From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Garden of Eden story recounts how God created Adam and Eve, gave them the commandment not to eat of the tree of knowledge, and expelled them from the garden after they disobeyed Him and ate the fruit. The story is in Genesis, chapters 2 and 3.
The Bible and Torah contain little information on the garden itself. It was said to be home to both the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge, as well as an abundance of other vegetation that could feed Adam and Eve. The Garden is also said to have a river running through it that then divided into four branches: the Tigris, Euphrates, the Pishon and the Gihon.
There have been a number of claims as to the actual geographic location of the Garden of Eden, but none of these have much factual basis. Most put it somewhere in the Middle East near Mesopotamia. Locations as diverse as Ethiopia, Java, the Seychelles, and Bristol, Florida have all been proposed as locations for the garden. Many theologians believe that the Garden never had a terrestrial existance, but was instead an adjunct to heaven. Most non-religious people doubt the Garden is anything more than a legend.
In Greek versions of Genesis the Garden if refered to as the Garden of Paradise. This word is Persian in origin and it means a large a pleasant tract of land. The term Eden is Sumerian via Hebrew and is derived from the term Edinu. Edinu was a garden with had a similar role in Sumerian mythology.
The Garden has frequently been portrayed in art and literature. Much of Paradise Lost occurs there.
See: Original Sin, millennialism.
