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GARDEN of EDEN: PROTOTYPE SANCTUARY 127 (4) the Cosmic Mountain Was Symbolically Affiliated with the Garden and Temple

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GARDEN of EDEN: PROTOTYPE SANCTUARY 127 (4) the Cosmic Mountain Was Symbolically Affiliated with the Garden and Temple 7 Gardenof Eden: PrototypeSanctuary Donald W. Parry The Garden of Eden pericope (Genesis 2-3) contains a number of powerful symbols that are related to and repre­ sent archetypal depictions of subsequent Israelite temple sys­ tems. In a cogent manner, the Garden of Eden, as it is referred to throughout the Bible, Pseudepigrapha, and rabbinic writ­ ings, served as the prototype, pattern, and/ or originator of subsequent Israelite temples, "a type of archetypal sanctu­ ary."1 The garden was not a sanctuary built of cedar or mar­ ble, for it is not necessary for a temple to possess an edifice or structure; but rather it was an area of sacred space made holy because God's presence was found there. Mircea Eliade has stated that the Garden of Eden was the heavenly proto­ type of the temple,2 and the Bookof Jubilees3:19 adds that "the garden of Eden is the Holy of Holies, and the dwelling of the Lord." This essay will examine these claims. , Eleven prototypical aspects of the Garden of Eden will be examined. They are (1) The tree of life was located both in the garden and in the temple. (2) Both the garden and the temple were associated with sacred waters. (3) Eastward orientations played a role in the garden story and in subsequent Israelite temples. 126 GARDEN OF EDEN: PROTOTYPE SANCTUARY 127 (4) The cosmic mountain was symbolically affiliated with the garden and temple. (5) The account of the earth's creation is closely con­ nected with the Garden of Eden pericope and the temple. (6) Cherubim, or heavenly beings, function as guard­ ians of the garden and the temple. (7) Revelation was an essential part of the garden and the temple. (8) Sacrifice existed in the garden and in subsequent temple systems. (9) Siinilar religious language existed in both the gar­ den and the temple. (10) Sacred vestments were associated with Adam and Eve in the garden and with the priesthood in the Jerusalem temple. (11) Abundance was associated with the garden and the temple. (1) The Tree of Life Much attention is given to the tree of life by the author of Genesis 2-3. It is referred to on three occasions. The first citation to the tree is recorded in Genesis 2:9, where it is stated that God planted "the tree of life in the middle of the garden." 3 In this account the tree is a definite tree (preceded by the definite article, hence called "the tree"), and it is located at the center of Eden's garden. The tree stands opposite the "tree of knowledge of good and evil," or the tree of death. 4 It is found in the same context as the river of Eden. The second and third references to the tree of life are found in connection with God's desire to protect the tree from the hands of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:22-24). We learn that Adam and Eve, had they been permitted to par­ take of the fruit of the tree of life, would have lived forever. 128 DONALD W. PARRY r7 r -1 l ···••.. \ L----' I i':>; i ~~---_J... ..~ .._.·) ••• ··t ..•· .... ....... ·-.......... Figure 25. During the existence of the Temple of Herod, someone scratched this drawing into the wall plaster of a house in the Herodian quarter only five hundred meters away. Though crudely done, it shows the elaborate ornaments described as "knops and almond flowers" in Exodus 25:31-40. The objects on the right are thought to be stylized rep­ resentations of the golden altar of incense that stood before the veil and the table of shew-bread. To prevent access to the tree, God established cherubim and a flaming sword at the east entrance of the garden. The continuity of the tree of life icon in Israelite temple GARDEN OF EDEN: PROTOTYPE SANCTUARY 129 society is evident when one considers the nature of the tabernacle menorah or seven-branched lampstand. The menorah, as an important religious symbol for the Israelite community, is given due consideration in the Pentateuch. Its construction (Exodus 25:31-40; 37:17-24), consecration (Exodus 30:27; 40:9), placement in the tabernacle (Exodus 25:37; Numbers 8:2-3), and the manner of transporting it (Numbers 3:31; 4:9) are items of discussion in the scriptures. The sacred object was also located in the Solomonic temple (1 Kings 7:49), wherein a total of ten menorahs were used, all made of pure gold, five standing on the north and five standing on the south side of the holy place of the temple. The second temple possessed a lampstand, although the sources regarding this situation are unclear and often con­ tradictory. 