There was a tradition of the Garden of Eden long before the time of Jesus, and they used to try to find an actual location that would fit the allegorical description of the one fruitful river flowing into the Garden, and four rivers flowing out. A philosopher and scholar named Philo (the Jew), who lived in Jesus' time (20 B.C. to 40 A.D.) was perhaps the first to consider the tradition to be an allegory. He maintained, 1700 years before the founding of the administrative structure of modern Masonry, that Eden was a soul, delighting in virtue, and the four rivers were the four specific virtues of prudence, temperance, courage and justice. Any Mason will instantly recognize these allegorical references. ( Genesis 2:15 ) And the Lord God (Jehovah) took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it. The name Eden means pleasure, delight.
Biblical Reference
Genesis 2:15
And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
~~ooOoo~~
This page is adapted from the Glossary at Phoenixmasonry — Used with permission.
