The Garden of Eden (Hebrew גַּן עֵדֶן, Gan ʿEḏen) or often Paradise is the biblical “garden of God,” described most notably in the Book of Genesis chapters 2 and 3, and also in the Book of Ezekiel. The “garden of God,” not called Eden, is mentioned in Genesis 13, and the “trees of the garden” are mentioned in Ezekiel 31. The Book of Zechariah and the Book of Psalms also refer to trees and water in relation to the temple without explicitly mentioning Eden.
Traditionally, the favored derivation of the name “Eden” was from the Akkadian edinnu, derived from a Sumerian word meaning “plain” or “steppe”. Eden is now believed to be more closely related to an Aramaic root word meaning “fruitful, well-watered.” The Hebrew term is translated “pleasure” in Sarah’s secret saying in Genesis 18:12.
Much like records of the great flood, creation story and confusion of languages, the story of Eden echoes the Mesopotamian myth of a king, as a primordial man, who is placed in a divine garden to guard the tree of life. In the Hebrew Bible, Adam and Eve are depicted as walking around the Garden of Eden naked due to their innocence. Eden and its rivers may signify the real Jerusalem, the Temple of Solomon, or the Promised Land. It may also represent the divine garden on Zion, and the mountain of God, which was also Jerusalem. The imagery of the Garden, with its serpent and cherubs, has been compared to the images of the Solomonic Temple with its copper serpent (the nehushtan) and guardian cherubs.
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Author: Wikipedia
Keywords: Garden of Eden, Eden, Paradise, Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve in the Garden, Garden Paradise, Paradise of God, Garden of God, Garden
Bible reference(s): Gen 2:8-10, Genesis 2:15
Source: This article uses material from the Wikipedia article “Garden of Eden,” which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
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