Genesis 2:8

2:8 The Lord God planted an orchard ¹  in the east, ²  in Eden; ³  and there he placed the man he had formed. ⁴ 

Genesis 2:10

2:10 Now ⁵  a river flows ⁶  from Eden ⁷  to

water the orchard, and from there it divides ⁸  into four headstreams. ⁹ 

Genesis 2:15

2:15 The Lord God took the man and placed ¹⁰  him in the orchard in ¹¹  Eden to care for it and to maintain it. ¹² 

Genesis 3:23

3:23 So the Lord God expelled him ¹³  from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken.

Genesis 4:16

4:16 So Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and lived in the land of Nod, ¹⁴  east of Eden.

Genesis 3:24

3:24 When he drove ¹⁵  the man out, he placed on the eastern side ¹⁶  of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries ¹⁷  who used the flame of a whirling sword ¹⁸  to guard the way to the tree of life.

[2:8]  ¹ tn Traditionally “garden,” but the subsequent description of this “garden” makes it clear that it is an orchard of fruit trees.

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

[2:8]  ³ sn The name Eden (עֵדֶן, ’eden) means “pleasure” in Hebrew.

[2:8]  ⁴ 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.

[2:10]  ⁵ tn The disjunctive clause (note the construction conjunction + subject + predicate) introduces an entire paragraph about the richness of the region in the east.

[2:10]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew active participle may be translated here as indicating past durative action, “was flowing,” or as a present durative, “flows.” Since this river was the source of the rivers mentioned in vv. 11-14, which appear to describe a situation contemporary with the narrator, it is preferable to translate the participle in v. 10 with the present tense. This suggests that Eden and its orchard still existed in the narrator’s time. According to ancient Jewish tradition, Enoch was taken to the Garden of Eden, where his presence insulated the garden from the destructive waters of Noah’s flood. See Jub. 4:23-24.

[2:10]  ⁷ sn Eden is portrayed here as a source of life-giving rivers (that is, perennial streams). This is no surprise because its orchard is where the tree of life is located. Eden is a source of life, but tragically its orchard is no longer accessible to humankind. The river flowing out of Eden is a tantalizing reminder of this. God continues to provide life-giving water to sustain physical existence on the earth, but immortality has been lost.

[2:10]  ⁸ tn The imperfect verb form has the same nuance as the preceding participle. (If the participle is taken as past durative, then the imperfect would be translated “was dividing.”)

[2:10]  ⁹ tn Or “branches”; Heb “heads.” Cf. NEB “streams”; NASB “rivers.”

[2:15]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew verb נוּחַ (nuakh, translated here as “placed”) is a different verb than the one used in 2:8.

[2:15]  ¹⁰ tn Traditionally translated “the Garden of Eden,” the context makes it clear that the garden (or orchard) was in Eden (making “Eden” a genitive of location).

[2:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to work it and to keep it.”

[3:23]  ¹³ tn The verb is the Piel preterite of שָׁלַח (shalakh), forming a wordplay with the use of the same verb (in the Qal stem) in v. 22: To prevent the man’s “sending out” his hand, the Lord “sends him out.”

[4:16]  ¹⁷ sn The name Nod means “wandering” in Hebrew (see vv. 12, 14).

[3:24]  ²¹ tn The verb with the vav (ו) consecutive is made subordinate to the next verb forming a temporal clause. This avoids any tautology with the previous verse that already stated that the Lord expelled the man.

[3:24]  ²² tn Or “placed in front.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.

[3:24]  ²³ tn The Hebrew word is traditionally transliterated “the cherubim.”

[3:24]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the flame of the sword that turns round and round.” The noun “flame” is qualified by the genitive of specification, “the sword,” which in turn is modified by the attributive participle “whirling.” The Hitpael of the verb “turn” has an iterative function here, indicating repeated action. The form is used in Job 37:12 of swirling clouds and in Judg 7:13 of a tumbling roll of bread. Verse 24 depicts the sword as moving from side to side to prevent anyone from passing or as whirling around, ready to cut to shreds anyone who tries to pass.