Walk in the Garden: Biblical, Iconographical and Literary Images of Eden
Overview
Genesis is about beginnings and origins. It is vitally important for understanding not only the biblical narrative, but also Christian theology. This volume brings together scholars with expertise in biblical studies, the traditions of Christian and Jewish exegesis, the history of art and literature, and various contemporary approaches to the study and interpretation of texts. The contributors draw on the long and complex histories of exegesis and interpretation, and examine the allusions, motifs, structures, context, and language from within the context of historical exegesis.
- Landmark scholarship on the book of Genesis
- All Scripture references are linked to the original language texts and English Bibles in your library
- Textual, linguistic, interpretive, and historical approach to studying Genesis
- “A Walk in the Garden: Images of Eden,” by Paul Morris
- “The Paradise Myth: Interpreting without Jewish and Christian Spectacles,” by Calum M. Carmichael
- “The Image of God, the Wisdom of Serpents and the Knowledge of Good and Evil,” by John F. A. Sawyer
- “From Fig Leaves to Fingernails: Some Notes on the Garments of Adam and Eve in the Hebrew Bible and Select Early Postbiblical Jewish Writings,” by Stephen N. Lambden
- “The Fall into Knowledge: the Garden of Eden/Paradise in Gnostic Literature,” by Philip S. Alexander
- “The New Adam in the Theology of St. Paul,” by Deborah F. Sawyer
- “Exiled from Eden: Jewish Interpretations of Genesis,” by Paul Morris
- “The Trees of Eden in Mediaeval Iconography,” by Jennifer O’Reilly
- “Gardens of Love and the Garden of the Fall,” by Helen Phillips
- “Milton’s Eden,” by Gordon Campbell
- “Blake and the Archaeology of Eden,” by Paul A. Cantor
- “Sin, Saga and Gender: The Fall and Original Sin in Modern Theology,” by Richard Roberts
- “Refusing to Learn to Say No: Karl Barth and the Garden of Eden,” by Mark Corner
- “Resurrecting Eve? Feminist Critique of the Garden of Eden,” by Deborah F. Sawyer
- “Type and Archetype in the Eden Story,” by Adrian Cunningham
- “In Search of Her Father: A Lacanian Approach to Genesis 2–3,” by Anna Piskorowski
Top Highlights
“The inescapable conclusion from these usages is that the primary significance of the Hebrew word ערום, ‘nakedness’ (in its various forms), is not sexuality at all but a state of defencelessness and helplessness, without possessions or power.” (Page 43)
“The phrase ‘knowing good and evil’ is the key, defined partly in terms of the wisdom of serpents (i.e. the ability to survive), and partly in terms of the wisdom of God which came from eating the forbidden fruit and which raises humankind above all the beasts of the field.” (Page 72)
“Without it we would be defenceless, vulnerable, naked. It is the agent whereby Adam and Eve were transformed from mere ‘living beings’ (Gen. 2:7) into creatures ‘in the image of God … like one of us, knowing good and evil’” (Page 68)
“This acquisition constitutes, from the point of view of the gods, a hostile act against them because it blurs the distinction between gods and humankind.” (Page 49)
“Concurrent with this distinction are the new, true-to-life experiences of the serpent, woman and man.” (Page 49)
- Title: Walk in the Garden: Biblical, Iconographical and Literary Images of Eden
- Authors: Paul Morris and Deborah Sawyer
- Publisher: Sheffield Academic Press
- Publication Date: 1992
- Pages: 327
Paul Morris is a Professor of Religious Studies at Lancaster University.
Deborah Sawyer is a Professor of Religious Studies at Lancaster University.
