The name Eden is derived either from the Hebrew root meaning "to be fruitful, plentiful" or from a Sumerian word meaning "steppe, flatland". The biblical "Garden of Eden" motif occurs in three basic contexts: the second creation story (Gen 2:8-9, 15-16; 3:1-10, 23-24); a related, more mythologically oriented version of that story, concerning primeval times, which tells of a guardian angel who is later struck down by God because of his sins and wrongdoing (Ezek 28:12-16); and in two main similes – the first in an oracle of consolation referring to the rebuilding and recultivating of the land that had previously been laid waste (Ezek 36:35), and the second, in an oracle of rebuke alluding to the fertile condition of the land before its destruction (Joel 2:3). Other related passages include the listing of the irrigation sources responsible for Eden's lush fertility (Gen 2:10-14) which provides an etiological origin for the Garden of Eden concept; a geographical note regarding the banishment of Cain to the land of Nod, east of Eden (Gen 4:16); and additional similes and extended comparisons (Gen 13:10; Is 51:3; Ezek 31:8-9, 16, 18). Not all of the above passages include the exact phrase "Garden of Eden". As indicated by the parallelism in Isaiah 51:3 and Ezekiel 28:13 (cf Ezek 31:91), the phrase "Garden of Eden" may be replaced by its synonyms "Garden of the Lord" (Gen 13:10; Is 51:3) and "Garden of God" (Ezek 28:13; 31:8-9). While the second biblical creation story contains many unique elements, and in its entirety has no complete ancient Near Eastern counterpart, the cosmological motif of a paradise-like garden with lush, well-irrigated vegetation somehow connected with creation, is present in ancient Near Eastern literature, especially in Sumerian mythology. Many scholars believe that in the light of geographical information provided in Genesis 2:10-14, Eden is to be located near the Persian Gulf, maybe Bahrein, which is also the assumed location of the mythical garden, Dilmun, in the Sumerian myth.
Concordance
Gen 2:8-10,15-16; 3:1-3,8, 10, 23-24; 4:16; 13:10. Is 51:3. Ezek 28:13; 31:8-9; 36:35. Joel 2:3
