Garden

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GARDEN (Heb. gan [lit. ‘enclosure’], gannah, which, like the Persian [mod. Armenian] pardçs [Neh_2:8 etc.], and the Arab [Note: Arabic.] jannah and bustân, may mean a garden of herbs [Deu_11:10, 1Ki_21:2 etc.], a fruit orchard [Jer_29:5; Jer_29:28, Amo_4:9 etc.], or a park-like pleasure-ground [2Ki_25:4, Est_1:5 etc.]).—Flowers were cultivated (Son_6:2), and doubtless, as in modern times, crops of grain or vegetables were grown in the spaces between the trees. In the long dry summer of Palestine the fruitfulness of the garden depends upon abundant water supply (Num_24:6). Perennial fountains fleck the landscape with the luxuriant green and delicious shade of gardens, as e.g. at Jenîn (Son_4:15). Great cisterns and reservoirs collect the water during the rains, and from these, by numerous conduits, it is led at evening to refresh all parts of the garden. Failure of water is soon evident in withered leaves and wilted plants (Isa_58:11; cf. Isa_1:30). The orange and lemon groves of Jaffa and Sidon are famous; and the orchards around Damascus form one of the main attractions of that ‘earthly paradise.’ The cool shade of the trees, the music of the stream, and the delightful variety of fruits in their season, make the gardens a favourite place of resort (Est_7:7, Son_4:16 etc.), especially towards evening; and in the summer months many spend the night there. In the sweet air, under the sheltering boughs, in the gardens of Olivet, Jesus no doubt passed many of the dark hours (Mar_11:19 RV [Note: Revised Version.] , Luk_21:37). From His agony in a garden (Joh_18:1; Joh_18:26) He went to His doom.
The gardens, with their luxuriant foliage and soft obscurities, were greatly resorted to for purposes of idolatry (Isa_56:3, Bar_6:70). There the Moslem may be seen to-day, spreading his cloth or garment under orange, fig, or mulberry, and performing his devotions. The garden furnishes the charms of his heaven (el-jannah, or Firdaus): see artt. Paradise, Eden [Garden of].
Tombs were often cut in the rock between the trees (2Ki_21:18 etc.); in such a tomb the body of Jesus was laid (Joh_19:41).
W. Ewing.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909


