Gardens

Gardens in the ancient Near East were enclosed plots of land, typically walled or hedged, used for growing vegetables, fruit trees, herbs, and ornamental plants. They were fed by irrigation channels or wells and represented invested labor and prosperity. The Garden of Eden stands as the paradigmatic garden in Scripture — planted by God himself, watered by four rivers, containing every tree pleasant to the sight and good for food (Genesis 2:8–9). The garden as sacred space, where God walked with humanity, establishes the archetype that runs through Scripture from Eden to Gethsemane to the garden of the New Jerusalem.

Royal gardens in the ancient Near East were symbols of power and abundance: Ahab coveted Naboth's vineyard (1 Kings 21:2), and the Persian king's garden at Susa provided the setting for the book of Esther. Israel was warned against worshipping in gardens — the high places and sacred groves used for pagan fertility rites (Isaiah 65:3; Isaiah 66:17). Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane the night of his betrayal, and his tomb was in a garden (John 19:41). The resurrection appearance to Mary Magdalene in the garden, where she initially mistakes Jesus for the gardener, echoes the Edenic setting and the restoration it implies.