The toledoth’s: Tracing the Path to the Redeemer
The toledoth as a Structural Marker
Within the book of Genesis there is a recurrent phrase “These are the generations,” or “This is the family history of.” It has been suggested that each occurrence begins a new section of Genesis. Yet the Hebrew word toledoth is intended to track the genealogical developments in the family of man and the relationships between families. It means that Genesis is deliberately structured to highlight the origins of the world, the nations and its families:
And the Book of Genesis describes in turn the origin of the universe, of mankind, and of the ancestors of the nation of Israel. Indeed, the focus narrows progressively throughout the book.
Chapter 1 – the origin of the world
Chapters 2-11 – the origins of the nations
Chapters 12-50 – the origins of Israel
More precisely, the author or final redactor of Genesis has arranged the material so that each new development in history is introduced by the phrase “This is the (family) history of.” There are ten sections with this heading (eleven if the reduplication of 36:1, 9 are counted separately), with 1:1-2:3 acting as an overture to the whole book.
1:1-2:3 Prologue
1) 2:4-4:26 History of heaven and earth
2) 5:1-6:8 Family History of Adam
3) 6:9-9:29 Family History of Noah
4) 10:1-11:9 Family History of Noah’s sons
5) 11:10-26 Family History of Shem
6) 11:27-25:11 Family History of Terah
7) 25:12-18 Family History of Ishmael
8) 25:19-35:29 Family History of Isaac
9) 36:1-37:1 Family History of Esau
10) 37:2-50:26 Family History of Jacob [1]
Bullinger makes a similar observation but suggests that Genesis 36:9 is not a reduplication, but the family history of Esau’s posterity, making eleven occurrences of “This is the family history of” and separating Genesis into twelve sections. He further notes:
(aleh toledoth), these are the generations, i.e., these are the events that time brought forth to him; (from (yalad), to bring forth); or these are the things or persons produced by him. This phrase occurs 14 times in the Bible, 13 times in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament.
Genesis 11 times, of the Patriarchs, etc
Numbers (3:1) 1 of Aaron and Moses
Ruth (4:18) 1 of Pharez (David)
13
Matthew (1:1) 1 of Jesus
14
The first and last are used only of the “first Adam” and of the “last Adam.” But these have the additional formula, “This is the book of,” etc. (Genesis 5:1 and Matthew 1:1). While the total number is 14, Genesis has 11, which divide the book into twelve sections. The first section being the Introduction, and the rest consisting of these eleven “toledoth,” making twelve divisions in all, in Genesis. [2]
The Purpose of the toledoth
Wenham notes that each family history begins with the death of the father and proceeds until the death of the person whose family history is mentioned. Thus, the family history of Ishmael begins with the death of Abraham and ends with Ishmael’s death.
The exception seems to be the first occurrence of the phrase “This is the family history of the heavens and the earth.” Many believe this initial occurrence ends the account of the creation story. Wenham believes it introduces the account of the Garden of Eden and links back to the creation account. Based upon the chiastic structure of this verse, it would seem Wenham is correct.
Each occurrence of “This is the family history of” begins with the completion or termination of the work (or works) of the father of the person mentioned (as the work of a human is completed or terminated with his death), and transitions through to the death of the person mentioned. Thus, the section begins with the termination of the work of the father and transitions through the events (and works) of a new generation, ending with the death of that person/generation.
The first occurrence of “This is the family history of” fits neatly with the pattern suggested, for God completed his work of creation on the seventh day ushering in an eternal Sabbath for the heavens and earth, marking the transition from the completion of the works of the Father (creation and its eternal Sabbath) through the subsequent events of the heavens and earth, to the death of the eternal Sabbath, as well as the death of the heavens and earth as originally created (Eden freely accessible). It is then seen that Genesis is not merely tracking the genealogical history of families but the history of the works of each family/father.
An Important Contrast
One can now contrast the works of our heavenly Father, which were called “very good”, against the works of His created family (families). The contrast brings the failures of each of the families into focus when compared with the works of God.
It is a central theme in the development of Genesis: angels failed, man failed, the patriarchs failed, the nations failed, even the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob failed. Yet God has not failed and continues to respond in grace toward His creation, choosing sovereignly to covenant with some.
His purpose in covenanting is solely to restore what was lost in the Fall. That which is lost will be restored, but the path to restoration passes through those with whom God covenants. The purpose then, of these genealogies is to provide proof that God’s promises and covenants are kept, despite the failures of these families over countless generations. God’s faithfulness is evident in the last toledoth that introduces Christ as father of a new “family” of God. It is in Christ that redemption is secured.
An Important Genealogical Record
The toledoth‘s establish the record showing through whose family God’s promise of restoration would come. The toledoth‘s bear witness to which families are “blessed” with the honor of assisting in realizing God’s redemptive plan. Each family history not only begins with the death of the father of the person whose family history is recorded, but also includes important male children (male because the family name passed through the male).
In listing the male descendants, typically the one who was not “chosen” was listed first with the “chosen” son listed last. It allows a contrast to be made between the one chosen and one rejected. Two exceptions however, must be mentioned. These are the toledoth‘s of Ishmael and Esau.
Their toledoth‘s are most likely listed because of their close relation to the chosen ones, Isaac and Jacob. Their lineages are included to presage the relationships of their families to the families of Isaac and Jacob. It assists the reader to understand future narratives about the Israelites and her relationship to the Ishmaelites and Edomites. In these future narratives, the contrast between chosen and rejected is highlighted. The contrasts show expected behaviors of those who will partner with God to realize redemption versus the unacceptable behaviors seen in those rejected as partners. Critically, rejection does not mean that no one in these families is redeemed. Only that they are not called as partners.
Critically, the genealogical record consistently narrows, beginning with all creation to all of mankind (Adam), narrowing to Seth with Cain’s rejection for Abel’s martyrdom. It further narrows through Noah’s line, then Shem’s line thru Eber and Terah to Abraham. From there, it narrows through Isaac (with Ishmael’s rejection), through Jacob (with Esau’s rejection) thru David’s line to Jesus Christ.
The progressive narrowing is intended not only to document which fathers and families are blessed as redemptive partners, but to ultimately identify the One promised to redeem all Israel. The final records of genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38 reveal that Christ was of a totally unique genealogy through the union of Mary with the Holy Spirit. One genealogy records seventy-seven names, the other sixty-six when counted back to Adam. Matthew’s genealogy shows three sections each containing fourteen names, ironic given that Matthew’s genealogy is the fourteenth toledoth. One sees that the authors intended to show in these mystical numbers that Jesus was unique.
What Does This Have to do with Eden?
