And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
Parallel translations
- WEB A river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was parted, and became the source of four rivers.
- BSB Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it branched into four headwaters:
- NKJV Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.
- NASB Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers.
- NLT A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A river flows out of Eden and divides into four rivers. The garden is portrayed as a source of life and abundance.
Overview
A river waters the garden and then branches into four, depicting Eden as a place of overflowing fruitfulness and the source of blessing to the wider world. The imagery of life-giving water flowing from God's garden recurs throughout Scripture. It reaches its fulfillment in the river of the water of life flowing from God's throne in the new creation (Revelation 22:1).
Cross-references & the web
Theme
- Living WaterA river flows out of Eden to water the garden.
Cross-references · 2
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Lay
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 2:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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