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The Garden of Eden is the first location mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 2), and is the backdrop for one of the most iconic histories of the Bible: The lives of Adam and Eve and their fall from grace. Whether or not you believe this to be true history or a purely symbolic or legendary account, it seems undeniable that the Bible itself treats the Garden as a real place.
The Garden is said to have been located in the land called Eden, which was in the East. The Bible names four rivers that watered the garden known as the Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates (Genesis 2:10-14), the other lands that these rivers flowed to and even what some of those lands were famous for. This Garden in Eden had a real location. So where is it?
“A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.”
Genesis 2:10
There are two basic ways that interpreters have dealt with these physical descriptors:
The first takes the text seriously and uses the Tigris and Euphrates rivers today as a place to begin. These rivers maintain their ancient names, and by and large still follow the same course beginning in the mountains of Turkey, joining together in modern Iraq and then emptying into the Persian Gulf. In this scenario the location of Garden of Eden is believed to be in the now flooded northern section of the Persian Gulf. Genesis 2:10 says, “A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.” This is interpreted as meaning that four rivers joined into one and then that one river flowed through the Garden and emptied into the Gulf. Interestingly there are candidates for the other two rivers.
The Gihon is identified with the Dez and Karun rivers that flow through Western Iran and still meet up with the Tigris and Euphrates.[1] Genesis links this Gihon river with the land of Cush, which in this view is tied to the Kassites (it is also noted that Nimrod son of Kush reigned in Mesopotamia in Genesis 10 – so there may have been a few lands named “Cush” in ancient times).[2]
In 1994 satellite radar images of northern Arabia revealed a long dried river that provides evidence for a possible Pishon river.[3] In Genesis this river Pishon is connected to the land of Havilah, and its abundant gold. This dried up river flowed from western Arabia that had ancient gold connections and may be identifiable as Havilah, it flowed east towards the Tigris and Euphrates whom it joined before flowing into the Persian Gulf.[4]
The second view also takes the text seriously, but interprets Genesis 2 in light of (Genesis 6-8) Noah’s Flood.[5] If the Bible is accurate, and this flood was a global event then the landscape in which the Garden of Eden existed is no more. There’s no real way of telling how much the geography of the world changed. Are mountains, canyons, rivers and gulfs now how they were before the Flood? It is unknown. How then does this theory account for the Tigris and Euphrates still existing? The survivors of the Flood rebuilt, and named their new surroundings after what once was.
Corie Bobechko is a daily co-host, speaker, and writer of Bible Discovery. She also hosts a YouTube channel that shows how history and archaeology prove the Bible. Her heart for seekers and skeptics has led her to seek truth and share it with others. Corie also has a Bachelor of Theology from Canada Christian College.
thank you, I want to know is garden of hidden still exsisting?
thanks
Based on research, there was one river that ran through the garden of Eden, after it left the garden, it split into four rivers not before the garden but after it left.
Garden of Eden:
Only a few issues with the experts. The garden didn’t exist in a desert. The direction of the rivers are off, and they don’t divide and come to 4 heads.
The river would flow through the garden divide then come to 4 heads. That means the river would flow through to the east from mountains that were north and south, and end up in the ocean or a large body of water. There is only one place where all the criteria is met. The Amazon river does exactly that. It flows east through a tropical forest, divides and comes into 4 heads at the Atlantic Ocean. Right there a Macapa, Brazil. If you follow the source of the Amazon river to the west over the mountains you will find Macchu Picchu. It is where the Ark was built by Noah, and his Sons. If you had a flood you wouldn’t build a boat on the desert floor the raging water would tip it over.
You would build it on top of a mountain. Macchu Picchu has an anchoring post at the front of the mezzanine, and walls built across the mezzanine to stabilize the underside of the boat. The flood came as lakes of water flowing off the ice dome that co teed the earth, that had given way. The Bible describes it as floodgates opening. This is the ice opening up. Over the oceans the ice connected to the sky, and over land it became as a dome over land. As the dome gave way the ice over the oceans pulled back splitting the continents apart. That is the only logical explanation
In the flood, all the fountains of the deep broken up and the windows of heaven were opened and it rained forty days and nights… when the water receded those fountains of the deep would still be flowing upward and outward… those river beds may have still had a semblance of the original and the flow possibly continued that path
Then because of the flood people don’t know where the garden of Eden was located !! Only what the word of God say’s 1
i was wondering how the garden of Eden could have a possible location today by the 4 rivers when Noahs flood would have chanced all those locations..How could we possiblyknow the location now?
Hey Kathy, Great to hear! We’ll email you as soon as we can –– thanks so much!
PLEASE SEND ME A BIBLE GUIDE BY MAIL
Good morning, I AM VERY INTERESTED IN READING THE BIBLE WITH YOU GUYS THROUGH THE YEAR ,YOU ARE A BLESSING TO ME I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET THE BIBLE GUIDE SO I CAN FOLLOW ALONG . THANK YOU FOR DOING GODS WILL TO TEACH OTHERS ABOUT THE WORD OF GOD. I AM PROUD OF YOU FAMILY ,GOD BLESS YOU