Topical Encyclopedia
Introduction:Eden is a significant location in the biblical narrative, primarily known as the setting for the creation of the first humans, Adam and Eve. It is described as a paradise, a garden planted by God, where the first man and woman lived in harmony with nature and in direct communion with God before the Fall.
Biblical Description:The Garden of Eden is introduced in the Book of Genesis.
Genesis 2:8-9 states, "And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
Geographical Location:The exact geographical location of Eden is a subject of much speculation and debate.
Genesis 2:10-14 provides a description of a river that flows out of Eden to water the garden and divides into four headwaters: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. These descriptions have led some to suggest locations in the Mesopotamian region, though no definitive archaeological evidence has been found.
Theological Significance:Eden represents the ideal state of creation, a place of perfect harmony and fellowship between God and humanity. It is a symbol of innocence and purity, where Adam and Eve lived without sin. The presence of the tree of life signifies eternal life, while the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents the moral choice given to humanity.
The Fall:The narrative of the Fall in
Genesis 3 describes how Adam and Eve, tempted by the serpent, ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, resulting in their expulsion from Eden.
Genesis 3:23-24 recounts, "So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After He drove the man out, He stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life."
Symbolism and Typology:Eden is often seen as a type of the heavenly paradise promised to believers. The restoration of Edenic conditions is a theme throughout Scripture, culminating in the vision of the New Jerusalem in Revelation, where the tree of life reappears (
Revelation 22:2). Eden serves as a reminder of humanity's original purpose and the hope of redemption and restoration through Jesus Christ.
Cultural and Historical Impact:The account of Eden has had a profound impact on art, literature, and theology throughout history. It has been depicted in countless works of art and has influenced theological discussions on topics such as original sin, free will, and the nature of humanity.
Conclusion:The Garden of Eden remains a powerful symbol of God's original design for creation and the hope of restoration through divine grace. Its narrative continues to inspire and challenge believers to seek a deeper relationship with God and to live in accordance with His will.
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
Edenpleasure; delight
Smith's Bible Dictionary
Eden(pleasure).
- The first residence of man, called in the SeptuagintParadise. The latter is a word of Persian origin, and describes an extensive tract of pleasure land, somewhat like an English park; and the use of it suggests a wider view of man's first abode than a garden. The description of Eden is found in (Genesis 2:8-14) In the eastern portion of the region of Eden was the garden planted. The Hiddekel, one of its rivers, is the modern Tigris; the Euphrates is the same as the modern Euphrates. With regard to the Pison and Gihon a great variety of opinion exists, but the best authorities are divided between (1) Eden as in northeast Arabia, at the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris, and their separation again, making the four rivers of the different channels of these two, or (2), and most probably, Eden as situated in Armenia, near the origin of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, and in which same region rise the Araxes (Pison of Genesis) and the Oxus (Gihon).
- One of the marts which supplied the luxury of Tyre with richly-embroidered stuffs. In (2 Kings 19:12) and Isai 37:12 "The sons of Eden" are mentioned with Gozan, Haran and Rezeph as victims of the Assyrian greed of conquest. Probability seems to point to the northwest of Mesopotamia as the locality of Eden.
- BETH-EDEN, "house of pleasure:" probably the name of a country residence of the kings of Damascus. (Amos 1:5)
ATS Bible Dictionary
EdenA province in Asia, in which was Paradise. "The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed,"Genesis 2:8. The topography of Eden is thus described: "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," etc.
This obscure passage has received many different explanations and applications, none of which are fully satisfactory; and now it is impossible to say with certainty where Eden lay. Most writers have sought for it in some elevated and central region, the heights of which would give rise to various rivers flowing off in different directions through lower grounds to their outlets. Such a region exists in the high lands of Armenia, west of Mount Ararat and 5,000 feet above the sea. Here, within a circle but a few miles in diameter, four large rivers rise: the Euphrates, and Tigris, or Hiddekel, flowing south into the Persian Gulf; the Araxes, flowing northeast into the Caspian Sea; and the Phasis, or the Halys, flowing northwest into the Black Sea. This fourth river may have been the Pishon of Eden; and the Araxes may well be the Gihon, since both words mean the same, and describe its dart-like swiftness. This elevated country, still beautiful and fertile, may have been the land of Eden; and in its choicest portion, towards the east, the garden may once have smiled.
Another location of Eden is now preferred by many interpreters-near the spot where the Euphrates and Tigris from a junction after their long wanderings, a hundred and twenty miles north of the Persian gulf, and where the river Ulai flows in from the northeast. This region may have been greatly changed by the lapse of many thousand years, and may now bear little resemblance to the luxuriant and beautiful plain of primeval times. Yet long after the flood the plain of Shinar in the same region attracted the admiration of the sons of Cush,Genesis 10:8-10; 11:2. As two of the rivers of Eden bear the familiar names of the Euphrates and Tigris, it seems probable that it was in one or the other of the regions above named. Wherever it was, it is there no more since the fall and the curse. The first chapters of the Bible show Paradise withdrawn from man's view, and no pilgrimage can discover it upon earth. The last chapters of the Bible restore to our view a more glorious and enduring Paradise: "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life."
