Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-11-14

CONFLICTING OPINIONS = THE BIBLE ACCOUNT
INDICATED.
From the New York Herald.

iogy in the University OF Leipzig has given his
time and labor to the identification of the region
in which was situated the Garden of Eden. In
the October number OF the Nit,eip@aH Cyaf,f-y
the results Of DIR. DeIitzschs investigation have
been briefly summarized by the Rev. Charles III.
ii. Wright, ID. ID.
CONFLICTING OPINIONS.
Before PR ceeding to state the views OF Prof.
DelitZsch it ;..ay he we'll to mention the differ
ent and in some cases conflicting opinions
which have been held ard which are still held
In regard to the site of the Garden of Eden. BY
some, as IS we'll known. the whole story OF the
garden and OF the iall Is regarded allegOrical.
Generally. however. scholars have protested to
understand the story literally and to take il for
granted that the writer writers meant it so to
be understood: but they have never agreed as to
the historical reality or even the geographical
position of Eden JOscphus nothing alb
surd in the opinion that the PiShon was the
Gauges AMI the Gihoa the Nile and that
Eden Law between With slight differences
OF detail a large number of scholars have
concluded in favor of kOrnah i'm BabylOuia n
place near the Persian gulf; others. again. are
in favor of Armenia near the sources of the
Ugris and the EuphrateS others. again. would
locate the Garden of Eden near Damascus
while others-and among this last many Ger
man schOlars-have sought the cradle of the
human race in Bactra or Cashmere or in the
region lying Immediately to the north a part of
which to this day bears the name of Audv or
Gardea- There are many who hold that the
deluEe must have completely altered the phys
ical character of the region whatever it was
and wherever 1t was, and that any attempt To
fix the locality must eHd in failure or what is
little better. Mere con lecture. Then. AGAIN. by
some of the most advanced scholars of the day
the universally OF deluge at so late period
as the time OF Noah is greatly doubted: and
according to this school, the physical changes
on the planet have been comparatively trifing
since the date of mans appearance
THE BIBLE ACCOUNT.
The second chapter OF Genesis states that
'the Lord God [Jahaveh ElOhiml planted gar
den eastward in Eden and that He placed
the man whom He had formed in order Ito
dress till ii and TO keep it," And out of the
ground made.the Lord God IJahaveh Eloiiirn1 to
grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and
good for food: the tree of life also in the midst
OF the garden. and the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil" Genesis ii. 8. g. 15.) The Gar
den of Eden is accordingly referred to in a later
chapter of the same book (Genesis Kill 10) as
'the garden of the Lord (Of Jahayeh and the
same expression is used concerning it in the sec
ond part OF Isaiah iii. 81 IL is similarly de
ecriDed as 1.-THE garden of God (El0him) in three
places in the book of Ezekiel (Xxviii 10; XxXi
8, and XXI. o. in the last quoted passage the
article occurs before the name of God (ElOhim)
The language of Ezekiel conveys the impression
that the garden in question was in existence in
his day, for he represents the Almighty as say
Ing: " have made him .SshUr or Assyral lair
by the multitude of his branches SO that all the
trees of Eden that We're in the garden of God
eDyicd him. Ezekiel Xxi. 81 Tie trans
lators OF our authorized version have indeed
introduced gloss into their translation of
this passage By the insertion of the word
'were-printed. however. in italics to de
note that il is not to be found in the original
Hebrew But the context OF the passage shows
clearly enough that the gloss is erroneous and
that the clause ought to be rendered: :" All
the trees of Eden that are in the garden of God
the ElOhim) eEyied him. The writer of the
book of Genesis Processes to give minute de
scription of the locality of the Garden of Eden
His words are: "A river went out of Eden To
water the garden. and from thence-[ie after
passing out OF the "ardenl- lit was parted-[it
parts itscifi-and became into four heads
became four arms or branches The tact must
be borne iii mind. noticed long ago by Dr.. w
Adds Wright iii his article on Eden Smiths
Biblical dictionary. that the word translated
went forth. which occurs III this description
Is used oniN In reference to river descending
downward from its source. The four arms or
independent streams, into which the river
which watered the Garden % Eden was divided
after passing through that paradise are min
uteiy described by the writer of the book of
Genesis: The name of the first is Pison ri
sh0ni: that is it which enconpasSeth the whole
land of liayilah lit. the Havahl. where there
is gold Tor the gOidl. and the gold Of that land
il good; there is the bdellium and the ONYX
stone And the name of the second river is
GihOn ltiihoGl; that is it which compasseth the
contains here a gloss translating "Cush' by
: EthiOp:a")- And the name OF the third river
is Hiddesel; that is it which goeth toward the
east of Assyria" GmOre correctly rendered with
knCbei ald kai;sch, which flowed before AS
syria land the fourth river that is Euphrates''
tGen. H.. 11-14-)
SOUTHERN BABYLONA AND ARMENIA
Much Importance mas always been attached TO
the suppOsitiOn that the site of Eden was in
Southern BabylOnia. i'll the locality of the Shaft
ala RIM n.4lsr IacI,p +t,.r
el-Arab had no existence in early times Piiny
states expressly wi, See 130) that the EuphIa-
ties originally discharged its waters directly into
the Persian Gulf and Ritter (as quoted by
DelitZscht observes that in the time of AlpXan-
der the Great the mouths of the Tigris and the
Euphrates were still separated from one an
other by the distance of al least good DAYS
Journey The delta at the head OF the Persian
Gulf is distinguished for its rapid growth.
1t Increases. according to LOTUS at the
rate of one mile of land in seventy
years According TO Sir Henry Rawiinson its
growth was far more rapid in ancient times
when 1T probably grew at the rate of one mile in
thirty years. The City CharaX was founded by
Alexander the Great on the site OF the present
Mohammerah. But in the date of Alexander
that city was only 2.OC0 PAGES from the sea In
the time of Juba H., lis DetZsch notes in his
appendix. that is about /. Il. c.. that city '.lay
inland fifty, or indeed 100 Roman miles" i
more conclusive proof is that the delta at the
embOuchure OF the Tirrs and Euphrates was in
che time OF SeGnacherib. sea which ran inland
Tar beyond MOhammcrah. Into that sea- termed
IN the cuneitorm inscription Mar Marratun
or the saltwater stream. the EuphrateS
and the Tigris discharged their waters
independently OF one another without uniting
N one common channel. The cuneIorrn i'll
seriptions speak OF great naval expedition
/. which Sennachtrib made against Elam i'm
which he transported his army over this arm of
the sea In large vessels in order to attack the
army OF Elan at the city of Nagitu. situated on
the opposite coast. q few miles north OF the spot
where the river Clai (tha PaSitigris) DISCHARGED
us waters into this sea-that Is nearly Opposits
70 the modern Busra. The southern Babyionan
hypothesis can not be sustained. The only
other hypothesis of any consequence is that
which locates Eden in what we now call
Armenia. This the professor easily disposes
o. independently Of the many difficulties
which beset the attempt TO make out the
VARIOUS lands mentioned by the Hebrew his
tofan. the fact that neither the Araxes nor the
Ayros can be regarded as q continuation Of one
anu the same stream with the Euphrates and
me Ilgris Is fatal to this theory. The same
may De said of the hypothesis which, identify
ing the Araxes or the kyros with the Gihon of
Geness, seeks 70 discover the Pishon i'm the
Phasis, now the Ron, on the borders of the