| | | The Garden of Eden (from Hebrew גַּן עֵדֶן Gan ‘Ēden) is described in the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve, lived after they were created by God. The past physical existence of this garden forms part of the creation belief of the Abrahamic religions.The creation story in Genesis relates the geographical location of both Eden and the garden to four major rivers (Pishon, Gihon, Hiddekel, Euphrates), as well as a number of named regions (Havilah, Cush, Asshur or Assyria) (see Genesis 2:10-14). This seems to suggest a setting in the ancient near east, specifically somewhere in or near Mesopotamia. However, because the identification of these rivers has been the subject of much controversy and speculation, many believe that the knowledge of the location of Eden has been lost. There is yet no other indication found of its existence beyond the record found in Genesis and other early Judaeo-Christian literature, such as Jubilees. However, according to Jeffrey Donley, Ph.D.: |  "The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach, a 16th century German depiction of Eden
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" Moses, the writer of Genesis, says that the headwaters of the four rivers are located in the Garden of Eden and names them Euphrates, Tigris, Gihon, and Pishon Genesis 2:10-14). The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are known by those names still. The other two have been identified as today's Araxes and Uizhun, respectively. The Pishon River is identified with gold in Genesis. The uizhun, known to present-day locals as the Golden River, meanders between ancient gold mines and lodes of lapis lazuli. For many, these facts are enough to prove that the Garden of Eden is a real place. " In addition, British Egyptologist and historian David Rohl identified Pishon with the Uizhun and placed Havilah to the northeast of Mesopotamia. The Uizhun is known locally as the Golden River. Rising near Mount Sahand, it meanders between ancient gold mines and lodes of lapis lazuli before feeding the Caspian Sea. Such natural resources correspond to the ones associated with the land of Havilah in the Genesis account (Genesis 2:11). In his published work, Legend: The Genesis of Civilisation ISBN-10: 009979991X, he posits a location for the Garden of Eden in Iranian Azarbaijan, south-east of Tabriz. In the same work, he assumes a local flood theory for the Genesis Flood, positing that the biblical reference to the covering of "all the high mountains" is merely a description of the flooding of cities in the plains of Mesopotamia on the basis that the Hebrew word 'har' does not just mean 'mountain' but also 'hill' and 'city mound'.EtymologyThe origin of the term "Eden", which in Hebrew means "delight", may lie with the Akkadian word edinu, which itself derives from the Sumerian term E.DIN. The Sumerian term means "plain" or "steppe", so the connection between the words may be coincidental, although this word is known to have been used by the Sumerians to refer to Mesopotamia as the "valley of E'din", meaning the fertile lands between the Tigris and Euphrates. Alan Millard has put forward a case for the name deriving from the Semitic stem dn, meaning "abundant, lush".The story from source textsGenesisIn the Garden of Eden story of the Biblical book of Genesis (Gen 2:4-3:26), God molds Adam (Hebrew: adm (אדם), adamah — "ground" or "land" or "red clay") from the dust of the Earth, then forms Eve from one of Adam's ribs and places them both in the garden, eastward in Eden. God charges both Adam and Eve to tend the garden in which they live, and specifically commands Adam not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve is quizzed by the serpent why she avoids eating of this tree. In the dialogue between the two, Eve elaborates on the commandment not to eat of its fruit. She says that even if she touches the tree she will die. The serpent responds that she will not die, rather she would become like God, knowing good and evil. Eve then eats from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and persuades Adam to eat from it too. They then become aware. God finds them, confronts them, and judges them for disobeying.It is at this point that God expels them from Eden, to keep Adam and Eve from partaking of the Tree of Life. The story says that God placed cherubim with an omnidirectional "flaming" sword to guard against any future entrance into the garden.In the account, the garden is planted "eastward, in Eden," and accordingly "Eden" properly denotes the larger territory which contains the garden, rather than being the name of the garden itself: it is, thus, the garden located in Eden. The Talmud also states (Brachos 34b) that the Garden is distinct from Eden. Book of JubileesThe Book of Jubilees, canonical to this day in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, relates a tradition that the angels did not place Adam in the garden until his 40th day, and his wife Eve on the 80th day. Later on (4:23-27), it states that they also conducted Enoch into the garden of Eden when he was translated from the Earth at age 365, where he records the evil deeds of mankind for all time — adding further that the garden is one of four holy places that the Lord has on Earth, the other three being Mount Sinai, Mount Zion, and the 'Mount of the East' (usually assumed by scholars to mean Mount Ararat).Geography Eden as depicted in Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights includes many exotic African animals.The Book of Genesis is the primary source of Scriptural speculation with regards to geography, but still contains little information on the garden itself. It was home to both the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, as well as an abundance of other vegetation that could feed Adam and Eve.