Where was Eden?

[tonychanyt]

Was Eden an earthly location?

I think so. Gen 2:

8 The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

This was a description of a physical earthly location. It even mentioned the names of some rivers that we know today.

After the fall, Gen 3:

22 the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Adam, Eve, and their descendants were prevented from entering the garden.

Where was Eden?

Wiki:

Suggestions for the location of the Garden of Eden include[3][34] the head of the Persian Gulf, as argued by Juris Zarins, in southern Mesopotamia (now Iraq and Kuwait) where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers run into the sea;[4] and in the Armenian Highlands or Armenian Plateau.[5][35][6][7]

Today, we do not know the precise geographical location of Eden. Some scholars thought it was located in Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day Iraq. The Pishon and Gihon had dried up.

Where was Eden?

Probably somewhere in the territory of modern-day Iraq.

The following is from The New Inductive Study Bible:

 

[Grip Docility]

I think so. Gen 2:


This was a description of a physical earthly location. It even mentioned the names of some rivers that we know today.

After the fall, Gen 3:


Adam, Eve, and their descendants were prevented from entering the garden.

Where was Eden?

Today, we do not know the precise geographical location of Eden. Some scholars thought it was located in Mesopotamia, in the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day Iraq. The Pishon and Gihon had dried up.

Was Eden an earthly location?

I think so. It was located somewhere in the territory of modern-day Iraq.

I'll spout some speculative nonsense just to do so. I, personally, believe that we could see Angels and Spiritual things before our fall. I know you don't believe in a literal Sheol, Tony, but I do! I think all of that stuff was originally purposed differently and upon the big Pandora's Box event, we lost sight of the Spiritual overlay, literally.

On the cross, when Jesus speaks to the Thief, It can render "You will be with Me, Today, in Ga-Eden. I, personally, believe that Ga-Eden was repurposed to "The Bosom of Abraham" upon the entry of Death into our perfect Utopia (thanks for nothing satan). The rest of the "Spiritual overlay" is what I believe to be actual Sheol, which biblically is likened unto the ocean, teaming with "shades" or "ghosts" (It's in there, Tony!).

Thank you for the three opportunities that you have provided today to step aside from literal exegesis, to some fun campfire discussion Bible fun!

All Love in the Name of Jesus Christ to you Tony, my friend and brother in Him!

 

[tonychanyt]

I know you don't believe in a literal Sheol, Tony,

What made you think that?

 

[Grip Docility]

What made you think that?

Gasp! Wait. No..... Yes?!?

 

[Qubit]

Where was Eden?

In the same place the Mountain of God was located.

Jerusalem.

Was Eden an earthly location?

It depends on what you mean by 'Earthly'. The prelapsarian universe was not in a fallen state.

God 'cursed the ground' after the Fall. All matter in the universe fell into its current state of entropy, decay, death, etc.

Before that, there was no death. That includes plants and animals.

I think so. It was located somewhere in the territory of modern-day Iraq.

No. That is not where the Mountain of God is.

 

[tonychanyt]

Gasp! Wait. No..... Yes?!?

Sheol is not space-time physical but spiritual or, if you like, literally a spiritual location. See From Sheol to hell

 

[Grafted In]

I think Eden was Jeruselem. Scripture says the garden was created at the east of Eden and man was expelled from the garden further east yet. That might place man in the same location Abraham was called to God's mountain in Jeruselem?
No real clear understanding but that's what it seems to me to be.

 

[David Lamb]

I think Eden was Jeruselem. Scripture says the garden was created at the east of Eden and man was expelled from the garden further east yet. That might place man in the same location Abraham was called to God's mountain in Jeruselem?
No real clear understanding but that's what it seems to me to be.

I don't think we can be too accurate in locating Eden, because the worldwide flood would have completely changed the geography of the world.

 

[Grafted In]

I don't think we can be too accurate in locating Eden, because the worldwide flood would have completely changed the geography of the world.

You're right, of course. What I wrote was purely speculation and with no Scriptual basis. Just thoughts I've tossed around in my head for some time.
As has been pointed out, we simply aren't told.

 

[Ace777]

Was Eden an earthly location?

