Dr. Dylan Johnson

We didn't understand its etymology.

It was actually only about 30 years ago that we found an Aramaic inscription that mentioned an Eden, which just means a very well-watered place.

But the people who are capable to have really well-watered places in the ancient Near East

We're kings, I mean, because this is a highly arid landscape.

And the way that Eden is described is, yes, these are rivers, but these are divinely cultivated rivers.

These are canals, essentially.

So I think in the mindset of the biblical authors, they're imagining these types of gardens.

And in fact, we found royal gardens in the vicinity of Jerusalem at a site called Ramat Rachel, which is just to the northeast, I believe, or northwest, excuse me.

an Assyrian provincial palace probably.

So dating to that time, like the 8th century BC.

Right about a little bit later, but not too long after.

And there's no reason to doubt that gardens wouldn't have been also present in earlier palatial structures.

So yeah, I think when we just imagine the garden, this is a very common widespread Near Eastern motif, definitely with connections to Assyria, lesser extent Babylon, because the Babylonians don't describe their gardens, despite what the Greeks told us about their great city.

And of course, then the Persians as well were great gardeners.

But the Assyrians got there first, as you say, with those beautiful wool reliefs in the gardens.

Yeah, exactly.

We have the strongest evidence for the Assyrians.

Not to say they weren't elsewhere, it's just that's where we have the evidence for it.

And what's interesting is that we mistranslated it for almost 2000 years until we rediscovered cuneiform writing and the Sumerian language behind it.

this word aid, we'd always translate it as mist.