<P> The Garden of Eden (Hebrew גַּן עֵדֶן, Gan ʿEḏen) or (often) Paradise, is the biblical "garden of God", described most notably in the Book of Genesis chapters 2 and 3, and also in the Book of Ezekiel . Genesis 13: 10 refers to the "garden of God" (not called Eden by name), and the "trees of the garden" are mentioned in Ezekiel 31 . The Book of Zechariah and the Book of Psalms also refer to trees and water in relation to the temple without explicitly mentioning Eden . </P> <P> Traditionally, scholars favored deriving the name "Eden" from the Akkadian edinnu, derived from a Sumerian word edin meaning "plain" or "steppe". Eden is now believed to be more closely related to an Aramaic root word meaning "fruitful, well - watered ." Another interpretation associates the name "Eden" with a Hebrew word for "pleasure"; thus the Douay - Rheims Bible in Genesis 2: 8 has the wording "And the Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure" (rather than "a garden in Eden"). The Hebrew term is translated "pleasure" in Sarah's secret saying in Genesis 18: 12 . </P>

Where did the garden of eden story come from