5 That the menorah was a stylized tree of life is made clear in the description produced in Exodus 25:31-40. 6 The menorah must have had the appearance of a tree, possess­ ing seven branches (a number of symbolic significance to the Israelite community) and a number of flowers (almond blossoms?). It may be concluded that the actual, living tree of life was present in the garden, and symbolic representa­ tions of the tree of life, in the form of lampstands, were present in later Israelite temples. (2) Sacred Waters Several analogous scriptural narratives employ imagis­ tic descriptions of sacral waters originating and flowing from the temple. The prophet Joel explicitly asserts that "a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord" (Joel 3:18). After providing a lengthy description of the future temple of Jerusalem (see Ezekiel 40-46), Ezekiel presents a statement regarding a river that would flow from the 130 DONALDW. PARRY threshold of the temple, through the courtyard, and out of the city of Jerusalem, finally reaching the Dead Sea. The prophecy states that the temple river will heal the putrid waters of the Dead Sea, bless fishermen with an abundance of fish, and increase fruit-bearing vegetation in the deserts. In short, the temple river will bless mankind with a para­ disiacal earth (see Ezekiel 47:1-12). John the Revelator beheld a vision that hearkens back to the original paradisi­ acal state of the Garden of Eden. Speaking of the temple in heaven, the seer describes "a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Revelation 22:1-4). The throne of God, of course, is situated in the Holy of Holies of the temple. The book of Daniel describes a different type of river, also issuing from a throne. After receiving an eschatologi­ cal vision, Daniel provides a description of the Ancient of Days sitting upon his throne of "fiery flame." Flowing from the throne was a "fiery stream" (Daniel 7:9-11). Two pseud­ epigraphic passages recall Daniel's statement. The first, 3 Enoch 36:1-2, reads, ''A river of fire ... flows beneath the throne of glory"; and the second, 1 Enoch 14:15, says, "Be­ neath the throne were issuing streams of flaming fire." Enoch, similar to John's and Daniel's portrayal, describes the waters as coming from the throne, suggesting that God is the source of the waters. The rivers of Eden, described in Genesis 2-3, represent the quintessential sacred waters. Originating, according to 3 Enoch 18:19, "opposite the throne of glory," these pure waterways separate into four rivers and go forth from Eden to water the entire earth (see Genesis 2:10).7 It is evident that Eden's sacral waters served as a model for subsequent temple rivers. GARDEN OF EDEN: PROTOTYPE SANCTUARY 131 Figure 26. As late as 1450, artists like Giovanni di Paolo were still trying to reconcile biblical and classical models of the universe. On the left, God sets the rainbow-colored spheres with the Zodiac in gold spinning round the island earth with the mountain of God at the top. The four "heads" of the rivers of Paradise occur twice; once on the left at the mountaintop where they flow down to water the whole earth and again on the right under the feet of Adam and Eve as the angel firmly pushes them out of Eden. (3) Eastward Orientation Spatial orientation played a vital role in the architectural setting of ancient Near Eastern temples. 8 So too, the Mosaic tabernacle and the temples of Jerusalem were directionally situated so that the entrance of the tabernacle or temple faced eastward. The Garden of Eden, possessing a number 132 DONALD W. PARRY of templelike qualities, produced the prototypical pattern for subsequent Israelite temple orientation. 9 East appears to be the direction of import in Eden. Three biblical statements reveal a concern for orientation in Eden: 10 (1) The fact that God planted the garden in the east sec­ tion of Eden (see Genesis 2:8) suggests a primacy for the direction. Although the purpose for this location in Eden is not explicitly stated, it is generally accepted by scholars that east, possessing a number of symbolic meanings, is the sacred direction in Israelite religion. (2) The second designation of "east" in the garden peri­ cope is mentioned in connection with the four rivers of Eden. It is likely that the four rivers of Eden (see Genesis 2:10-14) 11 flowed outward from Eden toward the four cardinal direc­ tions-north, east, south, and west. Eden is depicted as being established at the center of the four rivers, perhaps providing the water source for the four rivers. The etymological mean­ ing of the word templum (English "temple") 12 has a direct con­ nection with the four cardinal directions, a concept that has been well established by a number of authors.
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