“ And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. ” — Genesis 2:10-14 Suspected locationsThere have been a number of claims as to the actual geographic location of the Garden of Eden, though many of these have little or no connection to the text of Genesis. Most put the Garden somewhere in the Middle East near Mesopotamia, with Jewish tradition citing Jerusalem. Some theologians have claimed that the Garden never had a terrestrial existence, but was instead an adjunct to heaven as it became identified with Paradise (see below).Taurus Mountains/AnatoliaThe text asserts that the Garden was planted in the eastern part of the region known as Eden, and that in Eden, the river divided into four branches: Hiddekel (also known as Tigris), Euphrates, Pishon and Gihon. While the identity of the first two is commonly accepted, the latter two rivers have been the subject of much debate. If the Garden of Eden had been near the sources of the Tigris and the Euphrates, then the narrative might have identified it as located in the Taurus Mountains, or in Anatolia.Michael Sanders, director of expeditions for the Mysteries of the Bible Research Foundation, in Irvine, California, says that the Garden of Eden is in eastern Turkey, because the Tigris and Euphrates take their source in the mountains there. Sanders identifies the 4 rivers of Eden as the Murat River, the Tigris, the Euphrates, and the north fork of the Euphrates. In support of this, Sanders cites a satellite image showing that "a river rises out of Eden and divides into four".In Assyrian records, there is mention of a "Beth Eden", (House of Eden), a small Aramaean state, located on the bend of the Euphrates River just south of Carchemish.The Middle EastEden has a brief mention in II Kings at 19:12, ,Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar? This has been used to justify Eden's location within the Middle East, probably close to the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.Vicinity of the Persian GulfSatellite photos reveal two dry riverbeds flowing toward the Persian Gulf near where the Tigris and Euphrates also terminate. This would account for four easterly flowing rivers. Archaeologist Juris Zarins claimed that the Garden of Eden was situated at the head of the Persian Gulf, where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers run into the sea, from his research on this area using information from many different sources, including LANDSAT images from space. In this theory, the Bible’s Gihon River would correspond with the Karun River in Iran, and the Pishon River would correspond to the Wadi Batin river system that once drained the now dry, but once quite fertile central part of the Arabian Peninsula. His theory is strongly supported by C. A. Salabach .A corresponding theory is that the "there" or "thence" of verse 10 references greater Eden and not the garden, and that the description is of looking upriver from the garden into Eden and that from "there/thence" the river "separates" or "diverges" [Heb פרד = PRD] into four separate rivers. Following each of these upstream, past the various lands, leads you to their headwaters. Rejected is the commonly held idea of a fifth unnamed river from an unstated source that divides into four separate paths. This theory also puts the Garden of Eden in the vicinity of the northern end of the Persian Gulf, supporting the theory of Jarins.Near the Tigris and Euphrates DeltaBiblical researcher T.R. Michels states that, "While many researchers have been trying to locate the Garden of Eden for years, believing that the "Garden" was in the "Land of Eden" (which it appears it was not). The land of Eden is described as encompassing the area of the Pishon River in the land of Havilah, the Gihon River in the land of Cush, the Tigris River, and the Euphrates River. The Bible does not state that the Garden of Eden was surrounded by, or bordered by these four rivers. Many people believe the Garden of Eden was located in Mesopotamia, in what is now central Iraq. But, this may not be true, because many researchers have failed to correctly identify the Pishon and the Havilah rivers.In order to correctly identify these rivers we need to realize is that the names we read in the Bible are often English translations of Greek translations of Aramaic, which is why I have use the Aramaic terms. Then we need to look for rivers or geographical areas with names that are similar to the words Pishon and Havilah. Havilah is one of the areas mentioned as being near the Garden of Eden.Genesis 2:10 states, "A river from the land of Eden flowed through the garden to water it; afterwards the river divided into four branches (here some Bibles use the term "into four river heads" but there is no support for the use of this term). One of these was named the