An enclosure in the suburbs, fenced with a hedge or wall (Isa_5:5; Pro_24:31), planted with flowers, shrubs, and trees, guarded (from whence comes "garden") by watchmen in a lodge or tower (Isa_1:8, when the lodge is forsaken by the keeper, the bore poles leaning every way and the green boughs of the roof scattered, there could scarcely be a more vivid picture of Zion's desolation, Mar_12:1) to drive away wild beasts and robbers (Job_27:18). The quince, citron, almond, and other fruits, also herbs (1Ki_21:2), cucumbers, lettuce, mustard, are mentioned as in gardens. The balsam, according to Pliny, grew only in two royal gardens of Judea, not elsewhere. Syria was so famed for gardens that the Greeks had a proverb, "the many garden herbs of the Syrians." The rose garden W. of the temple was peculiar in being within the walls; the smell from weeds and manure was the cause of gardens being usually forbidden within the walls.
A reservoir cistern, or still better a fountain of water, was essential to a good garden. Compare Son_4:15, "a fountain of gardens," 'Ayin ganim, Jenin now, i.e. a fountain sufficient to water man "gardens," "a well of living waters? (See EN-GANNIM.) Spiritually, the believer is the garden the Holy Spirit the living water (Jer_2:18; Jer_17:8; Joh_4:13-14; Joh_7:37-39); "A well watered garden" expresses abundant happiness and prosperity (Isa_58:11; Jer_17:8; Jer_31:12), as "a garden that hath no water" (Isa_1:30) expresses spiritual, national, and individual barrenness and misery. Psa_1:3, the righteous "shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters (literally, the divisions of waters, the water being divided into rivulets to run along the rows of trees for irrigation) that bringeth forth his fruit in his season."
Not only are his fruits (the tree's proper fruit, Rev_22:2) good in themselves, but are in season (Ecc_3:1-11; contrast Mat_21:19). "His leaf" also has its beauty and use and is "unwithering" (Eze_47:12); even his minor traits of character are good after their kind, and his smallest undertaking, blessed because done unto the Lord and so shall abide. The law against mixing diverse seeds was observed by separating the various productions by light fences of reed. The "orchards" (Hebrew: "paradises") were especially for fruit trees, dates, figs, sycamores, etc. The occurrence of no less than 250 botanical terms in Old Testament shows the Israelite predilection for flowers, fruits, and pleasure grounds. The vine wound round the trellis or outer staircase, the emblem of the loving and fruitful wife and the happy home (Psa_128:3). The house court or area generally had its shady terebinth.
Under the shadowing fig leaves Nathanael communed with his God (Joh_1:48). The ripe grain in harvest joy was decorated with lilies; Son_7:2, "thy bodice (of amber color) is a heap of wheat set about with lilies" (white or scarlet, answering to her scarf round her person). The Hebrew used gardens also as burial places (Joh_19:41). Here Jesus' sacred body was entombed in Joseph's new sepulchre. Manasseh and Amen were buried in Uzza's garden (2Ki_21:18; 2Ki_21:26). Machpelah's field, Abraham's burial ground, was a garden with "trees in it, and in all the borders round about it" (Gen_23:17). The garden of Gethsemane was Jesus' favorite resort for devotion (Mat_26:36; Joh_18:1). Gardens were in idolatrous periods made the scene of superstition and image worship, the awful counterpart of the primitive Eden (Isa_1:29; Isa_65:3; Isa_66:17).
Solomon's gardens and orchards with all kinds of fruits and pools of water for irrigation (Ecc_2:4-6) doubtless suggested the imagery Son_4:12-15. It was in a garden of light Adam fell; in a garden of darkness, Gethsemane, the Second Adam overcame the tempter and retrieved us. The "streams from Lebanon" imply that the fountain is lowly, the source lofty. Christ (and so Christ's church) springs up on the earth, but has His source in heaven; no longer "sealed" but "open" streams (Rev_22:10; Rev_22:17).
The site near Bethlehem assigned to Solomon's garden is probably correct. It is a suitable retreat, near the capital, and the names of localities about confirm the tradition: wady Urtas, "the valley of the garden"; gebel-el-Fureidis, "the hill of the little paradise"; "fig vale"; "peach hill"; "walnut walk"; "garden of nuts." The "king's garden" (2Ki_25:4; Neh_3:15; Jer_34:4; Jer_52:7) was near the pool of Siloam, at the Tyropoeon valley, where the valleys of Jehoshaphat and Hinnom met.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.


Garden. Gardens in the East, as the Hebrew word indicates, are enclosures on the outskirts of towns, planted with various trees and shrubs. From the allusions in the Bible, we learn that they were surrounded by hedges of thorn, Isa_5:5, or walls of stone. Pro_24:31. For further protection, lodges, Isa_1:8; Lam_2:6, or watchtowers, Mar_12:1, were built in them, in which sat the keeper, Job_27:18, to drive away the wild beasts and robbers, as is the case to this day.
The gardens of the Hebrews were planted with flowers and aromatic shrubs, Son_6:2; Son_4:16, besides olives, fig trees, nuts or walnuts, Son_6:12, pomegranates, and others for domestic use. Exo_23:11; Jer_29:5; Amo_9:14. Gardens of herbs, or kitchen gardens, are mentioned in Deu_11:10 and 1Ki_21:2. The rose garden in Jerusalem, said to have been situated westward of the Temple mount, is remarkable as having been one of the few gardens which, from the time of the prophets, existed within the city walls. The retirement of gardens rendered them favorite places for devotion.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863


