Difference between revisions of "Garden of Eden"
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[[Image:Hieronymus Bosch - The Garden of Earthly Delights.jpg|right|thumb|The Earthly Paradise (Garden of Eden), painted by Hieronymus Bosch part of The Garden of Earthly Delights.]] | [[Image:Hieronymus Bosch - The Garden of Earthly Delights.jpg|right|thumb|The Earthly Paradise (Garden of Eden), painted by Hieronymus Bosch part of The Garden of Earthly Delights.]] | ||
| − | + | The '''Garden of Eden''' (Hebrew: גַּן עֵדֶן ''`edhen''; "delight") was the dwelling place for the first two humans [[God]] created - [[Adam]] and [[Eve]] - according to the [[Bible|biblical]] book of [[Genesis]], . The Garden was a paradise of plenty where Adam and Eve would never suffer illness or death. However, Adam and Eve defied the will of God by eating the [[forbidden fruit]] (the fruit of the [[Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil]]) at the center of the Garden, and God cast them out of the Garden so that they would no longer live forever. Genesis says that a [[cherub]] (angel) with a flaming sword then guarded the Garden of Eden to prevent humans from returning. | |
| − | == Description == | + | ==Description== |
| + | Genesis describes the Garden as being "in the east, in Eden" (Gen 2:8). In the Assyrian inscriptions ''idinu'' (Accadian: ''edin'') means "plain" and it is from this that the Biblical word is probably derived. The Garden is described as having "all kinds" of trees growing in it, and two are specifically named: the [[Tree of Life]], and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the latter being in the center of the Garden (Gen 2:9). It was from this tree that Adam was told that he was forbidden to eat from (Gen 2:17). The vegetation was luxurious (Gen 2:9) and the fig tree indigenous (Gen 3:7), and where it was watered by four rivers which flowed from Eden: | ||
| − | + | :''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 Pison: 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: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.'' | ||
| + | ::(''Genesis 2:10-14; King James Version'') | ||
| − | + | Biblical scholars have determined the last two rivers mentioned to be the existing Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which have their headwaters in the Zagros Mountains of Iran; the other two - the Pison and Gihon rivers - were more problematic. | |
| − | + | All kinds of animals, including cattle, beasts of the field and birds, were found there (Gen 2:19,20). Moreover, the climate was such that clothing was not needed for warmth. It is not surprising, therefore, that the plural of the word has the meaning "delights," and that Eden has been supposed to mean the land of delights, and that the word became a synonym for Paradise. | |
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==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 07:49, August 15, 2009
The Garden of Eden (Hebrew: גַּן עֵדֶן `edhen; "delight") was the dwelling place for the first two humans God created - Adam and Eve - according to the biblical book of Genesis, . The Garden was a paradise of plenty where Adam and Eve would never suffer illness or death. However, Adam and Eve defied the will of God by eating the forbidden fruit (the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil) at the center of the Garden, and God cast them out of the Garden so that they would no longer live forever. Genesis says that a cherub (angel) with a flaming sword then guarded the Garden of Eden to prevent humans from returning.
Description
Genesis describes the Garden as being "in the east, in Eden" (Gen 2:8). In the Assyrian inscriptions idinu (Accadian: edin) means "plain" and it is from this that the Biblical word is probably derived. The Garden is described as having "all kinds" of trees growing in it, and two are specifically named: the Tree of Life, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the latter being in the center of the Garden (Gen 2:9). It was from this tree that Adam was told that he was forbidden to eat from (Gen 2:17). The vegetation was luxurious (Gen 2:9) and the fig tree indigenous (Gen 3:7), and where it was watered by four rivers which flowed from Eden:
- 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 Pison: 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: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
- (Genesis 2:10-14; King James Version)
Biblical scholars have determined the last two rivers mentioned to be the existing Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which have their headwaters in the Zagros Mountains of Iran; the other two - the Pison and Gihon rivers - were more problematic.
All kinds of animals, including cattle, beasts of the field and birds, were found there (Gen 2:19,20). Moreover, the climate was such that clothing was not needed for warmth. It is not surprising, therefore, that the plural of the word has the meaning "delights," and that Eden has been supposed to mean the land of delights, and that the word became a synonym for Paradise.
References
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