbanim differentiate between Gan and Eden. Adam is said to have dwelt only in the Gan. Whereas Eden is said never to be witnessed by any mortal eye. However, these sources do not go into detail about the garden's location.

Conclusion of the Garden of Eden's location.

There are many stories, myths, epics and poems attributed to the Garden of Eden, but none have satisfied the curiosity of mankind as to its actual location. The quest for pinpointing the exact location of the  biblical Garden of Eden and the four rivers almost rivals the quest for the location of fabled Atlantis. And the theories that abound are almost as numerous as the interpretations of the seven days of Genesis. Most likely the ancient land of plenty will continue to remain a hidden mystery from the curious seekers determined to unlock its enigmatic location. 

For many centuries the mysterious Garden of Eden has been surrounded by uncertainty.