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Delight.
(1.) The garden in which our first parents dewlt (Genesis 2:8-17). No geographical question has been so much discussed as that bearing on its site. It has been placed in Armenia, in the region west of the Caspian Sea, in Media, near Damascus, in Palestine, in Southern Arabia, and in Babylonia. The site must undoubtedly be sought for somewhere along the course of the great streams the Tigris and the Euphrates of Western Asia, in "the land of Shinar" or Babylonia. The region from about lat. 33 degrees 30' to lat. 31 degrees, which is a very rich and fertile tract, has been by the most competent authorities agreed on as the probable site of Eden. "It is a region where streams abound, where they divide and re-unite, where alone in the Mesopotamian tract can be found the phenomenon of a single river parting into four arms, each of which is or has been a river of consequence."
Among almost all nations there are traditions of the primitive innocence of our race in the garden of Eden. This was the "golden age" to which the Greeks looked back. Men then lived a "life free from care, and without labour and sorrow. Old age was unknown; the body never lost its vigour; existence was a perpetual feast without a taint of evil. The earth brought forth spontaneously all things that were good in profuse abundance."
(2.) One of the Markets whence the merchants of Tyre obtained richly embroidered stuffs (Ezek. 27:23); the same, probably, as that mentioned in2 Kings 19:12, andIsaiah 37:12, as the name of a region conquered by the Assyrians.
(3.) Son of Joah, and one of the Levites who assisted in reforming the public worship of the sanctuary in the time of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:12).
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(
n.) The garden where Adam and Eve first dwelt; hence, a delightful region or residence.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
CHILDREN OF EDENe'-d'-n (bene `edhen): In2 Kings 19:12Isaiah 37:12 "the children of Eden that were in Telassar" are mentioned in connection with "Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph" as having been destroyed by the Assyrians who were before the time of Sennacherib. The expression, "the children of Eden that were in Telassar," undoubtedly referred to a tribe which inhabited a region of which Telassar was the center. Telassar means "the hill of Asshur" and, according to Schrader, it was a name that might have been given to any place where a temple had been built to Asshur. Inasmuch as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph were in Mesopotamia it would seem probable that "the children of Eden that were in Telassar" belonged to the same locality. The "children of Eden" is quite probably to be identified with the Bit `Adini of the inscriptions and this referred to a district on the middle Euphrates. According to the inscriptions Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and Bit `Adini were destroyed by Sennacherib's forefathers, and this is in accord with the account in 2 Kings and Isaiah.
The "Eden" ofEzekiel 27:23 is usually taken as the name of a place in Mesopotamia with which Tyre had commercial relations, and probably belongs to the region of "the chilrden of Eden," discussed above.
Some writers think the "Beth-eden" ofAmos 1:5 the Revised Version, margin (the American Standard Revised Version "Aven") is to be identified with the Bit `Adini of the inscriptions and hence, with "the children of Eden," but this is doubtful. This was perhaps in Syria in the neighborhood of Damascus.
A. W. Fortune
EDEN
e'-d'-n (`edhen, "delight"; Edem):
(1) The land in which "Yahweh God planted a garden," where upon his creation "he put the man whom he had formed" (Genesis 2:8).
In the Assyrian inscriptions idinu (Accadian, edin) means "plain" and it is from this that the Biblical word is probably derived. Following are the references to Eden in the Bible, aside from those inGenesis 2 and 3:Genesis 4:16Isaiah 51:3Ezekiel 28:13;Ezekiel 31:9, 16, 18; 36:35Joel 2:3.EDEN, HOUSE OF
SeeAVEN;BETH-EDEN; CHILDREN OF EDEN.
EDEN, CHILDREN OF
SeeCHILDREN OF EDEN.
RIVERS OF EDEN
SeeEDEN (1).
Greek
3857. paradeisos -- a park, a garden, a paradise... paradise. Of Oriental origin (compare pardec); a park, ie (specially), an
Eden (place of future happiness, "paradise") -- paradise. see HEBREW pardec.
...Strong's Hebrew
5731.Eden -- the garden home of Adam and Eve... 5730b, 5731.
Eden. 5732 . the garden home of Adam and Eve. Transliteration:
Eden Phonetic Spelling: (ay'-den) Short Definition:
Eden.
...1040. BethEden -- "house of pleasure," a place in Aram (Syria)
BethEden. 1039, 1040. BethEden. 1041 . "house of pleasure," a place
in Aram (Syria). Transliteration: BethEden Phonetic Spelling...
5729.Eden -- a territory conquered by Assyr.
... 5728, 5729.Eden. 5730 . a territory conquered by Assyr. Transliteration:
Eden Phonetic Spelling: (eh'-den) Short Definition:Eden....
5730b.Eden -- a Levite
...Eden. 5731 . a Levite. Transliteration:Eden Short Definition:Eden. Word Origin
from the same aseden Definition a Levite NASB Word UsageEden (2)....
5730.eden -- a luxury, dainty, delight
... 5729, 5730.eden. 5730a . a luxury, dainty, delight. Transliteration:eden
Phonetic Spelling: (ay'-den) Short Definition: delicate.... See also Beyth 'Eden....