Pishon; it winds across the length of the land of Havilah .. v. 13 the second branch is called the Gihon, crossing the entire length of the land of Cush. The third branch is the Tigris (Hiddekel), which flows east to the city of Asher. And the fourth is the Perat (Euphrates)".The mention of the Euphrates flowing "east to the city of Asher" creates a problem, because the city of Asshur is traditionally located north of Babylon, and it is on the Tigris River. The use of the term "river heads" in this passage may have led to the misconception that the Garden of Eden was in an area where four rivers began.An alternative reading states, "A river watering the garden flowed from Eden, and from there it divided. It had four headstreams. The name of the first is the Pishon. It winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there. The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates."The interpretations from the two Bibles quoted above are significantly different. Both of them imply that Eden was upstream of the garden and that the river ran through the garden. But, the first quote uses the term "afterwards the river divided into four branches" implying that "after-wards" (outside) of the garden the river divided. The second quote states that the river flowed "from" Eden (not began in it).The second quote also states "it (the river) divided" and "It had four head-streams", simply meaning that the river that started or ran through Eden, and then ran through the garden, had four head-streams. These differences are very significant. The second quote could imply that the river eventually broke up into four parts, or four other rivers. Since rivers generally break up into several other rivers or streams upstream on larger rivers, it seems to imply that these four head streams were upstream from Eden. We also have to note that one of these rivers ran through the land of "Cush" and another through the land of "Havilah".If the four head-streams are upriver from Eden, and we know that two of the rivers are the Tigris and the Euphrates, we have to assume that the large river (that they are part of) is the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates in the delta region north of the Persian Gulf. Then, if we understand that the rivers are listed in order of occurrence; and we know that the Tigris is the third river we can expect to find on a map; and that the Euphrates is the fourth river we expect to find; and we understand that we are listing these rivers in a counter-clockwise succession (because the Israelites wrote and looked at writings and maps from left to right); and we understand that the two rivers we know about (the Tigris and the Euphrates) are on the west side of the Tigris/Euphrates delta; then we realize we have to look for the first two rivers either north or east of the Tigris River. Which means we can begin looking for the "Pishon in the land of Havilah" north and east of the delta, and we can look for the "Gihon crossing the land of Cush" to the north of the Pishon, but north and east of the Tigris.According to one source the word "Eden" in the Sumerian language simply meant "fertile plain." This could be the Tigris/Euphrates delta of flood plain.The web site at "http://www.jhom.com/topics/rivers/eden.htm/t_blank" states: "Pishon, the meandering river associated with "the land of Havilah", is an unknown name. If this latter name is Hebrew, it means "sandy land". There are two biblical sites identified by the name Havilah, one within the Egyptian sphere of influence, the other in Arabia. Here the place is described as a source of gold and precious materials.Rashi thought the Pishon River of Genesis was the Nile (even though the Euphrates and Tigris flow in a southeasterly direction and the Nile to the north). According to Josephus, it was the Ganges or the Indus. Rabbi Aaron Marcus offered an alternative in the Karun, which flows through Iran into the Persian Gulf. In support of Josephus, there is a city called Havelian on the upper Indus River, in Pakistan."There is a town named Havilah just north of the Dead Sea, on the east side of the Jordan River, but this is probably not the Havilah spoken of in the Dead Sea fragment. There is one other area associated with the name Havilah, which is the area referred to as Havelian, Susiana, Susis or Susa, which is on the Rud-e-Karun River, east of the Tigris River, in what is now Iran. This area is given credence as the Havilah of Abraham's survey by the observance of Josephus of a city named Havelian on the upper Indus River in nearby Pakistan. Genesis 10:29 states that Havilah and other tribes, "occupied a stretch of country from Mesha (Meshech) to Sephar, the eastern mountain range". This eastern mountain range must be the mountains of eastern Iran, because there are no other mountains between Canaan and Iran. Sephar is thought by some scholars to be the ancient Himyaritic capital, "Shaphar," or Zaphar, on the Indian Ocean, between the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.One reason why Rashi may have believed the Pishon River was the Nile River, was because of the use of the term "land of Cush" (often interpreted as Ethiopia), which is used in conjunction with the next river named in Genesis 2; the Gihon. However, as we will see, neither the Pishon nor the Gihon rivers