Rethinking the Garden of Eden

First things first— the Hebrew word גן means garden, and refers to a safe enclosure. Add the word עדן to it, and the overtone is of a pleasurable place, a garden of earthly delights—the garden of Eden. Now nothing at all in these words, nor in the story we are reflecting on in Gen. 2-3 suggests either the idea of a Temple, or the notion that Eden was a place where God took up residence. Nothing at all. The description of the place with its connection to four rivers, and the intimation it was a verdant place with trees bearing fruit, certainly suits the word garden… but not a temple, despite the recent popularity of talking about the garden also being a temple for God. Let’s take a moment and listen again to the old old story. “Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…. 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free...