In order to understand this article, please read “Understanding ‘Creation’ Literature” and “The Constellations in the Scriptures” first.
As we now understand, the geographical references in Genesis 2 originate in the interpretation of a few different constellations. The two fishes of Pisces represented the Tigris and Euphrates, and word-puns on the Pegasus Square constellation – itself representing the Garden of Eden – represented the Pishon and the Gihon. The Pishon was said to encircle the land of Havilah (in Arabia), while the Gihon went around the land of Kush (south of Egypt). The Pishon was a now-dry tributary of the river Jordan, while the Gihon was, of course, the Nile River.
In these heavenly constellations, all four rivers were connected. On earth however, they’re geographically separated by hundreds of miles. Some fundamentalist scholars have attempted to explain this away by positing that the geography of the world was different before the Flood. Other scholars have attempted to interpret this by locating the four rivers elsewhere – such as at the head of the Persian Gulf, in Armenia, and so forth.
They’re all missing the point. The biblical Creation account was purposefully inaccurate about the paths of the four rivers…because it was meant to point to a future reality when nations would “flow” to “Eden” – as we read in Isaiah 2:1-5.
Now, as we’ve previously discussed, the “animals” that Adam named represented people of other nations that existed at the time the biblical Creation story was composed. If Adam was “naming” those “animals,” then people of other nations already were “flowing” to Eden! So, what does this mean?
Isaiah’s vision was of nations seeking to learn the ways of God, whereas the people “flowing” to Eden in Adam’s time likely had little interest in his God. The cosmological view of Genesis 1-3 was therefore spiritual, rather than physical.
That being said, what can we learn from the geographical details in Genesis 2? Are they completely useless for locating Eden?
Not at all! Despite the rivers not connecting, they DO help to isolate just where the land of Eden would have been. The Gihon represents the southernmost river related to Eden, while the Tigris and Euphrates represent the northernmost rivers related to Eden. All together, these rivers define the extent of the land of Eden.
Now, compare this with Genesis 15:18:
On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates…”
Notice that this mentions two of the four rivers in the land of Eden? That’s right. The land of Eden…is the same as the land of Canaan!
Now, the only geographical hint we’re given for the location of the Garden in Eden, is that it’s “eastward.” That is, it’s a walled garden with an opening that faced towards the east.
Does that description sound familiar? It should…because that’s exactly how the Temple was situated in Jerusalem. Its opening faced eastwards, towards the Mount of Olives.
We’re never told exactly where the Garden of Eden was, in the bible. However, if we consider that the “end” of history is God dwelling in Jerusalem, ruling over the entire world, then the most likely place that the Garden of Eden could have been, would be in Jerusalem itself. The whole metaphor of the Day of Atonement in the Temple involved making a way back into the presence of God, when the High Priest entered into the Holy of Holies in the Temple once a year. The Garden of Eden was like a primordial Temple, and essentially served the same function, so it would make sense if the Garden was where Jerusalem now stands. Perhaps even where the Temple itself once stood.