What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden?

A renowned biblical scholar contends that we have misconstrued the meaning and lessons of the Garden of Eden story for more than two millennia The Garden of Eden story one of the most famous narratives in Western history is typically read as an ancient account of original sin and humanitys fall from divine grace. In this highly innovative study Ziony Zevit argues that this is not how ancient Israelites understood the early biblical text. Drawing on such diverse disciplines as biblical studies geography archaeology mythology anthropology biology poetics law linguistics and literary theory he clarifies the worldview of the ancient Israelite readers during the First Temple period and elucidates what the story likely meant in its original context. Most provocatively he contends that our ideas about original sin are based upon misconceptions originating in the Second Temple period under the influence of Hellenism. He shows how for Ancient Israelites the story was really about how humans achieved ethical discernment. He argues further that Adam was not made from dust and that Eve was not made from Adams rib. His study unsettles much of what has been taken for granted about the story for more than two millennia and has far-reaching implications for both literary and theological interpreters.