We prior showed that Scripture opens with creation of the present heaven and earth (Genesis 1) and closes with a new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21). In our overview of Eden, we also showed that the Edenic narrative immediately follows creation (Genesis 2) and likewise immediately follows Revelation’s new creation narrative (Revelation 22). Thus, the entire corpus of Scripture from the Fall (Genesis 3) to the end (Revelation 22) is a history of God’s efforts to redeem mankind where redemption is pictured as restoration to Eden! The One who redeems mankind (Christ) also reopens access to Eden barred at Adam’s sin (Genesis 3:24). Eden is redemption restored. The way to redemption restored is through the toledoth‘s.
Relevance to Christians Today
Most Christians probably have little interest in studying the toledoth‘s. Many will find it sufficient to simply understand they trace the path from Adam to Jesus. This brings us to our first point regarding the toledoth‘s. They successively narrow to Christ, focusing all attention rightly upon Him. He is the promised Protevangelium, the promised Seed of Eve that would restore righteousness by crushing the head of the serpent, the one who deceived Eve (Genesis 3:15). But to discuss this further is to get ahead of ourselves.
Scrdipture’s Focus is upon One Seed
For our present purposes, it is sufficient to say that the author of Genesis made tracking and identification of the fulfiller of this promise his primary responsibility. His frequent repetition of this phrase as the basis for the very structure of Genesis demands that the reader understand that from the very beginning of Biblical history, its authors were focused upon identifying this blessed fulfiller.
Their entire message was an expectant message of hope that One would come who would restore exiled man back to Edenic relationship with God. It is tragic and shameful that this central message is so often lost in church studies on Genesis! All biblical narratives should be examined with an eye to how the author(s) intended their narratives to “fit” within the framework of identifying this promised fulfiller.
The Jewish people lost sight of this truth at the coming of Christ. Their focus was upon themselves as the seed of Abraham rather than Christ as the Seed. As with Israel, so with the church whose focus too often in prophetic studies is upon Israel as the seed of Abraham rather than Christ as Seed. Paul sternly offered a correction, showing that the promise was not Abraham’s seeds, but to his One Seed (Galatians 3:16). The focus of all prophecy and all Scripture must be upon Christ.
The Missing Abrahamic Toledoth
With ten/eleven toledoth‘s – nine/ten of which track family genealogies, it is striking that there is no explicit toledoth on Abraham, a figure of far greater importance than most, if not all the patriarchs listed! Such an oversight hardly seems possible. But if one examines the Abrahamic narrative, it appears to be structured like a toledoth, beginning with the death of Terah (Genesis 5:31) and ending with the death of Abraham (25:7-8). The ending even includes the typical end-note that Abraham had other sons and daughters (25:1-4), a phrase typically found preceding one’s death.
Even his “call” in Genesis 12:1 immediately following Terah’s death points to Abraham’s “spiritual” birth, again following the traditional structure of a toledoth. Two truths can be gleaned: first, the toledoth was for Terah rather than Abraham because Terah was called to go to Canaan but failed, stopping at Haran (5:31). His failure seems punctuated in an explicit absence of the typical phrase “and he had other sons and daughters”. The lack of sons and daughters seems a judgment of unfruitfulness resulting from his disobedience.
Second, in Terah’s failure, his call is then “extended” to Abraham. Thus why the Abrahamic narrative is structured like a toledoth. But critically, in structuring the Abrahamic narrative as a toledoth, the author is signaling that this extended narrative is of critical import on the genealogical “path” that leads to Christ. Abraham is not merely one through whom the Messiah comes, his life is a critical element in its realization.
Important Contrasts Evident in the Toledoth’s
We earlier mentioned the toledoth‘s of Ishmael and Esau. Each allows two sons to be directly contrasted. Not only can the sons be contrasted, but the expanded genealogies allow their descendants to be contrasted and their intertwined histories be better understood. Thus, the author encourages by he reader to closely examine the contrasts for ethical lessons.
Ishmael’s contrast, highlighted by Paul in Galatians 4:21-31 warns those who though called, presume themselves chosen. Esau’s warns against those of carnal mind whose earthly focus jeopardizes entrance into God’s heavenly land of eternal rest.
The New Testament Obsolescence of Genealogical Relevance
With the coming of Christ, comes an end to the toledoth‘s with the last tracking and affirming his birth through the line of Abraham and David. Paul warns against endless speculative genealogies saying,
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith.
Having fulfilled the promise of Christ as redeemer, physical genealogical records are no longer relevant. Rather, it is one’s spiritual genealogy – whether they are in Christ and of His Seed, that matters. It is an important closing reminder to the church. It is a great tragedy that the Jewish people continue to focus upon preserving their physical genealogical identity while failing to realize that it is one’s spiritual genealogy traceable to Christ that is critical. Many in the church share in this failure. May we all be reminded of Paul’s great declarations:
8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. Romans 9
7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Galatians 3
[1] Wenham, Gordon J., Word Biblical Commentary Genesis 1-15, Waco, Texas, Word Books, 1987, p. xxi-xxii
[2] E. W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture Its Supernatural Design and Spiritual Significance, Grand Rapids MI, Kregel Publications, 1981, p. 34-35
The Eden Narrative & its Structure
The Structure of the Garden Narrative & Dependence on Creation
Having completed the Genesis 1 creation-narrative, the author moves to man’s placement in a garden setting “in Eden”. The account begins with grammatical and structural parallels to the Genesis 1 creation-narrative (Table 1):
Table 1: Grammatical and Structural Parallels of Genesis 1 and 2
Genesis 1 Genesis 2
v. 1 In the beginning God created heaven and earth v. 4 This is the account of the heavens and earth
v. 2 And the earth was formless and void . . . v. 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared.
v. 3 And God said, “Let there be light . . . v. 7 the Lord God formed the man . . .
The obvious similarities point to a further narrative regarding creation. Yet the details are surprisingly different. Where God in the Genesis 1 initiated creation with the creation of light, in the Genesis garden-narrative, man is formed as the initiator of further creative activities. This subtle change, along with the introduction of “this is the family history of . . .”, points to a moral focus in which the man plays a key role.
The Genesis 1 creation-narrative concluded with an impenetrable separating firmament between God in His heavenly temple and man in an earthly temple. The impenetrable separability foreshadows creation’s incompleteness and anticipates a further “creation”, a venue through which God can “tabernacle” with man as priest over His earthly creation.