are located in Egypt, because there was another area referred to as the "land of Cush" in or near Mesopotamia. The ancient city of Kish, which was near the city of Babylon, gives support to this theory.The word Kish may be derived from the word Kush or Cush. From Genesis 10:8-12 we can deduce that Nimrod was a Cushite (son of Cush), and that part of the land of his or his father's domain would have been called the "land of Cush". We know that part of Nimrods' Empire was near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, because of some of the cities associated with him in Genesis: Babel (Babylon), Erech (Iraq), Accad (Akkadia, northern Iran/Iraq), the land of Shinar (Sumer, southern Iran/Iraq). We can also find the word Cush or Kush in the Hindu-Kush Mountains near western India, which suggests that the Middle East ancient "land of Cush" may have extended as far as India. Thus the unknown Gihon River (which runs through the land of Cush) is probably a river in ancient Babylon (modern Iraq/Iran).The first river north and east of the Tigris/Euphrates delta is named the Rud-e Karun, which runs mainly through Iran (Remember that Rabbi Aaron Marcus felt that the Pishon was the Karun). The Rud-e-Karun is the same as the Pishon River "that winds across the length of land of Havilah."One of the next major rivers north of the Pishon/Karun is the Nahr Diyala (in which we can possibly see the name Havilah). This river flows into the Tigris River near Baghdad. There is also a town named Halabjah (which sounds similar to Havilah) close to this river, near the Iranian border. This area would have been in the land of Cush, or in the land of the Kassites, as it is referred to in the Bible. The Nahr Diyala River probably is the same as the Gihon River that "winds through the entire land of Cush." Thus, both the Pishon and the Gihon rivers (like the Tigris and Euphrates) may be in Iran/Iraq.Since the river in the land of Eden flows "through" (not out of) the garden of Eden, and since the four rivers mentioned are "afterwards" of Eden (upstream of Eden, not surrounding the garden), we can assume that the "Garden" was not necessarily in Eden, but close to it, and that Eden encompassed the area from central to southern Iraq; and that the "Garden" was probably on the flood plain of the Tigris and Euphrates in southern Iraq, not in central Iraq or Mesopotomia as many Bible researchers have suggested."Sumer and DilmunSome of the historians working from within the cultural horizons of southernmost Sumer, where the earliest surviving non-Biblical source of the legend lies, point to the quite genuine Bronze Age entrepôt of the island Dilmun (now Bahrain) in the Persian Gulf, described as 'the place where the sun rises' and 'the Land of the Living'. The setting of the Babylonian creation myth, Enûma Elish, has clear parallels with the Genesis narratives. After its actual decline, beginning about 1500 BC, Dilmun developed such a reputation as a long-lost garden of exotic perfections that it may have influenced the story of the Garden of Eden. Some interpreters have tried to establish an Edenic garden at the trading-center of Dilmun.There is also a Sumerian story about a mountainous kingdom accessible from Sumer by river called Aratta. Recent excavations of the Jiroft civilization in the southeast highlands of Iran have led prominent Iranian archaeologists to suggest that Jiroft was Aratta, although this location is not connected with Sumer by river.JerusalemSeveral religious traditions identify the location of the garden of Eden with the city of Jerusalem. Varied Biblical and circumstantial evidence has been cited that to suggest that this is the case.In Jerusalem, there is a water spring called Gihon. This is said to be a part of an underground river (though this claim has been disputed), which would link this spring to the Gihon River of Eden.Eden is also tied with Jerusalem by the prophet Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 28:13-14, he recorded, "You were in Eden, the garden of God;" .. "You were on the holy mount of God." In most Jewish and Christian traditions, "the holy mount of God" is Mt. Moriah, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (see Isaiah 2:2-2:3, Psalm 48:1-2 e.g.). Furthermore, Ezekiel records a vision of a rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem with a river flowing from under its threshold (47:1-12) towards the Dead Sea, bringing life to that which is dead. Because of its supernatural nature, this river has been associated with the "river of life" in Eden (the river which watered and flowed from Eden). Revelation 21:1-22:5 in Christian scripture records a similar vision of a "river of life" and "trees of life" that heal in a new Jerusalem, just as there was a river of life and tree of life in Eden.Finally, Jewish and Christian tradition see symbolism within the Temple, which once stood in Jerusalem and can only be rebuilt in Jerusalem, which connects it to Eden; the menorah as the tree of life, for example.IranAnother possibility was proposed by archaeologist David Rohl, based on archaeological evidence, putting the garden in north-western Iran. According to him, the Garden was located in a vast plain referred to in ancient Sumerian texts as Edin (lit. "Plain", or "Steppe") east of the Sahand Mountain, near