The narrative is continued – giving more detail. . .
GENESIS 2:4-7
4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,
5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Many “higher critics,” have critiqued this passage, claiming that it is another story entirely. Some cultists go so far as to insert a different creation, and that God made it “over again.” Some have managed to discover that Adam even had a “first wife,” known in the occult world (Talmudic Judaism) as – LILITH. Rabbis think there are two conflicting creation accounts.
The fact is, that in many reference books, there is an introduction, or outline, and then the story is expanded on. The details given in the second chapter, are just that – details. This style of writing is especially prevalent in Oriental literature.
And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom He formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2: 8-9
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 Havileh, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; and there is bdellium and onyx stone. And the name of the second river as 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
Can it be determined where the original Garden of Eden was located? Not exactly. If it is understood that the original Creation was one giant land mass – we must keep in mind that things were greatly shifted about during the years following the flood. But – there must have been good reason for the Lord to give Moses such specifics as to its location. Detailed geographic descriptions like this are not given anywhere else in the Bible. Here is a map showing one possible location using the exact rivers named in Genesis, and taking into account land mass changes that have been recorded in ancient literature.
This is only one possible location – but it is interesting that geologists have determined that the Persian Gulf was once a dry river bed. Try to visualize the Middle East and Africa being even closer than they are – and you can understand how the second river – Gihon could compass Ethiopia. One scholar suggests that Gihon is the Nile, and that Gihon is a linguistic derivation of Giza. All of this makes Eden a much larger area than people usually conceive of in their minds.
One thing from the Garden of Eden will be found in the future –
1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him:
4 And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
Revelation 22: 1-5
Amen and amen.
The Vine Vigil 