The venue appears to be a garden-temple God planted in Eden. The garden provides the backdrop for important ethical lessons. The story is organized into one chiastic structure composed of seven scenes (see Table 2):
Table 2: Structure of Genesis Garden-Narrative
| Scene | Reference | Type | Activity |
| 1 | Gen 2:5-17 | Narrative | God the sole actor: man present but passive |
| 2 | Gen 2:18-25 | Narrative | God main actor, man minor role, woman and animals passive |
| 3 | Gen 3:1-5 | Dialogue | Snake and woman |
| 4 | Gen 3:6-8 | Narrative | Man and woman |
| 5 | Gen 3:9-13 | Dialogue | God, man and woman |
| 6 | Gen 3:14-21 | Narrative | God main actor, man minor role, woman and snake passive |
| 7 | Gen 3:22-24 | Narrative | God sole actor: man passive |
A Carefully Structured, Highly Integrated Narrative
The narrative is compact yet highly organized, taking man from the ground, into the garden, out of the garden and back to the ground. The starting point is the earth’s barren beginnings which are “misted” אד ‘ed, possibly preparing for God’s creative activity of the garden and man:
In vs 6 it is said that something came up from the earth and soaked the surface of the ground (adamah, the soil). Both AV and RV render the Hebrew word ‘ed as “mist”; the only other occurrence of the word is in Job 36:27, and its meaning is very uncertain. The versions suggest the meaning “fountain” or “spring”, something breaking up from the depths of the earth, and some such meaning is more suitable to the context here. The suggestion is that the soil is soaked by some unexplained outbreak of water, and thus prepared for the first creative act. [1]
Certain words and participants are present only in alternating scenes.
Scenes 1 and 7 are alike in that both are narratives with God as the all-important actor: though man is present in both, he is completely passive. The vocabulary of the two scenes is distinctive: the phrases “on the east,” “tree of life,” “garden of Eden,” “till,” and “guard” are found only in these scenes. Finally, there is an inversion between them. In scene 1 man is made from “the dust of the land” and placed in the garden (vss 7-8), whereas in the final scene man is driven from the garden, by implication back to the dust of the land from which he was taken (vs 23; cf. 19). [2]
The Symbolism & Ethical Teaching
Man’s “Work” and His Moral Choice
The narrative shows that man was given a role to work in partnership with God, but he breached faithful compliance to God’s command, disqualifying himself from the role God offered him. What was that role? Man was to work the ground.
The Lord had not sent rain and the ground was watered by springs, apparently the remnant of the pre-creative ocean of chaos, subdued in Genesis 1. The earth is presented in its incompleted state, with no shrub of the field having yet appeared and no plant of the field having sprung up, as the Lord had not sent rain upon the earth.
Yet God “planted” a garden in the east, in Eden and placed the man in this garden. Within the garden were a variety of trees “pleasing to the eye and good for food”, a hint that God has made total provision for all man’s needs. Yet in the middle of the garden, our attention is drawn to two trees: the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. These trees are not explained, nor is their purpose made known, though soon it becomes apparent that these trees are the symbols of a moral choice man must soon make.
The River(s)
The garden was watered by a single river that split into four rivers, only two of which can be determined with certainty: the Tigris and the Euphrates. Much speculation has been offered regarding the identity of the Pishon and the Gihon with no scholarly consensus emerging.
It is possible that the post-diluvian landscape was permanently changed from its earlier topology, making identification impossible. The Gihon has been most often associated with the Nile due to the reference to the land of Cush, though Wenham and Mitchell suggest the possibility that the reference to Cush was to the Cassites in Iran.
. . . the river Gihon is described as winding through (sābab) “the whole land of Cush” (kûš, Genesis 2:13). Cush in the Bible usually signifies Ethiopia, and has commonly been taken in this passage (e.g. AV) to have that meaning; but there was also a region to the East of the Tigris, from which the Kassites descended in the 2nd millennium, which had this name, and this may be the meaning in this passage. [3]
Havilah is thought to be a location in Arabia and the Pishon has been postulated to be the Ganges, the Indus, a river in southern Mesopotamia or perhaps a river in, or encircling Arabia. Havilah is significant given in Scripture it is a source of “good” gold, onyx and what is translated bdellium, the meaning of which is uncertain.
Gold and precious stones in Scripture are associated with paradise and the presence of God. Ezekiel 28 describes the King of Tyre as if in Eden, associating Eden with precious stones. Onyx was common in the tabernacle and temple, both institutions typical of paradise.
Gold adorned the Ark of the Covenant, located in the Holy-of-holies, envisioned as Edenic. Eden’s mention of precious metals and stones suggest that the Garden was the precious place of God’s presence, where God met with man. The very word Eden translates pleasure, evoking the idea of paradise in God’s presence.
Critical is that the garden had boundaries and did not fill the earth. The identification of the rivers, and the description of gold are intended to assist identification of its location.
The Garden as a Prototypical Holy-of-Holies
The completion of the Genesis 1 creation-narrative left unanswered, the question of how man would interact with God given the separating firmament. There is a hint that the garden provides the venue to relieve this tension. There is an inference that the garden is an earthly Holy-of-Holies, a place where man can commune with God.
It is the nexus between heaven and earth, connecting God’s dwelling place in heaven with man’s on earth. The garden is a “seed” Holy-of-Holies planted on earth. It suggests that the area outside the garden can be viewed as outside of God’s presence, hence why it is presented as barren and without life (no shrub of the field).
Completing Creation by Extending the Garden to Fill the Earth
Often missed is God’s prior blessing upon mankind to fill the earth. With his placement in the garden – a place with defined geographical boundaries, he cannot fill the earth without leaving the garden. Such a notion would have been anathema to the Ancients. Man should never willingly leave the place of God’s presence.
The blessing thus hints that Adam is to extend the garden and reclaim the barren land as part of his mandate to fill the earth. By reclaiming the barren earth and making it fruitful, it would become suitable for man to live there. Thus, man could fill the earth while remaining in God’s presence. The garden then, provides a “work-around” for communion between God and man, the starting point of his occupation and mandate. The garden is an earthly annex to God’s heavenly throne room. [4]
“Completing” Adam Through Creation of Woman
Creation was not the only thing left uncompleted. Adam also appears incomplete, lacking one suitable for him. Though given charge to name the animals, man was yet alone. In antiquity, naming was often indicative of the exercise of authority. Naming the animals may thus have been an exercise of dominion God had granted him over the earth. Dominion and oversight are seen in Genesis 2:19-20 where all the creatures are brought before Adam to be named.
To show His sovereign dominion over His creation, God gave names to light, darkness, the firmament, dry land and to the gathered waters. He called them Day and Night, Heavens, Earth and Sea respectively. Naming in the Semitic world was a token of lordship.
Reuben for example, changed the names of the cities of the Amorites after he had conquered them. Likewise, Pharaoh Necho changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim after he had defeated the Judean king. Is it not significant that God gave names to characteristics that either belonged to the pre-created chaos or things created to subdue the chaos, bringing God’s dominion over them? In naming these things, He showed that He was Lord of all. [5]
Just as God demonstrated his dominion over the various members of creation by naming them (cf. Genesis 1:5), so he brought the animals to Adam, permitting His image to exercise dominion by naming them (Genesis 2:19). [6]
Yet man was still alone. Dominion alone was inadequate. The solution was for Adam to be put into a deep sleep and for God to take from him a rib, using it to fashion a helpmate, one Adam announced was “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”. So woman was created and brought to man. There was to be a unity between man and woman, of such strength as to exceed familial relations.