134.eden -- a base, pedestal
... 133, 134.eden. 135 . a base, pedestal. Transliteration:eden Phonetic Spelling:
(eh'-den) Short Definition: sockets.... 133, 134.eden. 135 . Strong's Numbers
5730a.eden -- a luxury, dainty, delight
... 5730, 5730a.eden. 5730b . a luxury, dainty, delight. Transliteration:eden
Short Definition: delicacies.... 5730, 5730a.eden. 5730b . Strong's Numbers.
6376. Pishon -- one of the rivers ofEden
... 6375, 6376. Pishon. 6377 . one of the rivers ofEden. Transliteration: Pishon
Phonetic Spelling: (pee-shone') Short Definition: Pishon....
1521. Gichon -- "a bursting forth," one of the rivers ofEden...
... 1520, 1521. Gichon. 1522 . "a bursting forth," one of the rivers ofEden,
also a spring near Jer. Transliteration: Gichon Phonetic...
2051. Vedan -- a place of unknown location
... Dan also. Perhaps foreden; Vedan (or Aden), a place in Arabia -- Dan also. see
HEBREWeden. 2050, 2051. Vedan. 2052 . Strong's Numbers.
Library
Back toEden.
... The Plan for Jesus' Coming Back toEden. The effect upon all the nations of
the earth is a large part of the background of the picture....
Eden Lost and Restored
... GENESISEDEN LOST AND RESTORED.... Better is the end of a thing than the beginning.'
Eden was fair, but the heavenly city shall be fairer....
The EarlyEden Picture.
... The Purpose in Jesus' Coming The EarlyEden Picture. But one will never
get to understand this Jesus until he gets a good look at...
Outside theEden Gate.
... The Purpose in Jesus' Coming Outside theEden Gate.... Both have their hinges in the
will, the heart. Man gave both doors a slam shut that day inEden....
No Longer Now atEden's Gate
... No longer now atEden's gate. tr., John Brownlie 8,6,8,6. kai ten phloginen rhomphaian.
(kontakion). I. No longer now atEden's gate. The fiery weapon gleams,....
The Voice that Breathed O'erEden
... SACRAMENTS AND RITES Holy Matrimony 383. The voice that breathed o'erEden.
7.6.7.6... Melchior Vulpius, c.1609. John Keble, 1857. The voice that breathed o'er...
God Spelling Himself Out in Jesus.
... He left home. He left his native land,Eden, where he lived with God.... He is the
A and the Z, and all between, of the OldEden language of love....
On Fruit Bearing.
... language is found in Isa.51:3: "For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort
all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness likeEden, and her...
Matthew xxii. 32
... Thus, in the account given of the fall of man, the sentence of death and of being
cast out ofEden go together; and if any one compares the description of the...
Appendix 2 the Case of Adam
... When Adam was placed inEden he stood there as our representative, so that what
he did is reckoned to the account of each for whom he acted....
Thesaurus
Eden (19 Occurrences)... 31 degrees, which is a very rich and fertile tract, has been by the most competent
authorities agreed on as the probable site of
Eden.
... CHILDREN OF
EDEN.
...Beth-eden (1 Occurrence)
Beth-eden. Betheden, Beth-eden. Beth-eked . Int.... BETH-EDEN. beth-e'-den (Amos
1:5 King James Version, margin; English Versions of the Bible "house ofEden")...
Telassar (2 Occurrences)
... Meaning: This city, which is referred to by Sennacherib's messengers to Hezekiah,
is stated by them to have been inhabited by the "children ofEden." It had...
Gihon (6 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary A stream. (1.) One of the four rivers ofEden (Genesis
2:13). It has been identified with the Nile.... (seeEDEN.)....
Canneh (1 Occurrence)
... CANNEH. kan'-e (kanneh; Chanaa): Mentioned in Ezekiel 27:23 in connection with Haran
andEden as one of the places with which Tyre had commercial relations....
Paradise (6 Occurrences)
... A Persian word (pardes), properly meaning a "pleasure-ground" or "park" or "king's
garden." (seeEDEN.) It came in course of time to be used as a name for the...
Nod (2 Occurrences)
... It lay on the east ofEden.... nod (nodh): The land ofEden, to which Cain migrated
after the murder of his brother and his banishment by Yahweh (Genesis 4:16)....
Nether (19 Occurrences)
... I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell
with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees ofEden, the choice...
Rezeph (2 Occurrences)
... surrender of Jerusalem. The names which precede are Gozan and Haran; and
"the children ofEden that were Telassar" follows. 2. Now...
Elohim (38 Occurrences)
... soul. (DBY). Genesis 2:8 And Jehovah Elohim planted a garden inEden eastward,
and there put Man whom he had formed. (DBY). Genesis...
Resources
What is the location of the Garden of Eden? | GotQuestions.orgWhy did God have the cherubim guard just the east side of Eden (Genesis 3:24)? | GotQuestions.orgIs Göbekli Tepe where the Garden of Eden was located? | GotQuestions.orgEden: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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