Ezekiel 28:13

28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God. ¹ 

Every precious stone was your covering,

the ruby, topaz, and emerald,

the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper,

the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl; ² 

your settings and mounts were made of gold.

On the day you were created they were prepared.

Genesis 2:8

2:8 The Lord God planted an orchard ³  in the east, ⁴  in Eden; ⁵  and there he placed the man he had formed. ⁶ 

Genesis 13:10

13:10 Lot looked up and saw ⁷  the whole region ⁸  of the Jordan. He noticed ⁹  that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated ¹⁰  Sodom and Gomorrah) ¹¹  like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, ¹²  all the way to Zoar.

Psalms 80:10

80:10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,

the highest cedars ¹³  by its branches.

Isaiah 51:3

51:3 Certainly the Lord will console Zion;

he will console all her ruins.

He will make her wilderness like Eden,

her desert like the Garden of the Lord.

Happiness and joy will be restored to ¹⁴  her,

thanksgiving and the sound of music.

[28:13]  ¹ sn The imagery of the lament appears to draw upon an extrabiblical Eden tradition about the expulsion of the first man (see v. 14 and the note there) from the garden due to his pride. The biblical Eden tradition speaks of cherubs placed as guardians at the garden entrance following the sin of Adam and Eve (Gen 3:24), but no guardian cherub like the one described in verse 14 is depicted or mentioned in the biblical account. Ezekiel’s imagery also appears to reflect Mesopotamian and Canaanite mythology at certain points. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:119-20.

[28:13]  ² tn The exact identification of each gemstone is uncertain. The list should be compared to that of the priest in Exod 28:17-20, which lists twelve stones in rows of three. The LXX apparently imports the Exod 28 list. See reference to the types of stones in L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.

[2:8]  ³ tn Traditionally “garden,” but the subsequent description of this “garden” makes it clear that it is an orchard of fruit trees.

[2:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “from the east” or “off east.”

[2:8]  ⁵ sn The name Eden (עֵדֶן, ’eden) means “pleasure” in Hebrew.

[2:8]  ⁶ tn The perfect verbal form here requires the past perfect translation since it describes an event that preceded the event described in the main clause.

[13:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.” The expression draws attention to the act of looking, indicating that Lot took a good look. It also calls attention to the importance of what was seen.

[13:10]  ⁸ tn Or “plain”; Heb “circle.”

[13:10]  ⁹ tn The words “he noticed” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:10]  ¹⁰ sn Obliterated. The use of the term “destroy” (שַׁחֵת, shakhet) is reminiscent of the Noahic flood (Gen 6:13). Both at the flood and in Sodom the place was obliterated by catastrophe and only one family survived (see C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:178).

[13:10]  ¹¹ tn This short temporal clause (preposition + Piel infinitive construct + subjective genitive + direct object) is strategically placed in the middle of the lavish descriptions to sound an ominous note. The entire clause is parenthetical in nature. Most English translations place the clause at the end of v. 10 for stylistic reasons.

[13:10]  ¹² sn The narrative places emphasis on what Lot saw so that the reader can appreciate how it aroused his desire for the best land. It makes allusion to the garden of the Lord and to the land of Egypt for comparison. Just as the tree in the garden of Eden had awakened Eve’s desire, so the fertile valley attracted Lot. And just as certain memories of Egypt would cause the Israelites to want to turn back and abandon the trek to the promised land, so Lot headed for the good life.

[80:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “cedars of God.” The divine name אֵל (’al, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.

[51:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “found in” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).