Thoughts about Genesis (13)

Genesis 2:10-14
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.
¹² And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.
¹³ The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush.
¹⁴ And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

Welcome to the Garden in Eden. You’ll notice that these verses give many landmarks that we assume would give away the location. Unfortunately for us today, these landmarks in the verses above do not match anything in existence. Noah’s flood changed the landscape; now, we can only guess where Eden was originally located. While it is easy to get caught up in figuring out where the Garden was, it becomes easy to overlook what the Bible is trying to tell us. What is the Bible trying to tell us? Ultimately, the Garden was a sacred place where YHWH dwelled with the man. But first, the landmarks:

According to Genesis 2:10–14, a single river flowed through Eden that watered the Garden and then split into four branches that divided the surrounding land: the Pishon flowed around the land of Havilah, the Gihon around the land of Cush, the Tigris flowed east of Assyria, and the Euphrates. The modern-day rivers of Euphrates and Tigris do not match the descriptions in verse 14.

Due to our limited knowledge of ancient geography, we will unlikely ever identify the rivers with certainty. Rather than focusing on the geographical locations of the rivers, I want to point out the use of the number four. Four usually symbolizes geographical totality in biblical and other ancient Near Eastern literature. The “four corners” of the earth in Isaiah 11:12 refer to the four points of the compass and, by extension, the whole world. In one of Zechariah’s prophetic visions, the four horses that patrol the world appear (1:8). Likewise, the “four heavenly winds” are frequently mentioned to denote the concept of wind spreading over the world as a whole Jeremiah 49:36, Ezekiel 37:9, Zechariah 2:10; 6:5. Therefore, the four river branches that flow out of Eden may be an indication that Eden was the center of the land; this may be the essential characteristics of a sacred space.

The geographic alignment of the Garden also speaks to the audience’s understanding of it as a sacred space. The entryway to the Garden was on the east side ( Genesis 3:24). This east-west alignment is one of the fundamental architectural elements of Israelite sacred buildings. The Tabernacle was oriented toward the east, with entrances on the east side, and was constructed in the center of the Israelite's encampment.

Eden’s plants speak to its nature as a sacred space. Trees are closely associated with encounters with God. Genesis 12:6–7 reports that when Abram arrived at Shechem, he experienced an encounter with God at the Oak of Moreh and built an altar there (12:7). This happened again by the oaks of Mamre in Genesis 18:1. Trees, in these stories, are the place of God’s self-disclosure. The biblical remark under every green tree ( Deuteronomy 12:2; 1 Kings 14:23; 2 Kings 17:10; Isaiah 57:5; Jeremiah 2:20; Jeremiah 3:6; Ezekiel 6:13) demonstrates that a leafy tree was a hallmark of Israelite religious sites.

The four rivers

The Pishon River. Pishon (pronounced pee-shone) means increase, full flowing. It implies an abundance of water. For the Israelites, who were still in the desert wilderness, the idea of a river with an abundance of water would have been a dream come true. The first river flowing out of that Garden was full-flowing, and it makes sense that God wanted them (and us) to experience a full-flow of His Presence and power in our lives; He doesn’t want us to be drained, depleted, or deficient.

The Gihon River. Gihon (pronounced ghee-hone) means bursting forth, gushing. A river bursting forth or gushing is one on which you can set up water wheels like the ones used in ancient Egypt. The river spun these water wheels, then pumped that water into canals that watered crops some distance from the river. It would seem that the message of Gihon (bursting forth or gushing) is that God doesn’t want us merely to live lives of survival or success, but to move beyond that and truly live lives of significance—not simply focusing on what we need or want for ourselves, but on what we can contribute to others.

The Tigris River. Tigris (Chiddeqel in Hebrew) means swift, darting, rapid and is a word picture of a swift bird in flight. Some rivers, like the Mississippi, are relatively straight, while others twist, bend, and wind their way across the land. They tend to be exciting rivers, with rapids, white water, and beautiful scenery. Sports enthusiasts flock to these rivers to canoe, kayak, and fish. What kind of life are you living? Are people drawn to you because of the river flowing out of your life? The reason we call this river Tigris is because the Ancient Greeks received the name from the Old Persian (‘Tigrā’) which borrowed the Old Akkadian and Assyrian name ‘Idiglat’ (‘Tigris’). The original English translations (The Geneva Bible, King James, etc) received the Latin names of the rivers (‘Tigris’ in Latin) from the ‘Vulgate’ – the old Latin translation of the Bible.¹ The tradition of using the Latin name Tigris continues to this day.

The Euphrates River. Euphrates (Prath in Hebrew) means sweet, fruitful. It was a river whose waters tasted good. Sweet-tasting water would satisfy a thirsty person’s need for refreshment. If a believer is full of bitterness, he’ll export that to others. If a believer is sour in his attitude, he will no doubt pass that on to those around him. The opposite is also true. If Christians have a sweet disposition, they will draw people to them to discover what makes them so different. We call this river “Euphrates” because the Ancient Greeks received the name from the Old Persian (‘Ufrātu’) which borrowed the Old Akkadian and Assyrian name ‘Purattu.’ The original English translations (The Geneva Bible, King James, etc) received the Latin names of the rivers (‘Euphrates’ in Latin) from the ‘Vulgate’ – the old Latin translation of the Bible.² The tradition of using the Latin name Euphrates continues to this day.

The four rivers bring out four themes:

1.  The Pishon River: increase, full flowing.
2.  The Gihon River: bursting forth, gushing.
3.  The Tigris River: swift, darting, rapid.
4.  The Euphrates River: sweet, fruitful.