The Moral Choice & Man’s Failure in Test
Having been placed in the garden with the mandate “to work it and take care of it”, man was allowed to eat from any tree in the garden but forbidden to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He was warned that eating of the forbidden tree brings death. This ethical test brings the Genesis garden-narrative to its climax.
This is the ethical choice Adam is presented: to work cooperatively with God on completion of creation, imaging God through similar, creative life-bringing behavior, or to pursue a path that brings death (destruction). He must decide if he will be an agent of creation or de-creation.
It is also noteworthy that the author inserts what appears like a footnote, adding that both of them were naked yet unashamed in eachother’s presence. What this means is unexplained, but becomes apparent later in the narrative. Implied is a lack of shame, given their innocence before God.
This small side note seems intended to heighten the reader’s interest, portending coming changes that would be introduced by a new creature, the serpent, described as more crafty than “any of the wild animals”. That the serpent is crafty also portends great danger, greater than that of the wild beasts.
The serpent approaches the woman with a series of questions designed to shake her confidence in the words of God. The line of questioning and temptation is thorough. This part of the narrative is densely packed with great meaning to unfold and impact the future of mankind and God’s creation.
Their Failure in Testing & Consequent Judgments
The woman succumbs to the serpent’s temptations, apparently deceived by him. Though the man is not mentioned, his presence seems assumed, as his defense is “she gave me . . . and I ate . . “ That he offers no stronger justification suggests he knew his actions breached God’s command, yet willfully made his choice.
What follows are a serious of three curse judgments: first upon the serpent, then upon the woman and finally upon the man. The serpent is cursed to a position and posture (a standing) beneath all the other creatures. The curse upon the woman “un-does” God’s blessing of fruitfulness. Going forward, fruitfulness will come at great pain. Like the serpent, her standing also changes, being placed under the rule of the man.
Adam’s failure brings a curse upon the ground that he was to work. The blessing of fruitfulness of the ground is inverted and put under curse. The work he had to tend the ground now becomes “painful”. The ground is also cursed with thorns and thistles that work against his efforts to make the ground fruitful. He will now work by the sweat of his brow. Nothing will come easy. The ground has lost its blessing of fruitfulness.
Finally, he will die and return to the dust of the earth, from which he came. One can only wonder if there is not a double meaning intended, with Adam also becoming unfruitful, like the ground. Key however, is that God’s blessing of fruitfulness is now under curse. In eating of the forbidden fruit, man and woman acted in opposition to God and now God’s intended blessing of fruitfulness intended for both is now limited and restricted. Their efforts to be fruitful will similarly be opposed by pain, weeds and personal challenges.
The Protevangelium – God’s Grace in the Promise of Restoration
Enmity was placed between the serpent and the woman, passing on to subsequent generations with the declaration “I will put enmity . . . between your [the serpent’s] offspring and hers”. Yet oddly, God says, “he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel”, portending a coming battle between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.
That the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent seems suggestive, portending the serpent’s seed coming under the dominion of the seed of the woman, with her seed subduing the seed of the serpent. It suggests one will come who will restore all that was lost in the serpent’s ruse.
Tension is thus introduced. The hope of mankind rests with the seed of the woman, yet that seed will not be realized apart from “very severe” “pains” in childbearing. Similarly, bringing forth this child will require painful work of tending the earth for crops.
The complexity of the abbreviated judgments suggests another densely packed passage. These judgments, like the testing and failure of man, provide additional detail concerning the extent of the failure of Adam and his wife. Though the judgments upon all are severe, Adam seems to understand that hope is offered through the seed of the woman.
That belief is confirmed in his naming the woman “Eve” “because she would become the mother of all the living”. Despite man’s ultimate end in death – returning to the ground from which he came, Adam realizes Eve will be “mother” of all the living.
Symbols of Substitutionary Atonement
God then made garments of skins for Adam and his wife, clothing them and covering their nakedness. That the clothing follows their failure to honor God’s commands points toward their guilt and loss of the innocence they prior enjoyed in the garden.
Also implied is likely a foreshadowing of a practice that will follow, in which a spotless animal is offered as a blood-sacrifice for sin. The offering of an unspotted animal hints at substitution of an innocent victim (without defect or failing) for the one guilty of transgressing God’s laws.
Their Exile from the Garden, the Place of God’s Presence
The judgments, and humiliation in guilt, symbolically represented in their clothing, are not the end of the judgments however. Because they have eaten of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they have “become like one of us” – that is like God and His angelic host, knowing right from wrong.
The enforcement of the penalty of death requires their expulsion from the garden so that they may not eat of the tree of life. They are exiled from the garden to the dry barren, uncultivated land where the ground now will not bring forth its bounty without painful work. [7] The woman will also face pain in child birthing, as she also finds herself in the place outside God’s blessing.
Here is where the narrative closes, with Adam and his wife banished from the garden, with re-entrance prevented by symbolic cherubim with flaming swords to guard the way to the tree of life. Strikingly, these mysterious creatures have now been given Adam’s charge to guard the garden from unauthorized intruders – fallen men. Man was to guard the garden from unauthorized intruders and failed, allowing the crafty serpent access. In failing the test, his standing as guardian of the garden has been supplanted by cherubim.
Relevance to Christians Today
From beginning to end, titanic changes have been introduced through the narrative. Man has moved from a position of providence and privilege, to a position of exile and exclusion; exile from the place of God’s presence and blessing, excluded from all the benefits of membership with God in the garden. Communion with God has ceased. Most important, he is denied access to life.
Eternal life is now beyond his reach. Life is now transient. The change seems to reflect back to the seventh day of rest of the Genesis 1 creation-narrative. The rest Adam enjoyed in Eden, has now been terminated. The seventh day, without morning or evening, pointed toward an eternal Sabbath of rest in God’s presence in the paradisal victory garden Yahweh had prepared for man. With the violation of God’s command, now there is no longer rest in God’s presence. Man must now work “all the days of his life” (Genesis 3:17).
It is easy to pass over this titanic change without notice. The entire creation has been permanently modified. The very place of Adam’s service, the earth as God’s Holy-Place, has been cursed (the ground/earth). The planned cooperative partnership of God is constrained, God can no longer freely bring blessing to the place of Adam’s service and Adam’s disobedience has brought curses.
Critically, these curses center on death. What began with the blessing of life – to bring forth life, ends in death with man and woman bringing forth only death. Sabbath rest has been terminated, relatioship with God has been terminated, work is no longer a productive partnership but a curse, and life inevitably ends in physical death.
The narrative ends where it began, but with heightened tension. The Genesis 1 creation-narrative ended with the unanswered question of how man, separated from God by an impenetrable firmament, would commune with God and assure completion of his mandate. The Genesis garden-narrative answered that question with the all-important introduction of a garden. Barred from that garden for his probationary failure, the reader, like Adam, is returned to the beginning point of the narrative. How will man interact with God now that he is again impenetrably separated from the presence of God?
