Has the Garden of Eden ever been found?

The Bible says regarding the location of Eden:

“And a river went out of Eden, to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.” —Genesis 2:10

Two of these rivers are called Tigris (Hiddekel of Eden) and Euphrates (Perath of Eden). (See: Genesis 2:10-14)

This is why many Christians have assumed that the original garden was located somewhere in the Mesopotamian region (around present day Iraq) where the modern Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow.

However, the Bible records a devastating worldwide Flood, many centuries after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden. Sedimentary layers sometimes miles thick, bear mute testimony to this massive watery upheaval which tore apart and buried forever the pre-Flood world.

After the Flood, the survivors (Noah's family) moved to the plain of Shinar (Sumeria/Babylonia) which is where we find rivers today called Tigris and Euphrates. These are therefore clearly not the same rivers. They run on top of Flood-deposited layers of rock containing billions of dead things (killed by the Flood). These rivers were probably named after the original pre-Flood rivers, just as settlers from the British Isles to America and Australasia applied familiar names to many places in their “new world.”

Note also, that the Bible speaks of one river breaking into four. This is not what is found in the Middle East today.

Along with all the pre-Flood world, the Garden was destroyed by the Flood. Its actual location on the globe can never be established.

Author: Creation Ministries International.

Editor's Note: If the idea of a worldwide catastrophic flood is new to you, we suggest that you read the following material which presents some of the biblical and scientific evidences.

The worldwide Flood

• Does the Bible claim that the Flood of Noah covered the entire Earth? Answer

• Noah’s Flood - where did the water come from? Answer

• Genesis and ancient Near Eastern stories of Creation and the Flood: an introduction - Go

• Could Noah’s Ark really hold all the animals preserved in the flood? Answer

• How did various animals get from the Ark to isolated places, such as Australia? Answer

• Watch our “Catastrophe” menu for more biblical and scientific evidences for the global Flood of Genesis - Go

• Flood account (a biblical summary description)

• Bible’s full description of the Flood (read the Bible for yourself)

Other material of interest about Eden

• Bible's description of Eden, plus our WebBible Encyclopedia article on Eden

• What was Adam, the first man, really like?

• Did Adam and Eve have belly-buttons? Answer

See our large Web site on Creation, Evolution and the Bible…

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