God wants our lives to be fruitful unto Him. The fruit of our lives will let people judge whether or not we are Christians. If you tell someone you are a Christian and they laugh at you, odds are you’re not a Christian. If your lifestyle is so out of sync with the Bible that other people don’t think you’re a Christian, you need to re-evaluate your relationship (or lack thereof) with Christ. If they don’t think you’re a Christian because you’re not living for Christ, odds are that God doesn’t think you’re a Christian either.

The four rivers give us a picture of how God wanted the Israelites to be living their lives. As Christians, this extends to us as well. These rivers show us how God wants us to live in the here and now.

Three types of stones

Genesis 2:12
And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.

Gold. The first question that came to my mind was: Is there such a thing as “bad” gold? As it turns out, there is (in a manner of speaking). Some grades of gold have many impurities, while “good” gold has very few impurities. After being mined, gold is graded between 50% to 95% by mass. 50% mass means 50% gold and 50% impurities.³ Good gold can be cleaned, heated, and poured into molds. Bad gold needs to be refined, which can be lengthy and expensive. Havilah had gold that was “good,” which meant it required little to no refining before use.

Gold is often associated with wealth and is unique in various cultures and religious traditions. In the context of Genesis 2:12, the presence of gold emphasizes the abundance and splendor of the land described. It could symbolize God’s creation’s richness and His generosity in providing for His creatures. Since God owned Eden, he owned the wealth. He still does. Our wealth belongs to God; we are only stewards of what belongs to him.

Bdellium. Bdellium (pronounced del-ee-um, the b is silent) is a fragrant gum resin specific trees produce. It is similar to myrrh in that it is used to make perfumes and incense and as a medicinal aroma therapy. India, parts of Africa, and China still harvest bdellium today. Medicinally, it contains anti-inflammatory alkaloids, tannins, and steroids that make it a perfect natural aid to fight infections and eliminate harmful toxins and free radicals from the body.⁴

Bdellium represents the sacredness and purity of Eden and the unique and rare gifts that God bestows upon His creation. Its inclusion in this verse sparks curiosity and prompts reflection on the diverse wonders of the world. However, bdellium could signify the purity God demands from his people, and subsequently to Christians. As a fragrance, bdellium reminds us that we are priests in God’s service. The priests burned incense in the Tabernacle to symbolize the prayers going up before God, which He considers a sweet fragrance.

Onyx. Onyx (pronounced ah-niks) is a stone that forms from spring water or groundwater that has an abundance of calcite dissolved in it. When this water emerges at the mouth of a spring, the minerals precipitate out and build a crust of calcite crystals. Over time, as water flows by and more minerals settle out, the variations between the layers are caused by differences in the water flow rate and small amounts of impurities. In its purist state calcite is white or clear, but it is easily tinted by minor amounts of other minerals. Depending on the calcite, onyx comes in almost every shade of color.⁵ It’s primary use is to make jewelry. Large slabs are sometimes used for architecture.

Onyx is renowned for its striking appearance, with alternating bands of color that evoke a sense of elegance and beauty. Unlike other stones, onyx constantly grows until its water source dries up or it is removed from the water. In that sense, it is a “living stone.” Peter reminded us in 1 Peter 2:4-5 that as Christians, we are “living stones” being built into a temple for God’s glory.

Eden’s Location

So where was Eden? We don’t know. Most modern scholars put it in the location of modern Iraq (ancient Persia) because it fits the modern locations of the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers. Of course, you have to ignore the wording of verse 10 (A river flowed out of Eden to water the Garden, and there it divided and became four rivers), but many scholars never let the Bible get in the way of their theories. The modern Euphrates and Tigris rivers do not start from the same source or even close.

Eden was to the east. Since the ancient Israelites already knew about that area (Abraham was originally from that area), then east would have been east of Chaldea/Persia and probably in a land the Israelites did not know existed.

Remember the story of the wise men and the birth of Jesus? Where did the wise men come from? They came from the east. Probably from a land the Israelites did not know. When Herod questioned the wise men, he determined they had seen the star approximately 1½ to 2 years before they showed up. They may have been traveling for perhaps a year and a half before they arrived. Herod would later murder all boys in Bethlehem aged two and under in conjunction with what the wise men told him (Matthew chapter 2). East was obviously a long, long way away.

Eden was to the east ... but where?

The map above was drawn in 1914 by a Chinese Christian named Tse Tsan Tai, who disagreed that Eden's location was in modern-day Iraq.⁶ If you look at the map where the word "Assyria" is, that is the location many scholars think Eden was. Tse Tsan Tai believed that Eden may have been in Western China. Interestingly, his location is exactly east of Jerusalem. Tse Tsan Tai published his theory in 1914 but received little notice due to the war in Europe (WWI). His theory would later receive some approving nods, but Biblical scholars largely ignored him since he was battling traditional theology.

It is doubtful that we will ever know the original location of Eden. I don’t think it is important to know its ancient location. More than likely, God made sure it was destroyed during the flood. What is important is that Eden and its Garden actually did exist. The story is not a myth. If it had been, God would not have included it in the Bible and would not have treated it as a fact.

Final thoughts

In this article, I focused on the landmarks given and what they mean to us today. It is easy to focus on the landmarks and try to find Eden. Instead, let's look at the landmarks and focus on God. The landmarks show us things about ourselves that we need to see. The landmarks can teach us things about our relationship with God. Ultimately, Eden's location is not that important. What is important is that we search for God. As Deuteronomy 4:29 states, "But from there, you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul."

© Jan 2025 by Steven P. Wickstrom, all rights reserved.