Yes Eden was and Eden still is because Noah saved all the plants and animals of Eden on the ARK. We read about all of these plants and animals in the Bible. Science calls this a biodiverse eco system. This was the beginning of civilization when man became a food producer. So he was able to feed a lot of people and the populations exploded to what we find today. Before Eden there were very few people on the earth in comparison to what we see today. We know that David: "kept his father's sheep" and protected them from lions and bears. He was no one to mess with that is for sure. Goliath had no idea who he was messing with. They laughed at David with his little sling shot. But you live by the sword you die by the sword and David used Goliath's own sword to kill him.

If it had not been for Noah man would still be a hunter gather today. Instead of billions we would have millions of people.

 

[tonychanyt]

Noah saved all the plants and animals of Eden on the ARK

Is Eden the plants and animals or a geographical location?

 

[Ace777]

Is Eden the plants and animals or a geographical location?

Yes both. There are a lot of places we can go to study about Eden. Our history book. our Biology science book. For example there are professors at the universities in Jerusalem with PhD's in Botany that can tell you exactly how the wild plants in the middle east became domesticated. Science is very interested in how farming or food production began in the middle east and spread to Europe from there. While we are on the subject I will thrown in a little tid bit. They had baskets they would carry they food in that they collected. Then one day they began to use clay vessels. This was when food began to ferment and turn into alcohol. Even people joke about Noah and how he would turn barley into beer and grapes into wine. Then he would sail up and down the river selling his alcohol.

 

[tonychanyt]

Yes both.

verse?

 

[Ace777]

Is Eden the plants and animals or a geographical location?

We are told the Cedars of Lebanon are greater than the trees in the Garden of Eden. Ezekiel 31:8 "No tree in the garden of God could compare with its beauty." These are the trees that were used to build the temple in the day of Solomon.

 

[Ace777]

Is Eden the plants and animals or a geographical location?

Moses goes to a great length to tell us exactly where Eden was. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are still there today. The other two are there but they have dried up. There is no water in them anymore. You can see them from the Google satellite photos. My screenshot is not working now but you can bring it up on your system.

Genesis 2:8
And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

10Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it branched into four headwaters:

11The name of the first river is Pishon; it winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12And the gold of that land is pure, and bdellium and onyx are found there.

13The name of the second river is Gihon; it winds through the whole land of Cush.

14The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it runs along the east side of Assyria.

And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

 

[Ace777]

I don't think we can be too accurate in locating Eden, because the worldwide flood would have completely changed the geography of the world.

This is no secret. Science knows where civilization began in the Middle East in the Tigris Euphrates river valley. Man ate a lot of fish and he stayed lose to the rivers back then. The people looking for arrowheads can find them in abundance by the banks of the river. I have arrowheads my grandfather found when he was building his house over 100 years ago.

 

[David Lamb]

This is no secret. Science knows where civilization began in the Middle East in the Tigris Euphrates river valley. Man ate a lot of fish and he stayed lose to the rivers back then. The people looking for arrowheads can find them in abundance by the banks of the river. I have arrowheads my grandfather found when he was building his house over 100 years ago.

My point was that a worldwide flood, which involved what the bible calls "the fountains of the great deep" were broken up, and the mountains covered, would have drastically changed the positions of such features as rivers, seas and mountains.

 

[Ace777]

My point was that a worldwide flood, which involved what the bible calls "the fountains of the great deep" were broken up, and the mountains covered, would have drastically changed the positions of such features as rivers, seas and mountains.

In the area I am in the river is the same after the ice age as it was before. I photograph the conglomerate rock from the old river. In fact God gives us a huge amount of evidence to study because He wants us to know.

Bruce Feiler is a trained journalist He wrote a book: "Waking the Bible". He goes to all the places that we read about in our Bible. Even there is a PBS program on youtube that is very interesting.

 

[Diamond72]

I don't think we can be too accurate in locating Eden, because the worldwide flood would have completely changed the geography of the world.

Eden is most likely under the Persian Gulf. With the new drone cameras we can see the ruins of the civilizations that are under water.

 

[David Lamb]

Eden is most likely under the Persian Gulf. With the new drone cameras we can see the ruins of the civilizations that are under water.

But what do the drone cameras show that makes the Persian Gulf any more likely than some other place for the location of Eden? You say we can see the ruins of the civilizations that are under water, but in the bible we don't read anything about "civilisations" in the sense of buildings and artefacts, in the Garden of Eden.