This is not purely an eschatological question of awaiting a redeemer. It is an ethical matter. Scripture consistently portrays sin as separating man from God and also from the congregation of believers. Provision for restoration is always available, but never without full repentance.
Even then, full restoration is not immediate. In the Old Testament, often restoration waited until evening or after seven days passed. In the New Testament, restoration in Christ is immediate but not full – achieved only in inauguration. Even after 2000 years, full restoration awaits consummation in Christ’s Parousia. And as we shall see, it does not come without another “Edenic” testing prior to Christ’s return.
Most critically, in an age of endless forgiveness, Christians can lose sight of the long-term consequences of sin. Yes, there is forgiveness – for inadvertent sin, but even so, consequences persist. Each person still must face death. The narrative shows that one sin changes everything. As it was then, so should it be viewed today. If we rejoice in God’s forgiveness, we should walk in purity and blamelessness, working out our salvation in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). Forgiveness should never be employed as license for sin.
[1] Hooke, S. H., In the Beginning, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1947, p. 25
[2] Gordon J. Wenham, Word Biblical Commentary Genesis 1-15, Waco, Texas, Word Books, 1987, p. 50
[3] T.C. Mitchell, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary Part 1, Eden, Garden of, Wheaton, IL, Inter-Varsity Press, Tyndale House Publishers, 1980, p. 409
[4] Post fall, we see this concept applied to the tabernacle and temple, hence why their construction included Edenic symbols of life such as pomegranites and palm trees.
[5] Walke, Bruce k., Creation and Chaos, An Exegetical and Theological Study of biblical Cosmogony,Portland OR, Western conservative Baptist Seminary, 1974, p. 59.
[6] Gage, Warren Austin, The Gospel of Genesis, Winona Lake IN, Carpenter Books, 1984, p. 31. Renaming individuals was common in Old Testament, such as following successful military campaigns, where the triumphant king would rename his subjects (cf. Daniel 1:7), exercising his dominion over his captives.
[7] It is noteworthy that the Ancients viewed the barren desert regions as synonomous with Hell, consistent with the idea of being outside of God’s presence and blessing. One of the maqlu tablets, directed against witchcraft, ends with the words, “Her knot is loosed, her sorcery is brought to nought, and all her charms fill the desert,” where the desert symbolizes the underworld . . . Hooke, S. H., Babylonian and Assyrian Religion, Norman OK, University of Oklahoma Press, 1963, p. 78
Eden: Its Symbolism & Implications
The Genesis garden-narrative is densely packed with ethical lessons that introduce an element of eschatology in the promise made to the woman. As the garden is the backdrop of all that follows, it takes on outsized importance to understanding the narrative. Understanding its symbolism is critical before progressing into the body of the narrative and its ethical/eschatological lessons. However, given that many of the concepts have already been introduced, an abbreviated analysis will be presented.
Garden Symbolism in Antiquity
Gardens had great symbolism in antiquity, providing insights into Eden while also providing a basis for later related narratives. Gardens typically adjoined temple complexes and were often the braggadocio of kings, attesting their special status. These gardens were places of rest, boasting the King’s victories over his enemies, often symbolic of restoration by fructification:
Assyrian gardens were intimately associated with palace and temple. Tiglath-pileser I describes his palace garden in Nineveh beside the Ishtar temple as an integral part of his royal residence: “I planted a garden for my lordly leisure. I excavated a [canal] from the River Husir (and) [directed it] into this garden . . . Within this garden I built a palace . . . I portrayed therein the victory and might which the gods Assur and Ninurta, the gods who love my priesthood, had granted me.” The king’s palace serves, in effect, as a victory hall of fame for the king’s heavenly patrons, Assur and Ninurta.[1]
The pharaohs equally prided themselves in their horticultural abilities. Ramses III opens his testimony to the peace and security he obtained for his kingdom with a reference to his fructifying accomplishments throughout the land: “I planted the whole land with trees and verdure, and I made the people dwell in their shade.” The gardens of the Egyptian royal annals are frequently tied to the temple. . . . Such temple groves were considered the gardens of particular gods, property that figured in their estates, which included everything from cattle to towns. [2]
These gardens were constructed during times of peace and rest, following successful military campaigns that subdued the king’s enemies. They were integral to the temple and temple-worship. It suggests Eden was a place of God’s presence and blessing. Any pagan temple could be considered a microcosm of Eden, representing paradise lost.
. . . several Near Eastern temples had in their precincts a garden (the garden of the gods) in which there were located the tree and waters of life. . . The king is the gardener, possessor of the plant and water of life. . . [the king can] be seen as the tree under which his people find protection and as the source of the life-giving water. [3]
Garden Symbolism to Biblical Authors
Symbolism abounds in themes earlier introduced: subduing the chaos dragon, victory over the king’s enemies, building a temple-garden when peace and security are established, celebrating the king’s victories, providing garden-fertility, supplying food for the king’s subjects and of course, paradise in a garden setting. The Genesis-account follows this line of thinking.
Solomon speaks of his wife and his love for her as a garden (Songs of Solomon 4:12-5:1), pointing to a belief gardens were paradisal.
In Isaiah 58, the Lord complains about the insincerity of the Israelites, their false fasts and their rebellion against His commands (vss 1-2) before indicting them for failing to care for the poor (vs 10) and failing to stop oppression (vs 9). If they will repent, He promises to “satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land”, describing them as “a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail” (vs 11), language that echoes Eden. It points to a promise of restoration of paradise lost if they will conduct themselves righteously and follow God’s covenant.
Isaiah 51:3 assures the Lord “will comfort” and have “compassion”, making Zion’s “deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord”, tying restoration of the land to Israel’s restoration to God. So also Jeremiah 31:12 in describing God’s promise to restore His people. In comparing the destruction of the temple and city to the destruction of a garden, Jeremiah links temple to paradise, revealing the Israelites viewed the garden of Eden as a prototypical sanctuary/temple.
Ezekiel, in describing the misbehaviors of the king of Tyre, envisions the king in the garden of Eden, adorned with every precious stone (symbolic of his kingly/priestly role before God), “anointed as a guardian cherub”, before recapitulating the fall of Adam in the king’s sins (Ezekiel 28). He applies a similar analogy to Pharaoh in Ezekiel 31, comparing him to a tree that could not be rivaled by the cedars in the garden of God.
