The making of man and the place of Eden: ancient background and early geography (2:7–23)
Says “The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils” (Gen 2:7, BSB). He planted גַּן־בְעֵדֶן (gan-ve‘eden, “a garden in Eden”), “in the east” (2:8). Its river branches into four headwaters, two named Tigris and Euphrates (2:10–14). The man calls the woman “bone of my bones” (2:23).
In Enuma Elish Marduk resolves to make man from blood and bone (VI 5–7); King compares its Akkadian word for bone with עֶצֶם (‘etsem) in 2:23. In Gilgamesh the goddess Aruru shapes Engidu from clay (I ii 33–35). In an Atrakhasis fragment a goddess breaks off pieces of clay (IV 4–5); Rogers’ note has Ea remaking men after their destruction, helped by Nami, whom he identifies as Aruru.
Josephus takes the Phison as the Ganges and the Geon as the Nile (Ant. 1.1.3); Calvin places Eden where the joined Tigris and Euphrates divide again, near Babylon; Keil looks to Armenia, yet grants that “the precise locality can no longer be determined with certainty”. These are their views.
Uncertain By comparison, the clay scenes set a goddess, or Ea with one, among many gods; in 2:7 the Lord God forms the man and gives him breath. Eden’s location, whether the garden is presented as a sanctuary (Jubilees calls it holy; see note.historical.Gen.2.1-Gen.2.25.early-jewish-readings), and how far Mesopotamian parallels bear on Genesis 2 are open. No dependence either way is claimed, no lean is taken, and this background does not fix 2:7–14 or 2:23.
Claims
- SaysGen 2:7 says the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils; 2:8 says he planted גַּן־בְעֵדֶן in the east; 2:10–14 has a river from Eden branch into four headwaters, the third and fourth named Tigris and Euphrates; 2:23 calls the woman “bone of my bones”.
- UncertainEden’s location, whether the garden is presented as a sanctuary, and how far Mesopotamian parallels such as Enuma Elish VI and the clay-formation scenes of Gilgamesh I and Atrakhasis IV bear on Genesis 2 are open; by comparison, the clay scenes set a goddess, or Ea with one, among many gods, while in 2:7 the Lord God forms the man; no dependence is claimed in either direction, no lean, and the background does not fix Gen 2:7–14 or 2:23.
Citations
- BSB public domain Gen 2:7, 8, 10–14, 23
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 2:8, 23 (WLC/OSHB), cantillation removed
- King, Seven Tablets of Creation, vol. 1 public domain King, The Seven Tablets of Creation, vol. 1 (1902), English translation: Enuma Elish VI 5–7 and King’s note 8 on “bone” (contents p. 86; n201); read on the page image; paraphrased, not quoted
- Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels public domain Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels (1912): Gilgamesh Epic, Tablet I, col. II, lines 33–35 (Aruru and Engidu), p. 82 (n109); Ea and Atrakhasis, col. IV, lines 1–5, with Rogers’ note 1, p. 120 (n147); read on the page images; paraphrased, not quoted
- Josephus (Whiston) public domain Ant. 1.1.3 = 1.37–39 (Whiston, 1817, vol. 1), pp. 8–9 (n17–n18), Phison and Geon on p. 9; read on the page images; paraphrased
- Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain Calvin, Genesis (King, CTS 1847), on Gen 2:10, pp. 119–120 (n128–n129), with the map on p. 120; read on the page images; paraphrased
- Keil–Delitzsch, Pentateuch 1 public domain Keil, Pentateuch vol. 1 (Clark, Martin trans., 1868), on Gen 2:10–14, pp. 82–83 (n85–n86); read on the page images; “the precise locality can no longer be determined with certainty” quoted, otherwise paraphrased
2026-11-10
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