The Garden of Eden Planted Before the World Was Made

Midrash Aggadah Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 2:8 View source

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 3, 2025

The Torah says God planted a garden in Eden. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 2:8) goes further. The garden "was planted by the Word of the Lord God before the creation of the world."

Eden is older than everything. The garden was not a square of paradise set up on day six as a home for Adam. It pre-existed the universe. The Targumist joins a tradition that counts Eden among the things created before the world — alongside the Torah itself, the Throne of Glory, and the name of the Messiah (Pesachim 54a).

Once Adam was formed, God "made there to dwell the man when He had created him." Humanity was placed into a garden that was already waiting, already holy. We did not arrive in a neutral space. We arrived in a garden that was there before there was a "there."

Themes

Eden Creation Mysticism Afterlife

Biblical References

Genesis 2:8

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