Since ever, the events and places described in the biblical scriptures have been the subject of research, to check their veracity or to question them. In fact, one of the mysteries that still haunts the minds of scriptural scholars is the location of the blessed and prolific Eden.
For those less familiar with biblical stories, Eden was the paradise that God gave to Adran and Eve, the first man and the first woman on Earth, but it was also the place of his first punishment against men. God authorized the couple to eat all the fruits of the garden with the exception of the apple, the fruit of good and evil; disobeying, both were expelled from the splendid place.
The clue from which all the investigations that have been dedicated to demonstrating the geographical location of this place today are born, is also found in the Bible, specifically in the book of Genesis: «a river came out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it was divided into four arms. The name of the one was Piso; this is the one that surrounds all the land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good; there is also bdellium and onyx there. The name of the second river is Gihon; this is the one that surrounds all the land of Cush. And the name of the third river is Hidekel. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
Although the Euphrates is the main reference that places Eden in the Middle East, and Hidekel is assumed to be the Tigris, of the other two mentioned in the Bible, scientists have not been able to establish a verifiable relationship with the rivers that exist today. For many centuries, scholars and researchers have wanted to give an exact location to the place, which, as also stated in the Bible, disappeared many years after the expulsion of Adam and Eve, thanks to a catastrophic flood.
The resolution of the mysteries about the location of Eden in our days has confronted the scientific community. For the professor and archaeologist at the Missouri State University in the United States, Juris Zarins, the Pishon River mentioned in the Bible could be in Saudi Arabia, while the Gihon could be in Iran, which makes it clear that Eden was in an area of the Persian Gulf that is now flooded.
Nevertheless, Zarins theory has been challenged by University of Oklahoma researcherJohn D. Morris, who has pointed out that although the four rivers mentioned by Zarinz would be close, they do not flow in a source as the bible indicates and the mineral deposits could not have generated the vegetal wealth described in the biblical book.
Given the failed attempts to prove the exact location of the place, most explanations have generated generalized conclusions about the location of Eden, assuming that it is under the Sea from a place close to Iran.