Ezekiel 36, in promising God will purify and regather Israel, also links their regathering in the land with fructification of the land saying “this land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden” (vs 35). Joel 2:3 speaks oppositely, describing Israel’s land as a garden of Eden before its destruction by the Assyrians. These and other parallels have been widely noted:
Throughout the Bible, the Sanctuary is described via language and terms that are borrowed from the Eden narrative of Genesis, chapters 2 and 3. In Eden, the voice of God was mithalekh – moving about (Genesis 3:8). The same term mithalekh is used to describe God’s presence in the Sanctuary (Leviticus 26:11-12). In Eden, man’s responsibilities are le-ovedah u-le-shomerah – to work the garden (avodah) and to preserve or guard the garden (sheirah). The activities of the Priests and Levites in the Sanctuary are likewise referred to as avodah and shemirah. Ezekiel 28:11-19 contains a rebuke to the King of Tyre that is laced with intertwined imagery from both the garden of Eden and the Temple. Specifically, Ezekiel 28:13 endows the garden of Eden with nine of the twelve stones that the High Priest wore on his breastplate to symbolize the twelve tribes, as depicted in Exodus 28:17-20. The waters of Eden appear in conjunction with the Temple in two contexts. Psalms 36:9 reads, “They feast at the rich fare of Your Temple; you let them drink at Your refreshing stream.” In the Hebrew, the phrase, “Your refreshing stream” reads, “the stream of adanekha” – “Your Edens” – implying that the bounty that flows forth from the Temple is reminiscent of the rivers of Eden. Second, the spring that supplied Jerusalem with water was named Gihon, (1 Kings 1:33, 38, 45; 2 Chronicles 32:30; 33:14), which was the name of one of the four rivers that flowed from Eden (Genesis 2:13). The aggregate of all these allusions heightens the notion that the Temple is reflective of the garden of Eden, the first environment in which man encountered God. [5]
In employing Edenic language, the prophets compared the responsibilities and failures of earthly kings to those of Adam. It reveals a belief that kings were God’s representatives and were to conduct their affairs in compliance with God’s mandate to image Him in righteousness, bringing Him glory. [4]
Palestine as Eden & Israel’s Return Anticipates Redemption
Palestine as a model and symbol of Eden is widely recognized:
The land of Israel represents a conceptual expansion of the garden of Eden. [9]
As an interim Eden, the land would be “Edenic” in its ability to bring forth fruit and agricultural bounty:
6 Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. Deuteronomy 8
One sees a land capable of providing for all of Israel’s needs. Accompanying the description is the warning to observe the commands of the Lord, consistent with Eden. God’s expectation was that the land would bear much fruit if the people of Israel would similarly bear the fruit of righteousness. Bearing the fruit of righteousness implied faithfully fulfilling their covenantal obligations, providing a further link between Eden and the temple. In Isaiah 58, Yahweh promises to plant the people of Israel:
27 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will plant the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the offspring of men and of animals. 28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord.
Similarly, Jeremiah prophesies that Israel, who had been uprooted (e.g. Jeremiah 45:4) from their garden, will be re-planted by the Lord:
37 I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. Jeremiah 32
In promising to plant Israel, the theme of spiritual fruitfulness conflates with the idea of the people of Israel as those who comprise the garden. The garden is no longer a physical garden but evidences spiritual meaning. Israel’s return to Palestine represents her redemption.
Redemption as Eden Restored at the End of the Age
The new Eden produced a Jewish expectation of a restored Eden to follow apocalyptic events at the end of the age:
. . . the prophetic literature is filled with the expectation of God building an Edenic temple-city upon a great mountain. This sanctuary-city, founded and built by God alone (Exodus 15:17; Psalms 78:68-69; 87:1-2; Hebrews 11:10; Revelation 21:2), is to become the joy of the whole earth (“centrum mundi,” cf. Psalm 48:2; Isaiah 62:7) and the herald of peace will resound from the heights of the exalted city, summoning the nations to come to the city of peace (Psalms 2:10-12; 46:8-11; Isaiah 60:14) bringing tribute (Isaiah 60:6-9; Psalms 68:18; 72:10; Haggai 2:7), petitioning the favor of the Great King (Isaiah 2:1-3; Psalm 2:10-12; Zechariah 8:20-23), and learning his law (Isaiah 2:1-3; 11:9).[6]
In the depiction of the end of days in Zechariah, the Temple is portrayed in Edenic imagery, with God as king of the entire earth (Zechariah 14:8-9): “In that day, fresh water shall flow from Jerusalem, part of it to the Eastern Sea and part to the Western Sea, throughout the summer and winter. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day there shall be one Lord with one name.”
Just as rivers flowed in all directions from the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:10-14), so too water shall flow from Jerusalem to the farthest reaches eastward and westward. In that age, when there will be one Lord with one name, the entire world will constitute a domain in which all men encounter God, even as Adam did in the garden of Eden. [7]
The Ancients also envisioned a city and community of the righteous adjoining a garden-like Edenic paradise (cf. Isaiah 66:17). Thus, the city/community acted as a temple. [8] Flowing from the throne of God in the center of the city is a river, described as “the water of life” (cf. Jeremiah 17:13; Psalm 46:4; Joel 3:18) watering the garden. The “water of life” in Ezekiel 47:8-9 turned salt water sweet and in Zechariah 13:1 provided cleansing from sin, confirming spiritual meaning.
Yet Isaiah described peace flowing like a river and the wealth of nations coming to Eden like a flooding stream (66:12), deepening spiritual meaning. Trees line both banks bearing fruit monthly for food and the leaves for healing (Ezekiel 47:12). Like Eden, the city and the garden are located upon the top of a mountain (cf. Ezekiel 28:13-14). Isaiah 4:2, in speaking of the coming of the Branch of David, assures “the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel”, a reference to the fruit of righteousness that will be gloriously on display among the triumphant survivors.
God’s people were also viewed as a fruitful tree, vine or garden that God had planted, נָטַע nata`, to bear the fruit of righteousness, the same word used to describe God’s planting of the garden of Eden (Exodus 15:17; Numbers 24:6; 2 Samuel 7:10; 1 Chronicles 17:9; Psalm 44:2; 80:8, 15; Isaiah 5:2; Jeremiah 2:21; 11:17; 12:2; 24:6; 31:28; 32:41; 42:10; 45:4; Ezekiel 36:36; Amos 9:14-15). It shifts meaning from restoration to a paradisal garden, to God’s people as the paradisal garden. The shift affirms that the end-of-the-age return of God’s people to the land is a picture of redemption.
Eden as the Temple, Land & People to be Redeemed
The temple was adorned with figures of flowers and palm trees reminiscient of Eden. These symbols hinted at fruitfulness. As well, Solomon’s temple evidenced numerous features designed to reflect Eden:
The holy of holies of Solomon’s temple appears to have been a very conscious symbolic reconstruction of the garden of Eden. The room itself was a perfect square, oriented like Eden to the eastern sunrise. Just as the cherubim had barred Adam’s access to the garden of God (Genesis 3:24), so they guarded the temple throne of God. On the outside of the holy of holies, the cherubim guarded access through their representations woven into the veil. On the inside the cherubim were represented by gilded wooden figures whose wings spanned, and thus protected, the entire room. Solomon constructed the room itself with wood from the cedar, cypress, olive, and palm trees in gold inlay. The acacia and almond were also there, along with figures of flowers and palm trees. Lions were represented, and the swallow made her nest there. It was a place of song and the nearness of God (Psalm 73:28). [10]
Conflation of temple, city, mountain and garden are thus seen. This is not surprising as temples typically adjoined garden complexes for rest. Temples were also typically constructed on mountain tops, with Mount Zion serving as Israel’s temple. The city was built around the temple and the temple served as the center of Jewish life. Israel was called the sanctuary, a temple term.
