Thread by @JoinBibleProj

We received quite a few questions/concerns surrounding the phrase, "Eden is a high mountain garden" in our latest video in the Spiritual Beings series. Here's the video: bit.ly/2X9JxvT

#TheBibleProject #SpiritualBeings #Eden

@timmackie has issued a clarifying statement (see thread below).

Eden is a high mountain garden?

Yep. This idea surprised me too when I first encountered it in the work of Jon Levenson, "Sinai and Zion." (Link to book: amzn.to/2EiCauO)

But I then discovered it was all over the Bible and noticed by Jewish and Christian readers for thousands of years. So where in the Bible is Eden described this way?

(1) In Genesis 2:8-14, we read of Eden as a region in which God plants a garden,

and a single river flows out of the garden and then splits into four “heads.” This detail is actually quite explicit: Eden is the source of the rivers of the earth, and water flows downhill, which means clearly that Eden is atop a high place.

(2) In the prophets, Mount Zion (meaning Jerusalem / the Temple) is consistently described in analogy with Eden.

(a) Ezekiel 28:13-14 recalls “Eden, the garden of God” as “the holy mountain of God.”

(b) Joel 2:1-3 talks of “Zion…my holy mountain,” and its surrounding land is described as “like the garden of Eden.”

(3) When later biblical authors envision the new Jerusalem mountain, they describe it in Eden-imagery.

Isaiah 11:1-9: The Messianic King will rule in the new Jerusalem, where the animals will be at peace (as in Eden). “They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain” (11:9). Ezekiel 40:1-2: Ezekiel sees the new Jerusalem, which is “on a very high mountain.” And in Ezekiel 47

the temple has a new Eden-river pouring out its doors, bringing life to the new creation. Revelation 21-22: The new heavens and earth is also a new temple and a new Jerusalem (see 21:1-3), which is placed “on a high mountain” (21:10)

and described in explicit Eden imagery (22:1-2): the river of life, tree of life, etc.

If you're wondering why the idea isn't as clear in Genesis 2 as it is in the biblical prophets and the New Testament, that's a great question!

We addressed this issue in our video on "The Bible as Jewish Meditation Literature." (Link to video: bit.ly/2zBmrT4 ). Very often in the Bible, important ideas and themes are introduced in subtle and creative ways that only become clear as you read further

into the story of the Bible. This means that later recollections of a theme (like Eden as a high mountain in the prophets) are just as important as their first, more subtle appearances (like Eden as the source of the rivers of the earth).

The concept of Eden as the divine 'heaven and earth' mountain-temple is fundamental to the coherence of the biblical storyline, and Babylon represents any and all human attempts to get the "Eden" blessing without having to trust God's wisdom.

Once you see this contrast from Genesis 1-11 many issues later in the Bible become more clear.

Hope this helps!

-Tim and The Bible Project crew