Gen 2:8-14 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Gen 2:8-14: 2:8-14 Analogous to the sacred time marked out on the seventh day of creation (2:2-3 ), the sacred space of the garden in Eden was separate from the surrounding world. It functioned as a garden-temple or sanctuary because the Lord manifested his presence there in a special way. 2:8 Eden was the general location in which the garden was placed, not the garden itself. The term could mean “plain,” “delight,” or “fertility.” The description that follows favors the idea of fertility. • in the east: The exact location of Eden is left to speculation, but it was east of Canaan, Israel’s later home. • God placed the man in the garden for divine fellowship and physical blessing (see also 2:15 and study note there).

Summary for Gen 2:8-14: 2:8-14 ^a Analogous to the sacred time marked out on the seventh day of creation (2:2-3 ^b), the sacred space of the garden in Eden was separate from the surrounding world. It functioned as a garden-temple or sanctuary because the Lord manifested his presence there in a special way. 2:8 ^c Eden was the general location in which the garden was placed, not the garden itself. The term could mean “plain,” “delight,” or “fertility.” The description that follows favors the idea of fertility.

• in the east: The exact location of Eden is left to speculation, but it was east of Canaan, Israel’s later home.

• God placed the man in the garden for divine fellowship and physical blessing (see also 2:15 ^d and study note there).
2:9 ^e Beauty and bounty characterized humanity’s original environment (cp. 13:10 ^f).

• The tree of life represented God’s presence and provision. The one who ate of it would have everlasting life (3:22 ^g), which made it a rich image for later Israelite and Christian reflection (Prov 3:18 ^h; 11:30 ⁱ; 13:12 ^j; Rev 2:7 ^k; 22:2 ^l, 14 ^m, 19 ⁿ). The candlestick in Israel’s Tabernacle may have been a stylized representation of it (Exod 25:31-35 ^o).

• Eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil enabled humanity’s capacity for wisdom (Gen 3:6 ^p) and moral discernment (3:5 ^q, 22 ^r; cp. Deut 1:39 ^s, “innocent”). Eating from it represented a human grasp for autonomy and wisdom that were God’s alone (cp. Prov 30:1-4 ^t). Humans sidestepped God’s revelation as the means of moral discernment, flaunting their independence rather than submitting to God’s will (cp. Prov 1:7 ^u). Choosing human wisdom over God’s instruction brings death and destruction (see Ps 19:7-9 ^v; Ezek 28:6 ^w, 15-17 ^x).
Summary for Gen 2:10-14: 2:10-14 ^y This detailed description portrays the eastern region around Eden as a mountain with rivers flowing out to the world. Eden’s beauty and fertility enriched the whole earth. 2:10 ^z The river that was watering the garden was a material blessing (bringing agricultural fertility) and a symbol of God’s presence (cp. Ps 46:4 ^aa; Ezek 47:1-12 ^ab; Zech 14:8 ^ac; Rev 22:1-2 ^ad).

• dividing into four branches (literally heads): The common understanding is that one river had its source in Eden, flowed down through the garden, and then split into the four rivers named.
2:11 ^ae The Pishon and the Gihon (2:13 ^af) cannot be identified with certainty. If the land of Havilah was in southeast Arabia or on the African coast, as some biblical data suggest (see 10:7 ^ag; 25:18 ^ah; 1 Sam 15:7 ^ai), then the Pishon was possibly the Nile River. Josephus thought that Havilah and the Pishon were in India (Antiquities 1.1.3). Two other proposals suggest: (1) rivers in the mountains of eastern Turkey where the Tigris and Euphrates (Gen 2:14 ^aj) also flow, and (2) the marshy delta near the Persian Gulf. Current geographical conditions make any theory impossible to prove conclusively.
2:12 ^ak The magnificence and fertility of the garden are pictured as spreading to the surrounding regions through the rivers flowing out from it. The four rivers possibly imply that the garden’s bounty flowed out to the four corners of the earth.

• Gold and onyx were later used for decorating the Tabernacle, the Temple (Exod 25:3-9 ^al; 1 Chr 29:2 ^am), and the priests’ clothing (Exod 28:9-14 ^an, 20 ^ao).

• Resin was used in sacred incense (Exod 30:34 ^ap).
2:13 ^aq Gihon: Though unknown, proposals have included the Nile (as in the Greek version of Jer 2:18 ^ar; Josephus, Antiquities 1.1.3), the Jordan, or, according to Jewish tradition, a river that formerly ran through the Kidron Valley (1 Kgs 1:33 ^as; 2 Chr 33:14 ^at).

• Although Cush is the name of ancient Ethiopia, Mesopotamian regions associated with Babylon seem to be the immediate setting (see 10:8 ^au); Cush is possibly the land of the Kassites, a dynasty ruling in Babylonia.
2:14 ^av Tigris ... Euphrates: These well-known rivers flow from the mountains of eastern Turkey.