Zion became a name for the city of David (2 Samuel 5:7;1 kings 8:1; 2 Chronicles 5:2) and the congregation of Israel was often called Zion or daughter of Zion. [11] The prophets anticipated redemption of a community of righteous that would worship in a temple that Moses built to reflect Eden.
Eden then, was envisioned as a paradisal environs, in which the presence of God could be enjoyed. This view had widespread influence upon Old Testament writers. Their symbolism had the intention to bring God’s people to an understanding of their covenantal obligations and to encourage them that despite their failures, God would one day restore their community to paradisal relationship with Him. [12]
Sin would no longer present a barrier between God and His creation. His people were loved, His congregation was His sanctuary that He would restore spiritually. It is evident in the water of life that brings purification for sin. It is the basis for the teachings of Christ and His disciples.
The New Testament Realization that Eden Restored is Spiritual
The spiritual nature of the new garden-paradise can be appreciated through comparisons found in the eschaton. In Revelation 22, a garden-paradise reappears in which John sees a single river flowing from the temple, the antitype of the river of Eden:
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
John envisions Eden restored, yet melded with the new Jerusalem, symbol of the community of the redeemed, descending from heaven. The city has no temple-structure as the temple is God and the Lamb. Like the first Eden, the new Eden is the sanctuary. The city’s envisionment on a great mountain enhances the idea of a shrine or temple:
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. Revelation 21 (cf. Ezekiel 40:2; 43:12; Psalm 87:1).
It’s features are other-worldly, affirming the spiritual nature of our restoration:
11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. Revelation 21
18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass. Revelation 21
Eden, the first sanctuary that housed Adam and his wife, are now envisioned as a great city, revealing the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan that the earth would be filled with those who would show forth His glory. It is a city of countless saints which houses God’s throne. Like Eden, there is a river, yet this river’s source is the throne of God and it is a river of living water, again affirming the new Eden is spiritual:
The cosmography presupposed in Genesis 2-3 depicts Eden as containing the world mountain from whose numinous summit descended the great river of paradise whose waters fructified the four corners of the earth (2:10-14). Upon this mountain was the garden planted by God, watered by the great river and containing the tree of life (2:9). Within the hedges of the pleasant garden, which was oriented to the four points of the compass, eastward (2:8; 3:24), Adam and his bride walked in community with God. Revelation 21:11-22 depicts a similar cosmography in a redeemed creation. The evangelist is carried away in the Spirit to a great mountain (21:10) from whose summit descends the river of life nourishing the tree of life (22:1-2). The four-square city, oriented eastward (21:13), constitutes the community of faith which, like a bride adorned for her husband (21:2), walks in fellowship with God. [13]
The two trees of life, one on each bank, each bear fruit monthly and whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. Their food is not for physical life, but spiritual life and spiritual healing, inferring these trees provide eternal unity of the nations through the removal of the curse of Babel.
Further, that there is no tree of knowledge of good and evil points to redemption completed with the end of man’s probation. Mankind has been saved, transformed and purified – able to abide in God’s presence eternally. That the city is of pure gold, yet transparent like glass, enhances a spiritual view, with gold emphasizing the great value of the redeemed community and transparency perhaps pointing toward a city that is filled with light, without darkness or shadow.
Where the Old Testament prophets foresaw a paradise in which wild animals were outside God’s protective hedge around Eden, John shows all spiritual beasts are subdued (Revelation 19:20; 20:10). The gates of the city are always open (Revelation 21:25) as all spiritual threat has been removed. The threat-removal that Old Testament prophets saw only in shadow has now been permanently eliminated (cf. Isaiah 2:4; Micah 5:10-11; Zechariah 9:10; Psalms 46:10; 76:4).
Now the entire earth is at rest, the “set up” of God’s temple is complete and man can experience communion with His savior for an unbroken and eternal-Sabbath. There is no longer fear of a “broken” and violated Sabbath.
In the creation-narrative, mankind is present representatively in its head, Adam and Eve. In the eschaton there is a vast number of redeemed spiritual children of Christ, the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45). The new Jerusalem occupies the new heaven and new earth, filling all creation with God’s glory, manifest as light illuminating the city and all creation. The finishing touches of God’s earthly and heavenly creation are completed, seen as an enlargement of His heavenly temple. No longer viewed as an adjunct temple, now God’s heavenly temple is conflated with the earth, filling all creation.
Relevance to Christians Today
The garden-motif reveals that Scripture moves from garden-paradise to garden-paradise, following its presentation from creation to new creation. Consistent with creation, the final garden-paradise is a spiritual reality, heightened by the presence of an innumerable crowd of redeemed saints standing in God’s presence in unfettered worship for eternity (see Figure 1). This reality is spiritual. Because of the difficulty it poses for our carnal minds, God has seen fit to model these spiritual realities by physical means so that we can better understand.
God, who in the first chapter of Genesis introduced Himself as the God of all creation, in Genesis 2-3, presents Himself as the God of relationship. His desire for relationship is seen in His beneficent care for creation, providing a paradisal garden capable of meeting all man’s needs. His desire for relationship is seen in His assignment of man as priest-king over the earth, assigning us as overseers of the earth. He has entrusted man with care of His precious creation. More than that, He has provided a garden-environment through which man as a physical being, can communicate with and commune with a spiritual God. That garden environment is described not only as paradisal, but as a temple and holy city, lending insight into God’s redemptive plan. We are His subjects who are to partner with Him to redeem a fallen world, transforming it to holiness. He has promised paradise to those who choose to follow Him.
What is not yet known, is exactly how God will honor that promise. Even so, the garden-theme offers a tantalizing clue. It would appear that the path from the garden to the new garden, is through a garden, a garden that is hardly paradisal.
41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. John 19
There is great irony that the path from life to new life, required death. It is also ironic that the One that suffered death was buried in a garden. This is particularly ironic when viewed against Christ’s teaching that He must be a seed that would fall to the ground and die, that life could then sprout forth (John 12:24). There is further irony that Jesus’ struggle preceding His death occurred in a “garden” (John 18), known as “Gethsemane” (Matthew 26:36; Mark 14:32).
Yet as we will see, the theme of Eden as a garden is surprisingly prevalent in Scripture. It is a deep desire of many to see their struggles come to an end and enjoy a eternal Sabbath of rest in paradise. It can be difficult for us to imagine. Hence why God has provided Eden as a model of redemption secured.