Tabriz. He cites several geological similarities with Biblical descriptions, and multiple linguistic parallels as evidence. In the Sumerian texts, an emissary is sent north through "Seven Gates", also known as Mountain passes in ancient texts. Hebrew lore includes references to Seven layers of Heaven, the 7th being the Garden of Eden, or Paradise. Just beyond the seventh gate, or pass, was the kingdom of Aratta. The region today is bound by a large mountain range to the North, East and South, and marshlands to the west. The eastern mountain region has a pass leading in and out of the Edin region. This fits with the Biblical geography of Eden containing marshlands to the west, and the Land of Nod to the east, outside the Garden. Geographically speaking, it would form a "wall" around the Garden, conforming to the definition of the Persian word pairidaeza (paradise) and the Hebrew word gan (garden), both of which mean a "walled garden or park". Additionally, this location would be bound by the four biblical rivers to the West, Southwest, East and Southeast. UnderwaterOther literalists point out that the world of Eden's time was destroyed during Noah's Flood and it is therefore impossible to place the Garden anywhere in post-flood geography. There is also an attempt to tie this with the mysterious sunken land of "Atlantis" mentioned by Plato.SundalandAnother location that has been mentioned is Sundaland in the South China Sea. In this theory, the current Tigris and Euphrates rivers would not be the ones referred to in the narrative, but rather later rivers named after two earlier ones, just as colonists often name features of their new land after similar features in their homeland. This idea also resolves the apparent problem in the theory that the rivers had a common source, which the current rivers do not.AfricaSome people believe that Garden of Eden was somewhere in Northeast Africa. Evidence given in support of this includes the facts that the oldest human remains have been found in Africa, and that the Gihon is usually thought to be a name for the Nile.Latter Day Saints' geographyFor members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) (note that Mormonism deviates from biblical, historical Christian beliefs and their bible and teachings do not correspond to the canonical Christian bible) (also known as the Mormons or Latter Day Saints), the Garden of Eden is believed to have been located in present-day Jackson County, Missouri based on revelation given to Joseph Smith, Jr. Independence, Missouri was revealed to be the "center place" of Zion and the original dwelling place of Adam and Eve in the Garden which God planted "eastward in Eden". According to the Prophet Joseph, Adam and Eve traveled 85 miles north to the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman after they had transgressed and were driven from the Garden. (Adam-ondi-Ahman is sometimes mistakenly associated with the location of the garden itself). As for its location in the western hemisphere, some Latter-day Saints have presumed the continents were not yet separate before the Great Flood and that this approach would be consistent with the configuration of the super-continent Pangaea. While geologists consider that the continents had separated by the Cretaceous period, some Latter-day Saints have pointed to the account in Genesis which states that the earth was "divided" in the days of Peleg.In the Pearl of Great Price, it is taught that there were lands and rivers that were given names later attached to other lands and rivers as in the Book of Genesis. The geographic descriptions of Eden in the Bible would therefore refer to entirely different lands and rivers than those carrying the same names today, whose names were transposed after the biblical flood to local lands and rivers in the Near East. Joseph Smith taught that Noah built the ark near modern-day North and South Carolina. Thus, it is argued, the offspring of Noah populated the eastern hemisphere.Urantia geographyThe Urantia Book (1955) places the Garden of Eden in a long narrow peninsula projecting westward from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, and having been long ago submerged in connection with volcanic activity and the submergence of a Sicilian land bridge to Africa.Eden as Paradise"Paradise" (Hebrew פרדס PaRDeS) used as a synonym for the Garden of Eden shares a number of characteristics with words for 'walled orchard garden' or 'enclosed hunting park' in an ancient Persian language. This word "paradise" occurs three times in the Old Testament, but always in contexts other than a connection with Eden: in the Song of Solomon iv. 13: "Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard" ;Ecclesiastes ii. 5: "I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits";and in Nehemiah ii. 8: "And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's orchard, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me. ". In the Song of Solomon, it is clearly "garden;" in the second and third examples "park." In the post-Exilic apocalyptic literature and in the Talmud, "paradise" gains its associations with the Garden of Eden and its heavenly prototype. In the Pauline Christian New Testament, there is an association of "paradise" with the realm of the blessed (as opposed to the realm of the