WCH

What's the historical origin of the Garden of Eden story? Specifically, when was the first reference to it in extant Jewish literature, what related myths did it evolve from, etc?

Just wondering out of curiousity.

judge

I would be intereested to hear the thoughts of some of the regulars here on this as well.
This site is a christian one but it does give some references to cuniform tablets. I do not know when they date to but some read as follows.


I would be interested in more info re these, as they seem similar to the garden of Eden story?

Chili

Neat! The only reason we need a Genesis is to show how we went wrong when paradise is regained. Until then it is a mystery but every mythology will have one and that suggests that it has nothing to do with the first homo sapiens.

lulay

The origin of the Hebrew creation myth of the Garden of Eden comes from Goddess mythology

all the symbols, the Tree, "Eve" (Mother of All Living. ie., Goddess), Lover/"Adam", Serpent/Guardian of the Tree, Fruit (hallucingenic fruit), Garden, and so on, are all intimately related to Goddess mythological symbolism.

What Hebrews did was try and demonize these symbols by inversion, using written text. However, the images are really too powerful. Though, the Hebrew tale understood literally, and symbolically in its patriarchal way has been very detrimental. Causing a spit between spirit and Nature, and between man and woman, and splitting woman in half, the wild woman demonized, whilst the subservient one--ideal for the 'rule of the fathers'/patriarchy--soley for procreational use...a receptacle for the male who "birthed" her. That is THe major clue of its patriarchal intention. The male giving birth to the female!

Chili

Don't be silly lulay, that would be to much labor pain for us males. Instead we took woman from man to be his own kind that she would know exactly how to take care of him. I could add that this leaves her without an identity of her own and be more willing to take care of him . . . which makes them good 'milkers' until they rebel and then they are used for 'sport' only.

I think you are soo funny and I could not resist to add my thoughts for your pleasure.

Btw. did you ever water that flower on your window sill?

Rick Sumner

You would have a very hard time demonstrating this, and seem to have missed the point of the narrative.

The narrative is an explanation, a fall of man from God's grace, hence the pericope's usual title "The Fall of Man." It provides an explanation for sorrow and grief, for bad crops and for painful labour. Things were good, they observe, until we disobeyed. There is neither room nor necessity for "Goddess Mythology," and it is placed here by twentieth century revisionists, not proto-Jews. It is no more the product of "Goddess mythology" than Pandora's box, another explanatory tale.

In the form it survives to us, I'd suggest it is primarily Persian. God is contrasted with the serpent, knowledge with blissful ignorance, good with evil, reward with punishment, obedience with sin, and woman with man. This dualism can really only have one source. As to whether the Persian influence is the product of creation or redaction, I don't propose to know--it's well outside the focus of my study--but perhaps someone else will take up the gauntlet on that. I must confess that I can't imagine a coherent version of the tale without the dualist elements, so on a first blush I'd suggest there wasn't one.

Regards,
Rick Sumner

pierneef

The most interesting book I have read on this topic is "Adam, Eve and the Serpent" by Elaine Pagels. Here is a reference:

http://www.papaya-palace.com/katbook...es/000483.html

fantastic hats

is believed to be based on an actual land in what is now the island of Bahrain, that was at one point a fertile paradise...in comparison with it's surroundings, anyway. In Sumerian mythology, it was a land called "Dilmun" if I remember correctly.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, it is believed to be where Utnapishtim ended up after the flood (with Mt. Mashu).

...and this is where my memory gets spotty. But basically, the Garden of Eden (and flood) idea seems to be a myth developed out of 'cultural baggage' originating in Sumeria.

Chili

It's in your own mind and if the garden is there Adam and Eve must be there too!

Let's think rational here for a moment. If "realization" can get you back into Eden why would you go looking at a piece of land to find it.

The four rivers in Gen.2:10-14 show you how to find it with the fourth river being the Eu-phrates = bright mind and that one doesn't "wind" or "rise" but just is as in "I AM."