Where Is the Garden of Eden?

Emily (age 12) asked,

“Where is the garden of Eden now?”

Great question, Emily!

Many fairy tales begin with “In a land far away” or happen in places like Never-Never Land that don’t really exist. But the Bible describes real events. So where is the garden of Eden?

Genesis gives us a lot of information about the area the garden of Eden was in, and that is a good place to start. Genesis 2 tells us that there were four rivers: the Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. There were also a wealth of natural resources like gold and precious stones. Neighboring regions like Havilah, Cush, and Assyria are also named.

Some of these names belong to countries or rivers we recognize. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are important rivers in the Middle East. Assyria, Cush, and Havilah all appear later in Scripture, but not next to each other like in the Genesis 2 description. In fact, no place anywhere on earth fits this description of the region of Eden and its neighbors. What’s going on?

The flood reshaped the earth, totally obliterating the world’s previous geography.

Remember that in Noah’s day, God sent a global flood. That flood killed all the people and animals that lived on land and breathed through nostrils except the eight people in Noah’s family and the animals God sent to be saved on the ark. The flood also reshaped the earth, totally obliterating the world’s previous geography—including where Eden was located.

But then why do we see some place names come back later in the Bible? Place names are often reused. For instance, there is a New York state and city in America named after York in England. There are 29 places in the world called London! If you look at a map of your region, you can probably find more names that are recycled from other places.

Reading about such a wonderful place full of rivers, gold, precious stones, and a beautiful garden might make us sad that it no longer exists, especially because it was destroyed because of people’s sin. But people who believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins get to look forward to an even better place. In Revelation, we read a description of a city coming out of heaven that is like Eden as a city—complete with the tree of life, precious stones, and, most importantly, the fact that we will get to live with Jesus there forever!

Do you have a question about the Bible? Ask your parents to help you submit your question today. We’d love to hear from you!