cursed) among those who have already died, with literary Hellenistic influences observed by numerous scholars. The Greek Garden of the Hesperides was somewhat similar to the Christian concept of the Garden of Eden, and by the 16th century a larger intellectual association was made in the Cranach painting (see illustration). In this painting, only the action that takes place there identifies the setting as distinct from the Garden of the Hesperides, with its golden fruit.Alan Millard has hypothesized that the Garden of Eden does not represent a geographical place, but rather represents cultural memory of "simpler times", when man lived off God's bounty (as "primitive" hunters and gatherers still do) as opposed to toiling at agriculture (being "civilized"). Of course there is much dispute between Judeo-Christian and secular scholars as to the plausibility of this idea - the refuting claim being that cultivation and agricultural work were present both before and after the "Garden Life".The Second Book of Enoch, of late but uncertain date, states that both Paradise and Hell are accommodated in the third sphere of heaven, Shehaqim, with Hell being located simply " on the northern side:" see Seventh Heaven. Eden in Art The Expulsion illustrated in the English Caedmon manuscript, c. AD 1000Garden of Eden motifs most frequently portrayed in illuminated manuscripts and paintings are the "Sleep of Adam" ("Creation of Eve"), the "Temptation of Eve" by the Serpent, the "Fall of Man" where Adam takes the fruit, and the "Expulsion". The idyll of "Naming Day in Eden" was less often depicted. Much of Milton's Paradise Lost occurs in the Garden of Eden. Michelangelo depicted a scene at the Garden of Eden in the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Also, in the film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Captain Spock has a painting hanging in his room he calls "Expulsion from Paradise", depicting Adam and Eve being expelled from Eden. He explains to a fellow member of the crew that it is a personal reminder that all things must end. Eden in modern fictionAn underground and highly advanced necropolis is claimed to be the Garden of Eden in Godzilla at World's End by Marc Cerasini. The Garden is the obsession of a scientist and his daughter, who had been ridiculed for their theories that the Garden existed exactly at or somewhere very close to the Earth's center. Though the elder scientist dies, his daughter indeed discovers a large underground world, which she claims is the Garden of Eden, and thus the true home of mankind. Instead of being the traditional Garden in the concept of it being a place where trees and fruit are grown, it is a long dead city with incredibly advanced technology, and is the launching ground for several kaiju who would make their debuts in the four book series of novels, including Battra and Gigan, as well as Biollante, and is the site of a climatic battle between Godzilla and Biollante near the end of the story. Several alien life forms are located in the city, and they eventually leave Earth behind.References- a b A. R. Millard (Jan 1984). "The Etymology of Eden". Vetus Testamentum 34 (1): 103-106.
- Kaplan, Aryeh. Jerusalem Eye of the Universe. Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. (1993). ISBN 1879016125, for example
- Michas, Peter. The Rod of an Almond Tree in God's Master Plan. Wine Pr. Publishing, 2nd edition (1997). ISBN 1579210074
- Kaplan, Aryeh. Waters of Eden. National Conference of Synagogue Youth of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. (1982). ASIN B0006YQYN2
- Bruce A. Van Orden, “I Have a Question: What do we know about the location of the Garden of Eden?”, Ensign, Jan. 1994, 54–55; see also Andrew Jenson, Historical Record, 7:438-39 (1888); Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 219 (1967); Joseph Fielding Smith, Bruce R. McConkie (ed.) Doctrines of Salvation, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 3:74 (1954-56); Heber C. Kimball, "Advancement of the Saints", Journal of Discourses 10:235 (1863); Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) (note that Mormonism deviates from biblical, historical Christian beliefs and their bible and teachings do not correspond to the canonical Christian bible), Brigham Young to Orson Hyde, March 15, 1857 (1830- ); Wilford Woodruff, Susan Staker (ed.), Waiting for the World to End: The Diaries of Wilford Woodruff, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 305 (1993); John A. Widtsoe, G. Homer Durham (ed.), Evidences and Reconciliations, 396-397 (1960)
- Doctrine & Covenants 57:1-3; Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 19-20
- Moses 3:8
- Deseret News, 10-25, 1895 (Letter Benjamin F. Johnson)
- See, e.g., Mark E. Petersen, Noah and the Flood, 78
- Frank B. Salisbury, The Creation, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 176 (1976).
- Genesis 10:25.
- Moses 3:10-14.
- Juvenile Instructor 30 (November 15, 1895): 700–701.
- See also: Journal of Discourses 11:336-337; Alvin R. Dyer, The Refiner's Fire, 111, 167; Bruce R. McConkie, Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man, 622; Genesis 2:13, 15, 22; D&C 116; D&C 117:8-9. Matthias F. Cowley, Wilford Woodruff: History of his Life and Labors, Bookcraft, p. 481
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