A number of findings have claimed that the Garden of Eden where God placed the first man and woman may be in Mesopotamia, the new Iraq. This is due to the 4 rivers that were mentioned – Pishon, Gihon, Chidekel and Phirat.
Others have pointed to Botswana, South of the Zambezi river.
A new documentary however claims that the site of the Garden of Eden may have finally been discovered by an archaeologist at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem
The Garden of Eden in the bible is God’s garden where the first man and woman were placed after God created them. In the book of Genesis, the is placed in the Garden and given charge over all of God’s creation. He was however warned to desist from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The man and woman were tempted to eat from the forbidden tree by a the serpent.
Many people have long searched for its location based on clues given in the biblical text, but the question of age may have gotten a new development to it.
In 2019, Archaeologist Jodi Magness, during a Morgan Freeman documentary: The “Story of God,” revealed that a discovery in a church in Jerusalem convinced her that she had the answer of where the garden is located.
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is located in the old city and is believed to be the place where Jesus of Nazareth was crucified and later resurrected – in a place called “Calvary”, or “Golgotha.”
Dr. Jodi Magness believe that it is the place of burial of Adam.
In 2017 she said the proof is under the Golgotha, the rock where Christians believed Jesus was crucified.
“Below is the Chapel of Adam Chapel and there is a tradition that goes back in Christianity that connects this place to Adam – the first man.
“When Jesus was crucified on a rock above us, His blood flowed through a crack in the rock.
“And the first man, Adam, was buried beneath the rock. When Jesus’ blood was shed upon him, he was raised.”
This idea however contradicts the biblical explanation. There is no account of this anywhere in the bible which makes her theory quite questionable.
The book of Genesis lists four rivers, including Pishon, Gihon, Chidekel and Phirat, which points the location of the Garden of Eden to southern Mesopotamia, now called Iraq.
Backing up her story however, Dr Magness gives intricate details of how her theory may be plausible.
“Well, the version of the story that ended up in the Book of Genesis seems to place the Garden of Eden somewhere in Mesopotamia,” she said.
“But I think Adam had a very special connection with Jerusalem.
“The Garden of Eden, or Paradise, becomes conceptualised as the spot where the presence of God dwells.
“In early Judaism and the time of Jesus the presence of God dwelled in the temple, and hence why Jerusalem was conceived of as Eden [at that time].”
Dr. Magness was further probed if she believed that the Garden of Eden was in fact a metaphor for the beginning of life and that it actually signify wherever God’s presence dwells.
In response, she answered:
“Well, yes – of course.
“Adam was the first human and, in Hebrew, the word ‘Adam’ means ‘man’.
“Also, if you take off the ‘a’, you are left with ‘dam’, in Hebrew that means ‘blood’.
“And if you add ‘ah’ to the end, ‘adamah’ means land.”
Notwithstanding Dr. Magness submission, there are still a number of arguments for the exact location of the Garden of Eden. The great theologian John Calvin said despite the description in Genesis 2:8-14 that makes many people attribute the location to Mesopotamia, what is obtainable in today’s Tigris and Euphrates Rivers does not add up.
Besides the catastrophic Noah’s flood would have restructured the surface of the earth if we are to date back to the time of Adam which makes archaeological findings rather inadequate in this case. Calvin Argued.
READ ALSO: Selah’s Journal: It Is Good For This Man To Be Alone
Image Source: Monkeyland/Garden of Eden, Knysna, South Africa
