Hebrew word · H1040

בֵּית עֶ֑דֶן

'eden

Beth-eden

'House of Eden'. Most likely the Aramean state the Assyrians called Bit-Adini, on the middle Euphrates, with its capital at Til Barsip. In Hebrew, ʿeden also means 'delight, luxury'.

Appears 2 times in 1 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Beth-eden = "house of delight"

a city in Syria, modern Juseih (cuneiform = Bit Adini)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Amos 1:5

Range of meaning

'House of Eden'. Most likely the Aramean state the Assyrians called Bit-Adini, on the middle Euphrates, with its capital at Til Barsip. In Hebrew, ʿeden also means 'delight, luxury'.

Against the English

All major versions transliterate it as 'Beth-eden' or 'house of Eden'. The Vulgate translated it 'house of pleasure'. KJV 'the house of Eden' may make readers think of the Garden of Eden.

How it drifted

English readers know 'Eden' only from Genesis 2. The geopolitical name, known from Assyrian records, was lost to later readers until those records were recovered in the 19th century.

Used elsewhere in the period

Assyrian annals record that Shalmaneser III conquered Bit-Adini in 856–855 BC and made Til Barsip an Assyrian base. 2 Kgs 19:12 / Isa 37:12 list 'the people of Eden in Telassar' among Assyria's conquests, and Ezek 27:23 names Eden as a trading partner of Tyre. In the early 8th century the powerful Assyrian official Shamshi-ilu governed from Til Barsip, and one inscription (the Pazarcık stele) records tribute received from Damascus in his time. A. Malamat proposed that Amos means this figure.

Where it appears

Amos · 2

  1. Amos 1:5 מִבֵּ֣ית עֶ֑דֶן from Beth, Eden

    I will break down the gates of Damascus; I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven and the one who wields the scepter in Beth-eden. The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir,” says the LORD.

    Here: The first half of the place name Beth-eden, 'House of Eden'. 'House of X' was a normal way to name a state after its founding dynasty.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.