gar?d'n (גּן, gan, גּנּה, gannāh, גּנּה, ginnāh; κῆπος, kḗpos): The Arabic jannah (diminutive, jannainah), like the Hebrew gannāh, literally, ?a covered or hidden place,? denotes in the mind of the dweller in the East something more than the ordinary garden. Gardens in Biblical times, such as are frequently referred to in Semitic literature, were usually walled enclosures, as the name indicates (Lam_2:6 the American Revised Version, margin), in which there were paths winding in and out among shade and fruit trees, canals of running water, fountains, sweet-smelling herbs, aromatic blossoms and convenient arbors in which to sit and enjoy the effect. These gardens are mentioned in Gen 2 and 3; Gen_13:10; Son_4:12-16; Ecc_2:5, Ecc_2:6; Eze_28:13; Eze_31:8, Eze_31:9; Eze_36:35; Joe_2:3. Ancient Babylonian, Assyrian and Egyptian records show the fondness of the rulers of these countries for gardens laid out on a grand scale and planted with the rarest trees and plants. The drawings made by the ancients of their gardens leave no doubt about their general features and their correspondence with Biblical gardens. The Persian word pardeṣ (παράδεισος, parádeisos) appears in the later Hebrew writings to denote more extensive gardens or parks. It is translated ?orchards? in Ecc_2:5 the King James Version; Son_4:13. See PARADISE.
Such gardens are still common throughout the Levant. They are usually situated on the outskirts of a city (compare Joh_18:1, Joh_18:26; Joh_19:41), except in the case of the more pretentious estates of rich pashas or of the government seats (compare 2Ki_21:18; Est_1:5; Est_7:7, Est_7:8; Neh_3:15; 2Ki_25:4; Jer_39:4; Jer_52:7). They are enclosed with walls of mud blocks, as in Damascus, or stone walls capped with thorns, or with hedges of thorny bushes (compare Lam_2:6 the American Revised Version, margin), or prickly pear. In nearly treeless countries, where there is no rain during 4 or 5 months, at least, of the year, the gardens are often the only spots where trees and other vegetation can flourish, and here the existence of vegetation depends upon the water supply, brought in canals from streams, or raised from wells by more or less crude lifting machines (compare Num_24:7). Such references as Gen_2:10; Num_24:6; Deu_11:10; Isa_1:30; Isa_58:11; Son_4:15 indicate that in ancient times they were as dependent upon irrigation in Biblical lands as at present. The planning of their gardens so as to utilize the water supplies has become instinctive with the inhabitants of Palestine and Syria. The writer has seen a group of young Arab boys modeling a garden out of mud and conducting water to irrigate it by channels from a nearby canal, in a manner that a modern engineer would admire. Gardens are cultivated, not only for their fruits and herbs (compare Son_6:11; Isa_1:8; 1Ki_21:2) and shade (compare Son_6:11; Luk_13:19), but they are planned to serve as dwelling-places during the summer time when the houses are hot and stuffy. That this was an ancient practice is indicated by Son_5:2; Son_6:2; Son_8:13. A shaded garden, the air laden with the ethereal perfumes of fruits and flowers, accompanied by the music of running water, a couch on which to sit or recline, suggest a condition of bliss dear to the Oriental. Only one who has traveled for days in a dry, glaring desert country and has come upon a spot like the gardens of such a city as Damascus, can realize how near like paradise these gardens can appear. Mohammed pictured such a place as the future abode of his followers No doubt the remembrances of his visit to Damascus were fresh in his mind when he wrote. El-Jannah is used by the Moslems to signify the ?paradise of the faithful.?
Gardens were used as places of sacrifice, especially in heathen worship (Isa_1:29; Isa_65:3; Isa_66:17). They sometimes contained burial places (2Ki_21:18, 2Ki_21:26; Joh_19:41).
Figurative: The destruction of gardens typified desolation (Amo_4:9); on the other hand, fruitful gardens figured prosperity (Num_24:6; Job_8:16; Isa_51:3; Isa_58:11; Isa_61:11; Jer_29:5, Jer_29:28; Jer_31:12; Amo_9:14).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.


Several gardens are mentioned in the Scriptures, as the garden of Eden (Gen_2:8-10; Gen_2:15), Ahab's garden of herbs (1Ki_21:2), the royal garden near the fortress of Zion (2Ki_21:18; 2Ki_25:4), the royal garden of the Persian kings at Susa (Est_1:5; Est_7:7-8), the garden of Joseph of Arimathea (Joh_19:41), and the garden of Gethsemane (Joh_18:1). It is clear, from Isa_5:5, and Lam_2:6, that gardens were generally hedged or walled, as indeed Josephus expressly states respecting the gardens near Jerusalem. In Neh_3:15, and Joh_20:15 gardeners and keepers of gardens by occupation are indicated.

