Dissertation

What Happened in the Garden: A Spatial Examination of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2-3

Barnes, Cory R

2018

Overview

This dissertation examines the space described in the narrative of Gen 2-3 using a methodology developed from the field of critical spatiality. The dissertation answers the question \"How does the spatial setting of the Garden of Eden inform the interpretation of the biblical narrative of Gen 2-3?\" The study concludes that the author of Gen 2-3 presents the description of space along a narrative arc. At the beginning of the narrative space is insufficient and at the end of the narrative, space is under the curse. Between these terminal points of the narrative is the Garden of Eden, which the author presents as the ideal space of the created world. The methodology employed in the dissertation is based upon the spatial trialectic developed by Henri Lefebvre and Edward Soja. The study begins by analyzing the physical space (Firstspace) the author describes in Gen 2-3. Because the physical space of Eden is not available for study, the Firstspace examination of Gen 2-3 relies on a reconstruction of the space of Eden using the description provided by the author of the passage. Examining the physical descriptions of space assists in reconstructing a Firstspace for analysis. The examination of space then explores the cultural conception of space (Secondspace) for spaces similar to those described in Gen 2-3 in the ANE cosmogonie texts. The Secondspace exploration reviews the ANE cosmogonie literature with particular attention to how those documents understand spaces similar to the ones described in the narrative of Gen 2-3. The result of this investigation is a greater understanding of how spatial concepts are perceived in the ANE world. Finally, the dissertation explores how the author of Gen 2-3 combines the author's description of space and the conceptual understanding of space in the ANE within narrative space (Thirdspace). The Thirdspace exploration of Gen 2-3 reveals how the author of the passage uses cultural understanding and physical description of space to construct the theological message of the text. In the Thirdspace of Gen 2-3 cultural concepts and physical descriptors come together as a part of the author's didactic narrative construction. The author's Thirdspace construction of space suggests that the focus of the narrative of Gen 2-3 is God's establishment of an agricultural paradise and humanity's rejection of this good space. The narrative of Gen 2-3 is the beginning of a biblical story that often centers around spatial issues. Understanding how the author of Gen 2-3 uses space to craft his narrative produces a framework for determining how other biblical authors use space to form the theological message of the Bible.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subject: Bible / Biblical studies / Culture / Durkheim, Emile (1858-1917) / Foucault, Michel / Kant, Immanuel (1724-1804) / Lefebvre, Henri (1901-1991) / Narratives / Space
• ISBN: 9780438419780, 0438419782