The garden of Eden is one of the best-known places in the Bible, yet its location remains a mystery. It is introduced in Genesis 2:8 as “a garden in Eden.” This phrase may suggest that the garden is a specific part of a larger region called “Eden” and that the two are not identical or equal in size.
Genesis 2:8 also states that Eden is “in the east.” However, the Hebrew term translated “in the east” could alternatively mean “eastward” — that is, facing east. This would align with Genesis 3:24, which places the entrance to the garden on its eastern side. A variety of geographical features or locations are mentioned in conjunction with Eden. In a brief descriptive passage, Genesis 2:10–14 associates Eden with four rivers: the Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates.
While the Tigris and Euphrates are well-known rivers that join before entering the Persian Gulf, the name “Pishon” appears only here in the Old Testament. Genesis 2:11 states that the Pishon is in the land of “the Havilah,” but this is not especially helpful. This Havilah may not be the same location as one mentioned in Genesis 10:7, 29; 25:18; and 1 Samuel 15:7.
Similarly, the name “Gihon” is used of a spring to the east of Jerusalem in 2 Chronicles 32:30; 33:14 (compare 1 Kings 1:33, 38, 45, where the Hebrew spelling of Gihon differs), but this may not be connected to the Gihon of Genesis 2. The same name may denote different locations.
To complicate matters further, the Gihon in Genesis 2:13 is linked to the land of Cush, a name that is sometimes used to denote Upper Nubia in East Africa but may refer here to the land of the Kassites in Western Iran. A further difficulty concerns the garden’s location relative to the