Watering Garden
Gardens were planted not only with fragrant and beautiful plants, but with various fruit-bearing and other trees (Gen_2:9; Jer_29:5; Amo_9:14). Thus we find mention of nut-gardens (Son_6:11), pomegranate-gardens (Son_4:13), olive gardens (Deu_8:8; 1Ch_27:28), vine-gardens (Son_4:2; Son_8:8). Here, however, we are not to suppose that the gardens were exclusively occupied by these fruits, but that they were severally predominant in the gardens to which they gave name. The distinction, for instance, between a vine-garden and a vineyard would be, that, in the latter, the vine was cultivated solely for use, whereas in the former it was planted for solace and ornament, to cover walls, and to be trained in arbors and on trellises.
Gardens were, when possible, planted near streams, which afforded the means of easy irrigation. This explains such passages as Gen_2:9, sq., and Isa_1:30. But streams were few in Palestine, at least such as afforded water in summer, when alone water was wanted for irrigation; hence rain-water, or water from the streams which dried up in summer, was in winter stored up in reservoirs, spacious enough to contain all the water likely to be needed during the dry season. In fact many of our own large nurseries are watered in the same manner from reservoirs of rain-water. The water was distributed through the garden in numerous small rills, which traversed it in all directions, and which were supplied either by a continued stream from the reservoir, or had water poured into them by the gardeners, in the manner shown in the Egyptian monuments. These rills being turned and directed by the foot, gave rise to the phrase 'watering by the foot,' as indicative of garden irrigation (Deu_11:10). The adjoining representation (fig. 196) very clearly shows the way in which water was raised, by a balanced lever, from the stream or reservoir, and poured into a trough, whence it flowed into the various canals for irrigation. This method is still in use.
Gardens were dedicated to various uses among the Hebrews, such as we still find prevailing in the East. One most essential difference between them and our own is that they are not attached to or in any way connected with the residence but are situated in the suburbs. We have known gardens from half a mile to a mile distant from the houses of the persons to whom they belonged. It is manifest that all the gardens mentioned in Scripture were outside the several towns. This is, however, to be understood of regular gardens, for shrubs and flowers were often planted in the open courts of the dwelling-houses.

Garden Houses
People repair to their suburban gardens to take the air, to walk, and to refresh and solace themselves in various ways. For their use there is mostly in each garden a kind of summer-house or pavilion, fitted up with much neatness, gaily painted, and furnished with seats, where the visitants may sit and enjoy themselves. Here sometimes banquets were and are still given, attended by singing and music (Isa_51:3; Isa_65:3). The custom of burying the dead in gardens is indicated in Gen_23:19-20; 1Ki_2:34; 1Sa_25:1; Mar_15:46; and still occurs sometimes in the East, but is not very prevalent. We find it also among the Greeks and the Romans.
It is evident that the gardens of the Hebrews were in a very considerable degree devoted to the culture of medicinal herbs, the preparation of which in various ways was a matter of much solicitude with them (Jer_8:22). This is still the case in the East, where vegetable simples are as much employed in medicine as they were in this country in the times of Gerarde and Culpepper.
It would seem that the Jews were much in the habit of performing their devotions in gardens (Gen_24:63; Mat_6:28-30; Joh_1:48; Joh_18:1-2). This interesting practice, however, was idolatrously abused; for the worship of idols in these shady seclusions was not of infrequent occurrence, and is often mentioned in Scripture (1Ki_14:23; 2Ki_16:4; 2Ki_17:10; 2Ch_14:3; Isa_65:3; Isa_66:17; Jer_2:20; Jer_3:6; Eze_20:28).
Such are the principal points of information concerning gardens which may be collected from Scripture, or which may be connected with the Scriptural intimations.
There is no reason to suppose that the gardens of the ancient Jews differed in any material respect from those which are still found in Palestine. Such difference as did exist was doubtless occasioned chiefly by the minute rules which were founded upon the law forbidding the intermixture of diverse plants and seeds. The gardens of the Holy Land have been mentioned by travelers in terms too vague and general to afford the basis of a satisfactory description. Dr. Olin seems to have paid most attention to them. Of the gardens near Shechem he says, 'Upon turning an angle in the steep gorge we found ourselves, as if by enchantment, in the midst of fruitful gardens filled with vegetables, flowers, and fruit-trees, and all in the highest perfection of luxuriance and beauty. Olives, vines, acacias, pomegranates, figs, mulberries, and several species of trees which I did not recognize, are crowded together in small enclosures, forming an impervious shade as well as an impenetrable thicket; and yet the capabilities of the soil seem not to be overburdened. Each separate tree and plant thrives to admiration, and seems rather to profit than suffer from the thick dark canopy of branches and foliage, which entirely excludes the sun's rays from the tangled huddle of trunks and roots. A beautiful mountain stream runs through the midst of this forest of gardens, in a channel mostly artificial and sometimes covered; but the water often rises into small fountains, and forms several cascades.' The orange and citron trees which abound in these gardens near Shechem were probably those not recognized by Dr. Olin, from their not being in fruit at the time of his visit.
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.


