Where’s the headwaters for such majesty?
Genesis 2:10 tells us, "And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads." But that just raises even more questions, doesn't it? What is this initial river? Where does it originate?
Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher living in Roman Egypt, grappled with this very puzzle. He saw in the Torah a deep well of allegorical meaning. And, in his writings, he offers a fascinating interpretation of this primordial river.
Philo suggests this river flows "out of Adin." Now, Adin isn't a place name we readily recognize. But Philo interprets it, not as a geographical location, but as something far more profound: as referring to delight or pleasure.
Think about that for a second. The source of Paradise, the source of all those life-giving rivers, originates in pure delight.
He saw this original river as a symbol of universal virtue, a wellspring of goodness that then branches out into different specific virtues. These virtues, in turn, nourish and sustain the world. This is the Paradise that is being watered.
So, the Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates? They're not just rivers on a map. They are expressions of that initial, delightful virtue, flowing out into the world in different forms. Each river, according to this reading, represents a specific aspect of moral excellence.
It’s a beautiful idea, isn’t it? That the very source of life and abundance stems from something so simple, yet so powerful, as delight. Maybe, just maybe, finding our own sources of "Adin" can help us cultivate those virtues within ourselves, and let them flow out into the world, just like those legendary rivers.