Garden of Eden

The Garden of Eden is the earthly paradise of Genesis 2–3. God plants it 'eastward in Eden', places Adam there, and sets in it the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river goes out from Eden and divides into four, including the Tigris and the Euphrates. After the serpent persuades Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and Adam eats too, they are expelled, and cherubim with a flaming sword guard the way to the tree of life.

The word Eden is often traced to a Sumerian word meaning 'plain'. Sumerian poems describe a pure land, Dilmun, where there is no sickness or death, suggesting the paradise theme was shared across the ancient Near East. Attempts to find Eden on a map, from Mesopotamia to the Persian Gulf, have never been conclusive.

Later Jewish and Christian writings expand the story. Some Enoch traditions link the Watchers' forbidden teachings to the serpent, and the Apocalypse of Abraham shows Eden in a vision of all history.