The Scriptures: Genesis 2—Eden As A Mountain Temple

What was the purpose of Eden in the Genesis narrative? What would the context of the first audience of ancient Israelites have thought about when Moses began to tell them about Eden? Eden wasn’t just a nice garden where Adam was supposed to learn how to farm. Eden was a garden temple on a Mountain. It was the place where the unseen realm and the seen realm overlapped. It was the place where humanity had direct access to God where Adam and Eve were called to be priests who protected that space and brought the life of Eden to the rest of the planet.