Cherubim with flaming swords were then placed at the east entrance “to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24), while humankind kept moving farther and farther east (Genesis 4:16 Genesis 11:2), with the implication that they were moving farther away from God. The garden was God’s temple, where the first humans served as priests.īut early humankind rebelled against God and were expelled from the garden. Since the garden was therefore a sacred space, the first couple’s task of caring for it should probably be understood in priestly terms-as caring for sacred space. As such, it was the very dwelling place of YHWH, which humans were invited to enjoy and cultivate in his presence.
The garden was meant to be understood as a temple with garden-like features. The key idea in the Garden of Eden narrative is the presence of God. Eden was not simply a garden that God planted for human habitation it was God’s own garden (e.g., Isaiah 51:3), with the tree of life in its midst (Genesis 2:9). These lines allude to the Garden of Eden, a place of beauty and abundance into which God placed humankind after their creation (Genesis 2:8). He explained, “We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon, and we got to get ourselves back to the garden.” When she asked him where he was going, he said he was going to Woodstock, where he hoped to get back to the land and find freedom for his soul. In 1970, Joni Mitchell released a song called “Woodstock,” in which she described an encounter with a “child of God” who was walking along the road. (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2020), xxii + 469 pp., 44 illustrations, $298 (hardcover and eBook)
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