Genesis 3:23

Hebrew Bible

22 And the Lord God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God expelled him from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken. 24 When he drove the man out, he placed on the eastern side of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries who used the flame of a whirling sword to guard the way to the tree of life.

LXX Genesis 3:23

Septuagint

22 Then God said, “See, Adam has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, and now perhaps he might reach out his hand and take of the tree of life and eat, and he will live forever.” 23 And the Lord God sent him forth from the orchard of delight to till the earth from which he was taken. 24 And he drove Adam out and caused him to dwell opposite the orchard of delight, and he stationed the cheroubim and the flaming sword that turns, to guard the way of the tree of life.

 Notes and References

"... In the creation story of Genesis 2-3, the setting is a garden, which is situated in “Eden”. At least, this is how the majority of modern translators interpret the Hebrew term עדן. In the book of Genesis, this term occurs six times ... The etymology and precise meaning of the Hebrew term עדן has been the object of much debate. Referring to Akkadian and Sumerian language, the term has been interpreted as “steppe” or “plain” ... In general, however, scholars consider the term to be a toponym. This is not surprising, especially in light of its use in the book of Genesis ... In the case of rendering עדן ,the lxx translator of Genesis does not seem to be a “consistent” translator. Leaving aside the minus in Genesis 2:15 as a potential error by the copyist or translator, עדן has been transliterated as ῎Εδεμ – thus interpreting the word as a place name – in only three of the five instances, whereas in Genesis 3:23, 24, the term has been translated. Nevertheless, this does not mean that the translator failed to produce a faithful translation. Even if s/he failed to render the double entendre of the term עדן by one single word, the translator still searched for an adequate rendering ..."

Ausloos, Hans “Garden in Eden” or “Paradise of Delight”? The Septuagint's Rendering of עדן in the Book of Genesis (pp. 6-17) Acta Theologica 37(1), 2017

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.