EDEN - DELIGHT, PLEASURE

Petra Hadžidaova
Jun 7
4 min read

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2: 8-9 (NIV)

INTRODUCTION

Eden was a place of abundance and delight for Adam and Eve. The very meaning of the word aligns with its design. It most likely translates as “delight”, “pleasure,” and derives from the root A-D-N. Adam sinned and was banished from Eden. A cherubim was placed to guard it with a flaming sword. From the word study of the word charav, we can deduce that Eden still exists, but is either hidden from our eyes by an illusion or was moved to an alternative universe.

EDEN-DELIGHT, PLEASURE

All kinds of trees surrounded Adam and Eve. The trees were pleasing to the eye and good for food. Abundance was what they knew. There in the middle of Eden, surrounded by all the other trees, stood the Tree of Life and right next to it the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. From all the trees, Adam and Eve were allowed to eat, except the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They never lacked, and God resided with them. Everything they desired or needed was available in Eden, to their delight.

The etymology of the Hebrew word Eden is not completely clear. There are different theories. According to one theory, it derives from the Sumerian word edin, which translates to "plain" or "steppe," and the Akkadian edinnu, meaning "fertile plain" or "land naturally irrigated".

By far the most possible and accepted theory claims it derives from the root A-D-N (ע-ד-נ). From the same root derive several other words:

“Ednah”, meaning pleasure
“Ada’necha” meaning delights
“Me’udan” meaning delicate. The initial Latin meaning of ‘delicate’ (‘delicatus’ in Latin) is ‘something that gives pleasure.’ (2)

From the meanings of the upper words, we can safely conclude that the word Eden has something to do with ‘pleasure ’ or ‘delight. That is the widely accepted meaning of the word. The expression Garden of Eden, therefore, means “Garden of delight.”(2)

GAN EDEN HIDDEN?

In Hebrew, the Garden of Eden is called Gan Eden. Whenever I read the Bible, I always assumed that the Garden of Eden was, or rather is, a physical place on Earth. While it is true that it was on Earth, extensive study of dutiful servants of God has pointed to a potentially different perspective on its current location.

From the word study of Genesis 3:24, more specifically the word for sword, charav, it has been suggested that Eden does still exist, but is located in an alternative universe. God appointed a cherubim to guard the Garden of Eden with a flaming charav. The latter word is a play on the word cherubim. It can also be considered as a verb, in which case it means “to strike, attack”. The cherubim struck the Garden of Eden with an illusion. This fits right in with the latest Quantum Physics and Science Fiction fad of alternative universes. The cherubim either created an illusion that hid Eden from our eyes or God moved Eden to an alternative universe, a spiritual realm where we will one day access when we pass by death from this reality to the next reality. (3)

I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE

Yeshua did what no one else could. He fulfilled the Law in full. As He ascended back to His rightful place, He said He goeth to prepare a place for us too. Eden truly very likely is in an alternative universe, one we can not yet enter. But there will come a day when we will be able to go there, if we endure and win this battle.

CONCLUSION

Eden was a physical place on Earth full of delight and pleasure for Adam and Eve, as the very meaning of the word suggests. There was abundance and prosperity. After Adam sinned and was banished from Eden, a cherubim was assigned to guard Eden with a flaming sword. The word used for sword charav, can also denote a verb meaning to strike, or attack. It is possible that the cherubim struck Eden with an illusion and that way hid it from plain sight. It is also possible that God moved it to an alternative universe. Either way, Yeshua went back to this place to secure a place for us in the New Kingdom to come.