Where Was the Garden of Eden?

Question of the week: How large was the Garden of Eden and where was it located?

My answer: The Bible does not give specifics on the size of the Garden of Eden. However, according to Genesis 2, it must have been big enough to contain a large number of diverse nephesh (soulish) animals and small enough that Adam, by himself, could tend it.

The Garden of Eden’s location is where the four named rivers in Genesis 2, the Tigris, Euphrates, Pishon, and Gihon, come close together. Genesis 2 states the sources of these rivers, the land of Asshur, the land of Havilah, and the land of Cush, respectively. Two of these rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, still flow today. The Pishon and the Gihon dried up soon after the close of the last ice age. All four rivers flow or flowed into the Persian Gulf. They come close together in the southeastern part of today’s Persian Gulf. Presently, this location is about 200 feet below sea level. During most of the last ice age, it was above sea level. The star in the accompanying satellite image below of the Arabian Peninsula shows what I believe to be the likely location of the Garden of Eden.