God then planted a garden, and there He put the man He had formed (Genesis 2:8). Biblically, the Garden of Eden is identified as “the garden planted eastward in Eden” (Genesis 2:8). More details regarding the Garden of Eden’s location are described in Genesis 2:10-14:

Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.  The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.  And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there.  The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush.  The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

So, where exactly was the Garden of Eden? This is a question that has been debated and dissected by many. I’ve read countless books, articles, blog posts, and commentary. And here is how I’ve come to make sense of the information discovered. 

The Riverheads and Their locations During Ancient Biblical Times

• Pishon – (Genesis 2:11) The Pishon flowed through Havilah. Let’s pause right here. To understand where the riverhead Pishon might have been, we must first understand where Havilah was. 

There were two divisions of the Havilah tribes, one African the other Asiatic. In Genesis 2:11, two individuals named Havilah are listed in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10:7, Genesis 10:28, and I Chronicles 1:9-23), which lists the descendants of Noah, who are considered as the ancestors of all the nations. For more details about genealogies in the Bible, See Reflect God, This Black Girl, The Lineage of Ham. 

The first of the Havilah’s named in Genesis 10 was among the sons of Cush, who was a son of Ham, and whose descendants were known to have migrated to and built varying nations in what was, in ancient Biblical times, known as northeast Africa (See Reflect God, This Black Girl, Back to Africa). The second of the Havilah’s named in Genesis 10:28 was among the sons of Joktan, a descendant of Shem, and whose descendants were known to have migrated to and built various nations in what was, in ancient Biblical times, known as Asia. 

So which Havilah is Genesis 2:11 referring to? It most likely refers to the African Havilah rather than the Asiatic Havilah. First, the Africa of ancient Biblical times was not the same Africa of today (See Reflect God, This Black Girl, Back to Africa). In ancient Biblical times, what we know today as Africa and the nearer Middle East, up through nearly a century ago, were connected as one landmass known as northeast Africa. (https://www.thepatriot.co.zw/old_posts/african-countries-in-the-bible-let-the-maps-speak/). 

Additionally, in Genesis 2:11-12, a description of the natural resources found in Havilah parallel those found within Biblical African nations. The Bible says that Havilah produces good gold, bdellium or a fragrant resin produced by several trees related to myrrh, and malachite, a strikingly green stone, all of which are important products of the Nubian  Desert, and two of which, at least, do not seem to have been found in western  Arabia.   

• Gihon – (Genesis 2:13). According to Genesis 2:13, the Gihon Riverhead flowed around the whole land of Cush. As previously stated, the Africa of ancient Biblical times was not the same Africa of today. More details regarding The Kingdom of Cush) See Reflect God, This Black Girl, African Dynasties, The Kingdom of Cush). However, I will provide a brief summary to determine the potential location of the Garden of Eden. 

Cush was the name of an ancient kingdom in Northeast Africa. Cush was usually associated with modern-day southern Egypt, Sudan and northern Ethiopia. Note that Biblical Ethiopia differed from modern-day Ethiopia. In the Bible, Cush and Ethiopia were the same places.  Additionally, wherever Ethiopia occurs in the English translation of the Scriptures, it is Cush in Hebrew (From <https://bibleatlas.org/cush.htm>). The Old Testament is filled with the term Cush, and it appears about 57 times in the Old Testament. Cush is described geographically (Ezekiel 29:10, Isaiah 45:14, Job 28:19) and was known as a mighty kingdom. Cushites are descendants of Noah’s grandson, Cush, the son of Ham (Genesis 10:1). So in Biblical and historical, the term “Cushites” referred to individuals of Cush, or ancient kingdom in Northeast Africa. 

Cushites were famous archers and warriors (Isaiah 18:2). They were handlers of the shield in battle (Jeremiah 46:9). They were warriors and served in David’s army (2 Samuel 18:19-33). During King Hezekiah’s reign, they were major geopolitical players (2 Kings 18-20, Isaiah 36-39, and 2 Kings 19:9). And they became the hope of Judah for deliverance from the Assyrians (2 Chronicles 12:3-9, 32:9-15, 3:8, Isaiah 18:2,1 Kings 18:19-21). They were also rulers (2 Chronicles 14:9-15). From <http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2305-08532018000100028&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en> and <https://zims-en.kiwix.campusafrica.gos.orange.com/wikipedia_en_all_nopic/A/Cushitic_peoples> 

• Tigris – (Genesis 2:14) and the Euphrates – (Genesis 2:14) – Both the Hiddekel or the Tigris andEuphrates Rivers flowed through ancient Mesopotamia, which is currently considered modern Iraq and northeastern Syria, together with southeastern Turkey and western Iran (From https://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/about-us/mesopotamia/mesopotamia-history#:~:text=Ancient%20Mesopotamia%2C%20the%20land%20of,society%20arose%20in%20this%20region). The word “Mesopotamia” is formed from the ancient words “meso,” meaning between or in the middle of, and “potamos,” meaning river. Thus, ancient Mesopotamia was situated in the fertile valleys between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (From <https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/mesopotamia>). 

As previously shared, ancient Mesopotamia, Sanai and Lower Egypt were a single landmass (See Reflect God, This

Black Girl, Back to Africa). During Biblical times, there was a lot of confusion regarding the distinctions between the African and Asiatic people. This was due mainly to the fact that the migrations between “Asia” and “Africa” were extensive, and included so many mixed Hamitic and Semitic tribes, that it was difficult to differentiate between who was who.

From https://owlcation.com/humanities/Ancient-Mesopotamian

From https://godshotspot.wordpress.com/2016/08/19/eden-garden-rivers/