Dictionary Article

Term borrowed from Persian that means “garden of god.” The Hebrews originally used a word that they applied not only to ordinary gardens but also to God’s garden in Eden (Gn 2–3 OET GEN 2:1–25 · OET GEN 3:1–24; Is 51:3; Ez 28:13). Comparatively late in their history, they adapted from the Persian language the word that afterward became “paradise”; it appears three times in the OT referring to a park or orchard (Neh 2:8; Eccl 2:5; Sg 4:13). Later still, when the OT was translated into Greek, there was a Greek form of the same word, and the translators used it extensively for “garden”; for Greek-speaking Jews, the garden of Genesis 2 became paradeisos.

Show passage in OET: ISA 51:3

OET-RV ISA 51:3

3 because Yahweh will comfort Tsiyon (Zion).
⇔ He will comfort all its ruined places,
⇔ and make her wilderness like Eden
⇔ and her desert plains like Yahweh’s garden.
⇔ Joy and happiness will come from there—
⇔ thanksgiving and the sounds of music.

OET-LV ISA 51:3

3 If/because YHWH he _will _comfort Tsiyyōn/(Zion) he _will _comfort all _of places _of_its _waste and_he/it _assigned wilderness _of_its like_ˊĒden and_its _wilderness _of_plain like_the _garden _of YHWH joy and_gladness it _will _be _found in_it thanksgiving and_the_sound _of music.

Show passage in OET: EZE 28:13

OET-RV EZE 28:13

13 You were in Eden—God’s garden.
⇔ Every precious stone covered you:
⇔ ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite,
⇔ onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and beryl.
⇔ Your settings and mountings were made from gold.
⇔ They were prepared on the very day that you were created.

OET-LV EZE 28:13

13 In_ˊĒden the _garden _of god you _were was_every _of stone precious covering _of_your ruby topaz and_emerald chrysolite onyx and_jasper sapphire turquoise and_beryl and_gold the _workmanship _of your(pl)_tambourines _of_your and_settings _of_your on/over_you(fs) in/on_day you_were _created they _were _prepared.

Show passage in OET: NEH 2:8

OET-RV NEH 2:8

8 Also a letter to Asaf, the keeper of the king’s forest, so he’ll give me timber for the beams of the gates of the fortress near the temple, and for the city wall, and for the house that I’ll live in.” Then the king granted those requests, thanks to God’s help on what I was doing.

OET-LV NEH 2:8

8 And_a _letter to ʼĀşāf the _one _who_kept _of the_forest which to/for_the _king that he _will _give to_me wood(s) to_make _beams _for DOM the _gates _of the _citadel which belongs_to_house and_for_the _wall _of the_city and_for_house which I _will _go to_him/it and_he _gave_them to_me the_king according_to _the _hand _of my _god _of_my (the)_good on_me.

Show passage in OET: ECC 2:5

OET-RV ECC 2:5

5 I made gardens for myself, and royal parks,
⇔ and I planted all different kinds of fruit trees in them.

OET-LV ECC 2:5

5 I _made to_me gardens and_parks and_I _planted in/among_them tree[s]_of every _of fruit.

Show passage in OET: SNG 4:13

OET-RV SNG 4:13

13 Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranate trees with delicious fruits,
⇔ and henna and nard spice plants,

OET-LV SNG 4:13

13 Shoots _of_your are_a _garden _of pomegranates with fruit _of excellence(s) henna _plants with nard _plants.

Jump to OET ISA 51:3 section.

Jump to OET EZE 28:13 section.

Jump to OET NEH 2:8 section.

Jump to OET ECC 2:5 section.

Jump to OET SNG 4:13 section.

The idea of the original Persian word was that of an enclosure or walled garden. It referred particularly to the royal parks of the Persian kings, and this was how the Greeks came to know it. Both ideas fit well with the Hebrews’ picture of a garden where the Lord God walked (Gn 3:8) and from which his subjects could be excluded (v 24). Further important features of the Genesis paradise were its fruit trees and its rivers.

Show passage in OET: GEN 3:8

OET-RV GEN 3:8

8 Late that afternoon, during the cool time of the day, the man and his wife heard Yahweh God’s voice as he walked in the garden, but they hid from him behind some trees in the garden,

OET-LV GEN 3:8

8 And_they _heard DOM the _sound _of YHWH god walking _about in _the_garden to/for_wind/breath/spirit the_day and_ the_humankind and_his/its_woman/wife _he/it _hid _himself/itself from_before YHWH god in _the_middle the _tree[s]_of the_garden.

Show passage in OET: GEN 3:24

OET-RV GEN 3:24

24 After he expelled them, he placed sentries on the east side of the garden in Eden, as well as a fiery sword that swung around in every direction to guard the path to the tree of life.

OET-LV GEN 3:24

24 And_he/it _drove _out DOM the_humankind and_he/it _made _stay/reside from_east to/for_garden of _ˊĒden DOM the_cherubims and_DOM the _flame _of the_sword/knife the_tumbling to_guard/protect DOM the _way _of the _tree _of the_life.

Jump to OET GEN 3:8 section.

Jump to OET GEN 3:24 section.

By NT times, this picture of God’s garden had developed in various ways, which are paralleled, not unexpectedly, in the folk beliefs of many nations. Like the Golden Age in Greek and Roman mythology, paradise was first of all something belonging to the remote past. But the Jews came to believe that it still existed in some undiscoverable place; like the Elysian fields, it was inhabited by the deserving dead. Then, with ever more elaborate descriptions of its glories, they wrote of its eventual reappearance at the end of this age.

Thus, in the idea of paradise converge all myths of another world, past, present, and future, where death and evil have no place. The NT witnesses to the truth that is at the core of all such beliefs. Paradise is the place into which, as an actual but otherworldly reality, Paul was once mysteriously “caught up” during his lifetime (2 Cor 12:4). It is also the place where the repentant thief on the cross was promised he would be, with Christ, immediately after his death (Lk 23:43). The third and last NT reference, a similar promise (Rv 2:7), tells us in addition that paradise is where the tree of life grows, and so identifies it both with the original world of Genesis 2 and with the future world of Revelation 22, complete with the life-giving tree and river, the encircling wall, and the presence of the king.

Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary