Judaism
Genesis
“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.”
← All parallels
ParallelsA comparative study
JudaismChristianityIslam
On The Garden
The motif of the enclosed, divinely planted garden serves as both the primordial origin of humanity and the eschatological destination in Abrahamic traditions. While Genesis presents the garden as a lost state of innocence from which humanity is exiled, the Qur'anic and later Jewish apocalyptic traditions reconfigure it as a reward for the righteous, emphasizing sensory abundance and eternal stability. Scholarly debate persists regarding the extent of Mesopotamian influence on the Eden narrative versus the distinct theological development of Jannah as a response to pre-Islamic Arabian concepts of paradise.
What every account tells.
- iA divinely created, walled or enclosed garden space.
- iiThe presence of life-giving water sources or rivers.
- iiiThe garden as a locus of divine-human proximity.
- ivThe association of the garden with a state of bliss or perfection.
How each tradition tells it.
Judaism
In the Hebrew Bible, the garden is primarily a historical starting point for human history, from which humanity is exiled due to disobedience, with no explicit textual promise of return in the Pentateuch. The eschatological return is a later development in Second Temple literature rather than the Genesis narrative itself.
Christianity
Christian theology synthesizes the Genesis narrative with Revelation, framing the garden as both the lost origin and the restored 'New Jerusalem' where the tree of life is accessible again. This cyclical restoration emphasizes the reversal of the Fall through the mediation of Christ.
Islam
The Qur'anic Jannah is presented almost exclusively as an eschatological reward for the faithful, characterized by detailed descriptions of physical pleasures and eternal duration. Unlike the Genesis account, it is not the site of a primordial fall but the ultimate destination for the pious.
Read the passages as one.
Christianity
Revelation
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.”
Islam
Surah 55: Ar-Rahman (The Beneficent)
وَلِمَنۡ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِۦ جَنَّتَانِ
“But for he who has feared the position of his Lord are two gardens”
Islam
Surah 76: Al-Insan (The Man)
إِنَّ ٱلۡأَبۡرَارَ يَشۡرَبُونَ مِن كَأۡسٖ كَانَ مِزَاجُهَا كَافُورًا
“Indeed, the righteous will drink from a cup [of wine] whose mixture is of Kafur”