Num_24:6 (a) A word which is used to describe the fragrant and fruitful nation of Israel as seen by the Lord through the eyes of Balaam from the mountain top. GOD looked down through the smoke of the sacrifice. He did not see the iniquities and evils of Israel, but rather describes them in this beautiful way.

Job_8:16 (a) By this term Bildad describes the beautiful life filled with radiance and fragrance of that one who walks with GOD, and lives for His glory.

Son_4:12 (c) We may take the expression as a picture of the Church in which GOD's people are the flowers, and their worship is the fragrance. (See also Son_5:1; Son_6:2; Son_6:11).

Isa_1:8 (a) Here is a type which describes the woeful conditions of the nation of Israel which should have been filled with useful and beautiful fruit, but instead produced only a strange, worthless useless fruit of the cucumber vine. The cucumber was one of the articles of food that Israel had to eat in Egypt when they were slaves. It is not a stable fruit as apples, but soon decays, and even while it is in good form it is of little use for sustaining life. This is like the pleasures which the world offers. Sports exhilarate for a few moments, but leave no permanent value in the lives of those who see them. The pleasures which GOD offers are for evermore. (See also verses 29 and 30).

Isa_51:3 (a) Here we find that the Lord gives His definite promise that the nation of Israel which now is of so little use to GOD will one day be a fruitful nation blessing the earth, and bringing joy to the heart of GOD.

Isa_58:11 (a) Here we see a beautiful type of the happy condition of the soul of that one who walks with the Lord, learns from His Word, and rejoices in the presence and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Isa_66:17 (b) Probably this type refers to the lives of those who live in wealth with plenty for their bodies to enjoy, while their souls are in rebellion against GOD.

Jer_31:12 (a) By this type the Lord is describing to us the blessing that will rest upon the nation of Israel in the millennium when they have turned back to GOD, and He has removed all cause for the grief and sorrow.

Lam_2:6 (b) In this way the Lord is referring to the transient character of Israel. He is telling us that He will remove the nation as the small shelterhouse in a garden is easily removed and destroyed.

Luk_13:19 (b) Here is a picture of the fair earth in which foul religions develop. It is also a picture of the nation of Israel in which false beliefs and practices arose and flourished.

Joh_19:41 (c) Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man, had a garden in which Calvary was located. It was not a bare hill as we often sing. No garden is a bare, rocky, lonely hill. It was a beautiful place in which the Cross was erected. Men sometimes build gardens for themselves with a mansion, flowers, and all the peculiar treasures of the wealthy, but arrange no place for CHRIST.
He is crucified afresh. He is not permitted to rule and reign.
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.


