Thank you for the interpretative question on the Garden of Eden, “According to Genesis 2:8,God planted a garden Eastward in Eden. That means the garden was not called Eden but Eden was the land in which the garden was planted, which is this land or continent referred to as Eden?”
The observation that you made is correct. The garden that God created for Adam and Eve is located IN Eden. Eden is the place where the garden was located.
Genesis 2:8 says this, “Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (NIV).
Genesis 2 says this, “A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin[d] and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.[e] 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.” Four rivers flowed from Eden that watered the garden.
Having said that, then the question becomes what name is to be given to the garden that was located in Eden. Thus the proposition phase, of Eden, reflects the place the garden was located. The person who gave that name of the land area is not cited in the passage. It is presume that it was either God or Adam.
The definition of Eden is delight or paradise. It was the place where everything was beautiful and perfect. There was no defect in the garden before the Fall of Adam and Eve. The size of the location is unclear except one knows that the place became the fountainhead for the four rivers.
What is the idea word or words to describe the place where God put Adam and Eve? One can say, The Garden. This term is used in Genesis 3 when the Serpent asked Eve, “Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden” (vs. 1). The phrase, in the garden is referred to when God came and walked in the garden (vs. 8). Thus one can refer to the place as The Garden or The Garden that is in Eden. The proposition, of, would indicate the source or location. Today it is commonly accepted that the place where Adam and Eve were placed is called The Garden of Eden.
SUMMARY: Eden is the name of the location of the area in which God created the garden for Adam and Eve to thrive with the creatures.
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