Hebrew word · H5731

עֵ֫דֶן

'eden

Eden

The proper name of the garden-land in Genesis 2–3, which a river watered. It sounds the same as the common noun ʿēden (H5730), "delight, luxury" (Ps 36:8, "the river of your delights").

Appears 16 times in 15 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Eden= "pleasure"

the first habitat of man after the creation

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 Isaiah 51:3

Range of meaning

The proper name of the garden-land in Genesis 2–3, which a river watered. It sounds the same as the common noun ʿēden (H5730), "delight, luxury" (Ps 36:8, "the river of your delights").

Against the English

English versions keep "Eden" as a name. The Vulgate translated the sound-alike meaning instead ("like delights"), and the Septuagint used paradeisos, "park, paradise."

How it drifted

Through the Greek paradeisos, Eden later came to be equated with "paradise" as a heavenly afterlife realm. In this verse it is a picture of a fertile, watered land on earth.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 2:8–15; Ezekiel 28:13 and 31:9 ("Eden, the garden of God"); Ezekiel 36:35 ("this desolate land has become like the garden of Eden"); Joel 2:3 turns the image around ("like Eden before them, a desolate wilderness behind").

From the study of Ezekiel 28:13

Range of meaning

'Eden' is the proper name of the primeval garden (Gen 2:8–15). In Hebrew it sounds like the root 'dn, 'luxury, delight, abundance' (compare Ps 36:8, 'the river of your delights,' 'adanekha). Gan is an enclosed, irrigated park or orchard, the kind of garden kings and temples kept.

Against the English

English 'Eden' brings to mind Adam and Eve only. Ezekiel uses 'Eden, the garden of God' more freely, as a symbol of the ideal, divine realm of abundance. In Ezekiel 31 the 'trees of Eden' stand for the nations and their kings.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 2–3; Gen 13:10 ('the garden of the LORD'); Isa 51:3; Joel 2:3; Ezek 31:8–9, 16, 18; 36:35. The 9th-century BCE Aramaic–Akkadian bilingual inscription from Tell Fekheriye uses the root 'dn for making the land abundant. The Septuagint here renders it 'in the luxury (tryphē) of the paradise of God,' taking Eden as a common noun. Ancient Near Eastern texts know gardens of the gods. In Gilgamesh Tablet IX the hero walks through a garden whose trees bear carnelian and lapis lazuli, a close parallel to a jewel-filled divine garden.

From the study of Genesis 2:8

Range of meaning

As a proper noun, a region in the east where the garden lies. In sound and probably in origin it matches the common noun ʿēden / ʿădānîm, 'luxury, delights' (2 Sam 1:24; Ps 36:8, 'the river of your delights'; Jer 51:34). The related verb in Neh 9:25 means 'to revel, delight'.

Against the English

English versions keep the name 'Eden', which loses the sound of 'Delight' or 'Abundance' that a Hebrew hearer caught. The Latin Vulgate went the other way and translated it as a description: paradisum voluptatis, 'a garden of pleasure'. Douay-Rheims follows this: 'a paradise of pleasure'.

How it drifted

Popular speech uses 'Eden' and 'the Garden of Eden' as one thing. The text separates them: the garden is in Eden (2:8), and the river leaves Eden to water the garden (2:10).

Used elsewhere in the period

An older theory linked the name to Sumerian edin and Akkadian edinu, 'steppe, open plain'. A. R. Millard (VT 34, 1984) pointed to the Aramaic Tell Fekheriyeh inscription (9th century BC), where the related verb describes a god who 'makes abundant', 'enriches' the land with water. That supports a West Semitic sense of 'luxuriance, plenty'. Many scholars now prefer this sense or hold both together. The prophets use Eden as a picture of perfect fertility (Isa 51:3; Ezek 36:35; Joel 2:3).

Where it appears

Genesis · 6

  1. Genesis 2:8 בְעֵ֖דֶן in Eden

    And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed.

    Here: Eden is the name of a region, and the garden sits inside it (compare 2:10, where a river flows out of Eden to water the garden). To a Hebrew ear the name sounds like ʿēden, 'luxury, delight', so it suggests a lush, well-watered land of plenty.

  2. Genesis 2:10 מֵעֵ֔דֶן from Eden

    Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it branched into four headwaters:

  3. Genesis 2:15 עֵ֔דֶן Eden

    Then the LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.

    Here: A place name. To Hebrew ears it sounded like ʿēden, 'delight, luxury, abundance', so it was heard as 'the garden of Delight'.

  4. Genesis 3:23 עֵ֑דֶן Eden

    Therefore the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

  5. Genesis 3:24 עֵ֜דֶן Eden

    So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.

    Here: The name of the region where the garden was planted. To a Hebrew ear it sounded like ʿēden, 'delight, luxury' (Ps 36:8), and it may also connect with words for abundant watering.

  6. Genesis 4:16 עֵֽדֶן׃ Eden

    So Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

2 Chronicles · 2

  1. 2 Chronicles 29:12 וְעֵ֖דֶן and Eden

    Then the Levites set to work: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah from the Kohathites; Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel from the Merarites; Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah from the Gershonites;

  2. 2 Chronicles 31:15 עֵ֣דֶן Eden

    Under his authority, Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah faithfully distributed portions to their fellow priests in their cities, according to their divisions, old and young alike.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 51:3 כְּעֵ֔דֶן like Eden

    For the LORD will comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and melodious song.

    Here: "Like Eden": the first, well-watered garden of Genesis. The name also sounds like the Hebrew word for "delight, luxury."

Ezekiel · 6

  1. Ezekiel 28:13 בְּעֵ֨דֶן in Eden

    You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation.

    Here: The place-name of the primeval garden of Genesis 2, which in Hebrew sounds like 'delight, abundance.' It stands first in the sentence for emphasis: 'In Eden, of all places, you were.'

  2. Ezekiel 31:9 עֵ֔דֶן Eden

    I made it beautiful with its many branches, the envy of all the trees of Eden, which were in the garden of God.’

  3. Ezekiel 31:16 עֵ֔דֶן Eden

    I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below.

    Here: The 'garden of God' (31:8–9). Here it is pictured as a lush forest of mighty trees, set side by side with Lebanon. The name itself suggests luxuriance and abundance.

  4. Ezekiel 31:18 עֵ֑דֶן עֵ֜דֶן Eden

    Who then is like you in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? You also will be brought down to the depths of the earth to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.’”

    Here: God's garden (vv. 8–9). The trees of Eden are the finest trees imaginable, the most glorious powers of the world.

  5. Ezekiel 36:35 עֵ֑דֶן Eden

    Then they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden. The cities that were once ruined, desolate, and destroyed are now fortified and inhabited.’

    Here: The garden of God in Genesis 2. For Israelites it was the standard picture of land at its most fertile and best watered (compare Genesis 13:10; Joel 2:3). The name also sounds like the Hebrew word for 'delight'.

Joel · 1

  1. Joel 2:3 עֵ֨דֶן Eden

    Before them a fire devours, and behind them a flame scorches. The land before them is like the Garden of Eden, but behind them, it is like a desert wasteland—surely nothing will escape them.

    Here: The garden of Genesis 2, a byword for land that is lush and well watered (compare Gen 13:10). The name sounds like the Hebrew word for 'delight, luxury'.

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