|
Topic:
Eden In Babylonia
Two theories locate Eden in the Euphrates valley. Of these the first
would place it near the head of the Persian Gulf where the Tigris and
Euphrates after their junction form the Shatt el-'Arab which bifurcates
into the eastern and the western arm before reaching the Gulf. Calvin
considered the Pishon to be the eastern arm and the Gihon the western
arm. Other more recent authorities modify theory by supposing that Gihon
and Pishon are represented by the Karum and the Kerkhah rivers which
come into the Shatt el-'Arab from the east. The most plausible objection
to this theory is that the Biblical account represents all these
branches as down stream from the main river, whereas this theory
supposes that two of them at least are up stream. This objection has
been ingeniously met by calling attention to the fact that 2,000 years
before Christ the Persian Gulf extended up as far as Eridu, 100 miles
above the present mouth of the river, and that the Tigris and the
Euphrates then entered the head of the Gulf through separate channels,
the enormous amount of silt brought down by the streams having converted
so much of the valley into dry land. In consequence of the tides which
extend up to the head of the Gulf, the current of all these streams
would be turned up stream periodically, and so account for the Biblical
statement. In this case the river (nahar) would be represented by the
Persian Gulf itself, which was indeed called by the Babylonians nar
marratum, "the bitter river. " This theory is further
supported by the fact that according to the cuneiform inscriptions Eridu
was reputed to have in its neighborhood a garden, "a holy
place," in which there grew a sacred palm tree. This "tree of
life" appears frequently upon the inscriptions with two guardian
spirits standing on either side. The other theory, advocated with great
ability by Friedrich Delitzsch, places Eden just above the site of
ancient Babylon, where the Tigris and Euphrates approach to within a
short distance of one another and where the country is intersected by
numerous irrigating streams which put off from the Euphrates and flow
into the Tigris, whose level is here considerably lower than that of the
Euphrates--the situation being somewhat such as it is at New Orleans
where the Mississippi River puts off numerous streams which empty into
Lake Pontchartrain. Delitzsch supposes the Shatt el-Nil, which flows
eastward into the Tigris, to be the Gihon, and the Pallacopas, flowing
on the West side of the Euphrates through a region producing gold, to be
the Pishon. The chief difficulties attending this theory pertain to the
identification of the Pishon with the Pallacopas, and the location of
Havilah on its banks. There is difficulty, also, in all these theories
in the identification of Cush (Ethiopia), later associated with the
country from which the Nile emerges, thus giving countenance to the
belief of Josephus and many others that that river represented the Gihon.
If we are compelled to choose between these theories it would seem that
the one which locates Eden near the head of the Persian Gulf combines
the greater number of probabilities of every kind. (2) A Levite of the
time of Hezekiah (2 Ch 29:12; 31:15). Dawson Modern Science in Bible
Lands; Friedrich Delitzsch, Wo lag das Paradies? (1881); Sayce, HCM, 95
ff; Hommel, Anc. Hebrew Tradition, 314; William F. Warren, Paradise
Found, 1885.
Contributor: George Frederick Wright
Derived from Easton's and Smith's Bible Dictionaries
Fair Use.
Presented for educational purposes only.
If these words have been a blessing, please forward them to a friend.
These words were posted at one of Shepherd's Care
Ministries Sites called Wisdom Minute, The site is located at:
http://www.findthepower.com/wisdomminute
Shepherd's Care Ministries Main Site located at:
http://www.findthepower.com/ |
