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Hey guys welcome back to Critical Thinking Aloud. We Just got done our huge 8 part series on Why is the world the way it is? where we answered this question through the eyes of the ancient Near Eastern biblical authors.
I had a blast reviewing this information and it was such an eye opener remembering how great of a gap exists between our culture and that of the authors of these sacred text. Remember:
“The bible was written for everyone, but not to everyone.”
The more we learn about the difference that lies in-between those two statements the better we will be able to apply the scriptures in their original context to our modern day lives. If you missed this series check it out here.
In that teaching I had a few great questions that popped up amongst viewers which I believe I can answer in a short 3 part series which we will start today. All three questions centered around the Garden of Eden, The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and The Tree of Life.
Lets get started
Eden is Gods Mountain
While covering Eden in Why is the world the way it is? I mentioned that the Garden of Eden is a mountain. Today I want to use primary scholarly sources to cement my case that this is in fact what the ancient Near Eastern worldview was. We will be using two amazing sources which we highly recommend.
- Faithlife Study Bible: This is an amazing resource that is free if you download the app or to use online. To download the app or use this resource online visit their website here. This resource is also available in print which you can purchase here.
- The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: This is my favorite resource for better understanding the ancient Near Eastern worldview of the Biblical authors. This is available in a multitude of variations all of which you can find on our resource page here.
The reason that people in the ancient Near East thought of Eden as a mountain is tied to the their belief on major topics such as creation. All of the cultures in the ancient Near East shared these similar beliefs though particular elements of this shared collective may vary from culture to culture.
For example to the ancient Hebrews, Eden was Gods Mountain Abode on the earth. In a very real sense this is where heaven and earth meet. Think of it like this, The mountain of God/ Eden is Gods Holy abode where Yahweh lives in Harmony with both spiritual and physical loyal members of His family. From here He shares His authority with them to spread His kingdom to the rest of the planet.
Faithlife Study Bible
The Faithlife Study Bible says this
Eden ” was distinguished from the entirety of creation and had specific geographical boundries. Only Eden was the unique dwelling place of of God…”
Faithlife Study Bible: Notes on Genesis Chapter 2:8
It goes on to say:
“In the ancient Near East, garden imagery was used to describe the abodes of deities representing luxury and abundance. The divine abode also represented the place where heaven and earth met.”
Faithlife Study Bible: Notes on Genesis 2:9
Further more in an article included in this study bible titled Cosmic Garden and Mountain Imagery in the Old Testament we read:
“People in the ancient Near East believed that gods lived in lush gardens or mountains, as both settings reflected luxury and remoteness- qualities associated with the gods…. People in the ancient Near East thought of mountains was divine abodes because they were extremely remote… hence, mountain dwelling allowed gods to remain separate from humanity. This perception was so widespread that people in areas without natural mountains (such as Mesopotamia or Egypt) created artificial ones. For example, in Mesopotamia, the human-made ziggurat was a mountain-temple where the gods met humanity. “
Faithlife Study Bible: Cosmic Garden and Mountain Imagery in the Old Testament Article under the Notes on Genesis 2:9
This is exactly what we said about the Tower of Babel in our teaching on Why is the world the way it is? Part 3. In the plains of Shinar (in Mesopotamia) humanity with their new found technology gathered to construct for themselves a counterfeit mountain of God to gain access back to the forbidden spiritual world with their own strength.
This should be enough to prove our point. I don’t want to share too much of the good stuff so there is something left to be desired in your imaginations. Get this resource and go dig out some treasure for yourselves from this gold mine.
NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible
Lets see what the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible has to say about Eden being Gods mountain.
“The garden as adjoining Eden because the water flows ‘from Eden’ and waters the garden. The garden adjoins God’s residence in the same way that a garden of the place adjoins the palace. Eden is the source of the water and the residence of God… The word ‘garden’ here should not make us think of vegetables or even necessarily flowers. Public gardens or a ‘country garden’ convey the idea more accurately as indicating a park with careful landscaping, pools, watercourses, and paths winding among fruit trees and shade trees.”
NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Pg 9 under the notes on Genesis 2:8
This doesn’t link the Garden to a mountain per say, but it does get us to think differently about what the definition of the garden of Eden should be. Its Gods House, His Mountain, His Palace, His Residence.
Check out this awesome teaching on the ancient Near Eastern perspective of Kings as gardeners modeled after the True King Yahweh and how Jesus fulfills this role in His resurrection, here.
Finally in an article on ziggurats The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible says
“Though the structure at the top was designated to accommodate the god… As a result of these data, we can conclude that the ziggurat was a structure built to support the stairway. This stairway was a visual representation of that which was believed to be used by the gods to travel from one realm to another.”
NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Pg 30 and 31 covering Genesis 11:4 in the article on Ziggurats
Here we have a man-made mountain that is built to access the realm of the gods who are thought to be presiding on the top. As we said in our teaching Why is the world the way that it is covering the Ziggurat at Babel this is a gateway to where the gods lived.
The people thought the gods lived on tops of mountains and high places. This why the people built a stair way up to the gods in oder that they may descend and make contact with the spiritual world.
For The Bible tells me so
Lastly we know that the garden of Eden is Gods Holy mountain because the scriptures link the two together. When describing the original spiritual rebel, The Devil before His fall from grace, the prophet Ezekiel says this:
“You were in Eden, the garden of God;… You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.”
Ezekiel 28:13-14
There really isn’t much more to be said other than that. To the biblical authors the Mountain of God and Eden are one and the same. His mountain is Gods dwelling place where out of His abundance He provides for all the needs of His loyal family members while sharing His authority with them to spread Eden across the globe.
We hope you have enjoyed this new series of Critical Thinking Aloud
Citations:
Faithlife Study Bible. J. D. Barry et al. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012.
NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Grand Rapids, Michigan USA Zondervan 2016
Get the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible here
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Let us know your thought about our series in the comment section. If you have any topics you would like to suggest please let us know and we will add them to the list of future subjects we will covered.