에덴 동산
BY btyang ON 7. 18, 2014
OnTHESIXTHDAYOFCREATION，SaysGENESIS，Godcreateshumankind“intheimageofGod，maleandfemale"(Genesis1:27)ThesefirsthumansarecalledAdamandEve.AndthentheLordplantsagardeninEden，with“everytreethatispleasantforthesightandgoodforfood,"andthisgarden"heputthemanwhomhehadformed."(Genesis2:8-9).Thisgarden，evocativeofthelushgrovesofSumer，iswateredbyariversplitintofourbranches:theTigris，Euphrates，Pishon，andGihon(Genesis2:10-4).TheEuphratesandtheTigrisarewellknown，butthecoursesofthePishonandtheGihonareuncertain.
Usingsatellitephotography，somescholarsclaimtohavedetectedtracesofthePishonintheancientdryriverbedoftheWadiBatin-aclaimsupportedbyacuneiformtabletfromtheBabylonianpalaceofNippurthatreferstoEdenastheSumerianwordfor“uncultivatedplain."OtherssuggestthatEdenmaybelinkedtotheSumerianlegendofautopianlandcalledDilmun，whichissometimesidentifiedwiththeregionofpresent-dayBahrain.Regardlessoflocation，thebiblicaldescriptionofEdenleaveslittledoubtaboutthesite’ssignificance:ItwaseverythingthattheharshSyrianDesertwasnot.
Man’ssojourninthisidyllicgardenisshort.AserpentpersuadesAdamandEvetoeatfromtheforbidden“treeoftheknowledgeofgoodandevil,"afterwhichtheyareevictedandforcedtosustainthemselvesby“tillingtheground"(Genesis3:23)-abiblicalreferencetothemomentwhenagriculturebecamethemainstayofhumanexistence.ThetreeasasymboloflifefiguredprominentlyinMesopotamianmythology，whiletheroleoftheserpentisreminiscentoftheMesopotamianEpicofGilgamesh，inwhichaserpentstealsaplantthatconfersimmortality.FortheBible，however，theEdenstoryunderscoreshowhumanexistenceismerelyan"exile"fromaprimordialstateofdivineperfection.
ThesescenesofAdamandEveinParadiseasenvisionedbyLucasCranachtheElder
(1472-1553)werepaintedaround1530.
<thebiblicalworldanillustratedatlas에서>
