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The Epic of Gilgamesh describes a forest depicted as sacred space with a temple for the gods. This ancient Near Eastern tradition likely influenced the depiction of Eden as an orchard in Genesis 2, similarly shown as sacred space and a temple.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Epic of Gilgamesh V
Ancient Near East
... They stood at the forest's edge, gazing at the top of the Cedar Tree, gazing at the entrance to the forest. Where Humbaba would walk there was a trail, the roads led straight on, the path was excellent. Then they saw the Cedar Mountain, the Dwelling of the Gods, the throne dais of Imini. Across the face of the mountain the Cedar brought forth luxurious foliage, its shade was good, extremely pleasant. The thornbushes were matted together, the woods were a thicket ... among the Cedars,... the boxwood, the forest was surrounded by a ravine two leagues long, ... and again for two-thirds (of that distance), ... Suddenly the swords..., and after the sheaths ..., the axes were smeared... dagger and sword... alone ... Humbaba spoke to Gilgamesh saying:'He does not come ... Enlil.. .' Enkidu spoke to Humbaba, saying: 'Humbaba...'One alone.. 'Strangers ... 'A slippery path is not feared by two people who help each other. 'Twice three times... 'A three-ply rope cannot be cut. 'The mighty lion - two cubs can roll him over.'' Humbaba spoke to Gilgamesh, saying: ..An idiot' and a moron should give advice to each other,
Date: 2100 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Genesis 2:8
Hebrew Bible
7 The Lord God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 The Lord God planted an orchard in the east, in Eden; and there he placed the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food. (Now the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of the orchard.) 10 Now a river flows from Eden to water the orchard, and from there it divides into four headstreams.
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Notes and References
"... In the first half of the Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, the hero Gilgamesh is introduced as being full of potential but reckless in his rule over the city of Uruk. As a result, the gods create a rival for him, Enkidu, to distract the king and curtail his abuses of power. After Enkidu is awakened to the human experience by a week-long sexual encounter with a divine female seductress, he is introduced to Gilgamesh, and the two embark upon a quest to a sacred Cedar Forest. The first half of the epic, then, culminates in the story of the Cedar Forest, where Gilgamesh and Enkidu arrive in awe of its sanctity and abundance—only to transgress by killing its monstrous guardian, Humbaba, and his “sons” ... In Genesis 2–3, the man and woman are placed in a divine garden only to desecrate it and invite the curse of God on the ground, serpent, and all wild beasts (Genesis 3:14, 17). Also, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh and Enkidu enter the Cedar Forest, only to transgress against this divine abode and thereby desecrate it and the creatures within. When Gilgamesh and Enkidu arrive at the Cedar Forest, it is described as “the gods’ dwelling place, the goddesses’ exalted abode” ..."
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