Genesis 2:11

The Pishon and the Gihon (2:13) cannot be identified with certainty. If the land of Havilah was in southeast Arabia or on the African coast, as some biblical data suggest (see 10:7; 25:18; 1 Samuel 15:7), then the Pishon was possibly the Nile River. The Jewish historian Josephus thought that Havilah and the Pishon were in India (Antiquities 1.1.3).

Two other ideas suggest the Pishon and Gihon might be:

1. rivers in the mountains of eastern Turkey, where the Tigris and Euphrates (Genesis 2:14) also flow, and

2. the marshy delta near the Persian Gulf.

Current geographical conditions make it impossible to prove any theory with certainty.

This description portrays the eastern region around Eden as a mountain with rivers flowing out to the world. Eden's beauty and fertility enriched the entire earth.

Similar to the holy time set on the seventh day of creation (2:2–3), the garden in Eden was a holy place separate from the rest of the world. It was like a garden-temple or sanctuary because the Lord showed his presence there in a special way.

This story (see study note on 2:4) of the heavens and the earth is not a second creation story. Instead, it expands on 1:1–2:3 with more theological and historical details. The focus shifts to what the universe (kosmos) produced rather than on its creation.

Special attention is given to the first man and woman. As the story continues, it is shaped by contrasts such as good and evil, knowledge and ignorance, life and death, and harmony and conflict.