[1] Brown, William P., The Ethos of the Cosmos, The Genesis of Moral Imagination in the Bible, Grand Rapids MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999, p. 249
[2] Brown, William P., The Ethos of the Cosmos, The Genesis of Moral Imagination in the Bible, Grand Rapids MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999, p. 250
[3] Borsch, Frederick Houk, The Son of Man in Myth and History, Philadelphia PA, SCM Press Ltd, 1967, p. 98
[4] The theme of the fall from God’s presence is common. There is a clear recapitulation of the fall of Adam seen in the narrative of Sodom, in which Lot was enticed by the well watered plain of Jordan, appearing as a garden of the Lord (Genesis 13:10), only to find Himself in need of God’s grace to escape judgment upon the sinners living there.
[5] Berman, Joshua, The Temple, Its Symbolism and Meaning Then and Now, Northvale, NJ, Jason Aronson Inc., 1995, p. 26-27
[6] Gage, Warren Austin, The Gospel of Genesis, Winona Lake IN, Carpenter Books, 1984, p. 54
[7] Berman, Joshua, The Temple, Its Symbolism and Meaning Then and Now, Northvale, NJ, Jason Aronson Inc., 1995, p. 34
[8] Gage notes the prevalence of fertility symbols in Ancient Near Eastern temples and their association with paradise. “Two paradise motifs popular in the architecture of antiquity were the notions of the word of god and the fertility it created. Representations of these ideas are seen in the Greek columnar architecture of Corinth, the column capital displaying the acanthus leaf (cf. the Egyptian lotus capital) for fertility, and in the Ionic column, the capital portraying a scroll (cf. the Egyptian papyrus capital) representing the word of god telling of life and death (the egg and the dart pattern). It is instructive to note also the prominence of the high places in Canaanite idolatry (cf. 1 Kings 14:23; Exodus 34:12-13; Deuteronomy 12:2; 16:21), the אשרה often represented as trees planted on the mountain top and representing fertility.” Gage, Warren Austin, The Gospel of Genesis, Winona Lake IN, Carpenter Books, 1984, p. 56 Footnote 36
[9] Berman, Joshua, The Temple, Its Symbolism and Meaning Then and Now, Northvale, NJ, Jason Aronson Inc., 1995, p. 24. He quotes Leviticus 26:3-12, showing how Israel’s covematal obligations recapitulate the Eden narrative.
[10] Gage, Warren Austin, The Gospel of Genesis, Winona Lake IN, Carpenter Books, 1984, p. 57
[11] Examples include: 2 Kings 19;21; Psalm 9:14; 51:18; 69:35; 97:8; 102:13-21; 126:1; 129:5; 147:12; 149:2; Song of Solomon 3:11; Isaiah 1:8, 27; 3:16-17; 4:4; 10:12, 32; 16:1; 33:5, 20; 34:8; 37:22; 40:9; 41:27; 49:14; 51:3, 16; 52:1-2, 7-8; 59:20; 61:3; 62:11; 64:10; 66:8; Jeremiah 4:31; 6:2, 23; 9:19; 14:19; 26:18; 30:17; 51:10, 24, 35; Lamentations 1:4, 6, 7; 2:1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 13, 18; 4:2 11, 22; 5:11; Joel 2:23; Micah 1:13; 3:10, 12; 4:8, 10; Zephaniah 3:14, 16; Zechariah 1:14,17; 2:7, 10; 8:2; 9:9, 13; 2:7, 10; 8:2, 3; 9:9, 13. It is likely there are more, though it is difficult to consistently distinguish when the temple, mountain, city or people are the referent, reflecting the conflation. Often it appears multiple meanings may be intended.
[12] Israel’s presence in the land required covenantal fidelity. In drawing a parallel with the Genesis 2 garden-narrative, there is an inconsistency with the lack of a formal covenant in the garden. In principle however, the conditions for Adam’s tenancy in the garden were dependent upon fidelity to God’s commands. Though lacking explicit mention of a covenant, there are hints of the special relationship between Adam and Yahweh. A hint is found with the introduction of the name “Lord God” יהוה Yĕhovah אלהים ‘elohiym beginning in Genesis 2:4. Yĕhovah is God’s personal name. “Unlike Elohim and the many other titles or names used to identify God in the Hebrew Scriptures, YHWH was understood to be the personal name of God.” Giessen, Charles The Name of the Son of Man in the Parables of Enoch, published in Enoch and the Messiah Son of Man, Revisiting the Book of Parables, Boccaccini, Gabriele, Editor, Grand Rapids MI, William B. Eerdsmans Publishing Company, 2007, p. 239. “Strictly speaking, Yahweh is the only ‘name’ of God. In Genesis wherever the word šem (‘name’) is associated with the divine being that name is Yahweh. When Abraham or Isaac built an altar ‘he called on the name of Yahweh’ (Genesis 12:8; 13:4; 26:25). In particular, Yahweh was the God of the Patriarchs, and we read of ‘Yahweh the God (Elohim) of Abraham’ and then of Isaac and finally ‘Yahweh, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’, concerning which Elohim says, ‘this is my name for ever’ (Exodus 3:15). Yahweh, therefore, in contrast with Elohim, is a proper noun, the name of a Person, though that Person is divine. As such, it has its own ideological setting; it presents God as a Person, and so brings him into relationship with other, human, personalities. It brings God near to man and he speaks to the Patriarchs as one friend to another.” G.T. Manley, G.T. & Bruce, F.F., The Illustrated Bible Dictionary Part 1, God, Names of, Wheaton, IL, Inter-Varsity Press, Tyndale House Publishers, 1980, p. 572. The use of God’s personal name points to existence of an Edenic covenant. “This title includes the divine epithet ‘the Lord God,’ which is characteristic of chaps. 2-3, but of nowhere else in Genesis. Usually one or the other name is used, but here the two are combined, suggesting no doubt that this story reveals both God’s character as sovereign creator of the universe (God) and his intimate covenant-like relationship with mankind (the Lord).” Wenham, Gordon J., Word Biblical Commentary Genesis 1-15, Waco, Texas, Word Books, 1987, p. 87. The title Elohim is prevalent where God is revealing Himself as a God of creation (e.g. Psalm 19:1) and Yahweh is found contextually in passages stressing God as lawgiver (Psalm 19:6). Law-giving is a characteristic of covenant relationship. Walke, Bruce k., Creation and Chaos, An Exegetical and Theological Study of biblical Cosmogony,Portland OR, Western conservative Baptist Seminary, 1974, p. 42. There is further hint found in Hosea 6:7 “Like Adam, they have broken the covenant”. Hosea’s parallel implies he understood Adam’s relationship in the garden as covenantal.
[13] Gage, Warren Austin, The Gospel of Genesis, Winona Lake IN, Carpenter Books, 1984, p. 50