What role did the Fertile Crescent play in the writing of the story in Genesis about the Garden of Eden?
This crescent-shaped land area that included a large part of ancient Mesopotamia and is considered the first place on earth where crops were grown by humans on a large scale contains the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the ones mentioned in the Garden of Eden story. It strikes me that this story could be based in part on legends of this area—to the east, as described—which is where a more lush area of the Fertile Crescent was located. (For comparison, the area of the Fertile Crescent that contained ancient Canaan was a much narrower band of land along the Mediterranean coast with no major rivers.)
There were likely stories told to the Hebrews in Canaan about that area that must have made it seem like paradise when compared to where they lived. Plus, there was desert directly between Canaan and the Tigris and Euphrates region, making the tales even more intriguing and difficult to prove wrong.
The question had to have been asked—if our god(s) loves us and is so powerful, why are we stuck here? If this question did come up, it's anyone's guess as to when it was asked in relation to the other myths of Abraham's family religion. But, the answer that was given might have come in the form of the Garden of Eden story; they were in the garden at first, but an ancient ancestral couple blew it for them, getting them all banished. But if the Garden of Eden was a real place, why couldn't they go back? Ah, cherubim are guarding the gate—we can't get in, so there is no use in trying. The remaining contradictions can be sloughed off to fancy tales of lying travelers.
The tale was born, and of course molded over time, as happens for all myths. I also wonder if the Hebrews claim of a "promised land" in Palestine instead of Mesopotamia was due to this story. If their origin was the Tigris and Euphrates region, why else would they not battle their way back there instead of Palestine?
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| Image found here: http://www.pbase.com/daveb/image/42673320 |
There were likely stories told to the Hebrews in Canaan about that area that must have made it seem like paradise when compared to where they lived. Plus, there was desert directly between Canaan and the Tigris and Euphrates region, making the tales even more intriguing and difficult to prove wrong.
The question had to have been asked—if our god(s) loves us and is so powerful, why are we stuck here? If this question did come up, it's anyone's guess as to when it was asked in relation to the other myths of Abraham's family religion. But, the answer that was given might have come in the form of the Garden of Eden story; they were in the garden at first, but an ancient ancestral couple blew it for them, getting them all banished. But if the Garden of Eden was a real place, why couldn't they go back? Ah, cherubim are guarding the gate—we can't get in, so there is no use in trying. The remaining contradictions can be sloughed off to fancy tales of lying travelers.
The tale was born, and of course molded over time, as happens for all myths. I also wonder if the Hebrews claim of a "promised land" in Palestine instead of Mesopotamia was due to this story. If their origin was the Tigris and Euphrates region, why else would they not battle their way back there instead of Palestine?
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