Garden
(גִּן, gan [fem. גִּנָּה גִּנָּה], a park or orchard enclosed and planted; Sept. παράδεισος, N.T. κῆπος.) SEE FIELD; SEE ORCHARD, etc.
1. Several gardens are mentioned in the Scriptures, as the garden of Eden (Gen_2:8-10; Gen_2:15), Ahab's garden of herbs (1Ki_21:2), the royal garden near the fortress of Zion (2Ki_21:18; 2Ki_25:4), the royal garden of the Persian kings at Susa (Est_1:5; Est_7:7-8), the garden of Joseph of Arimathea (Joh_19:41), and the garden of Gethsemane (Joh_18:1). It is clear, from Jos_5:2, and Lam_2:6, that gardens were generally hedged or walled, as indeed Josephus expressly states respecting the gardens near Jerusalem (War, 5:7). In Neh_2:5, and Joh_20:15, gardeners and keepers of gardens by occupation are indicated. SEE GARDENER.
The traditional gardens and pools of Solomon, supposed to be alluded to in Ecc_2:5-6, are shown in the wady Urtas (i.e., Hortus), about an hour and a quarter to the south of Bethlehem (compare Josephus, Ant. 8:7, 3). The Arabs perpetuate the tradition in the name of a neighboring hill, which they call "Jebelel-Fureidis," or "Mountain of the Paradise" (Stanley, Sin. and Pal. page 166). Maundrell is sceptical on the subject of the gardens (Early Trav. in Pal. page 457), but they find a champion in Van de Velde, who asserts that they "were not confined to the wady Urtas; the hill slopes to the left and right also, with their heights and hollows, must have been covered with trees and plants, as is shown by the names they still bear, as 'peachhill,' 'nut-vale,' 'fig-vale,' etc. (Syria and Pal. 2:27). SEE SOLOMON'S POOL.
The "king's garden," mentioned in 2Ki_25:4; Neh_3:15; Jer_39:4; Jer_52:7, was near the Pool of Siloam, at the mouth of the Tyrop'eon, north of Bir Eyub, and was formed by the meeting of the valleys of Jehoshaphat and Ben-Hinnom (Wilson, Lands of the Bible, 1:498). Josephus places the scene of the feast of Adonijah at Enrogel, "beside the fountain that is in the royal paradise" (Ant. 7:14, 4; comp. also 9:10, 4). SEE-KING'S DALE.
Strabo (16:763), alluding to one of the rose-gardens near Jericho, calls it ὁ τοῦ βαλσάμου παράδεισος. The rose-garden in Jerusalem, mentioned in the Mishna (Maaseroth, 2:5), and said to have been situated westward of the Temple mount, is remarkable as having been one of the few gardens which, from the time of the prophets, existed within the city walls (Lightfoot, Hor. Heb. on Mat_26:36). They were usually planted without the gates, according to the gloss quoted by Lightfoot, on account of the fetid smell arising from the weeds thrown out from them, or from the manure employed in their cultivation. SEE ROSE.
The gate Gennath, mentioned by Josephus (War, 5:4, 2), is supposed to have derived its name from the rose-garden, already mentioned, or from the fact of its leading to the gardens without the city. It was near the garden-ground bythe Gate of the Women that Titus was surprised by the Jews while reconnoitring the city. The trench by which it was surrounded cut off his retreat (Joseph. War, 5:2). SEE GENNATH.
But of all the gardens of Palestine none is possessed of associations more sacred and imperishable than the garden of Gethsemane, beside the oil- presses on the slopes of Olivet. Eight aged olive-trees mark the site which tradition has connected with that memorable garden, and their gnarled stems and almost leafless branches attest an antiquity as venerable as that which claimed for them. SEE GETHSEMANE.
The orange, lemon, and mulberry groves which lie around and behind Jaffa supply, perhaps, the most striking peculiarities of Oriental gardens-gardens which Maundrell describes as being "a confused miscellany of trees jumbled together, without either posts, walks, arbors, or anything of art or design, so that they seem like thickets rather than gardens" (Early Trav. in Pal. page 416). The Persian wheels, which are kept ever working, day and night, by mules, to supply the gardens with water, leave upon the traveler's ear a most enduring impression (Lynch, Exp. to Jordan, page 441; Siddon's Memoir, 187). The gardens near Shechem, containing orange and citron trees (Schubert, Raise, 2:116), are described by Dr. Olin (Travels, 2:350). SEE FOREST.
2. Gardens are frequently represented in the tombs of Thebes and other parts of Egypt, many of which are remarkable for their extent. The one here introduced is shown to have been surrounded by an embattled wall, with a canal of water passing in front of it, connected with the river. Between the canal and the wall, and parallel with them both, was a shady avenue of various trees; and about the center was the entrance, through a lofty door, whose lintel and jambs were decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions, containing the name of the owner of the grounds, who, in this instance, was the king himself. In the gateway were rooms for the porter, and other persons employed about the garden, and probably the receiving- room for visitors, with the dom and other trees along the whole length of the exterior wall: four tanks of water, bordered by a grass-plot, where geese were kept, and the delicate flower of the lotus was encouraged to grow, served for the irrigation of the grounds; and small kiosks or summer- houses, shaded with trees, stood near the water, and overlooked beds of flowers. The spaces containing the tanks, and the adjoining portions of the garden, were each enclosed by their respective walls and a small subdivision on either side, between the large and small tanks, seems to have been reserved for the growth of particular trees, which either required peculiar care, or bore fruit of superior quality (Wilkinson, Anc. Eg. 1:33- 40, abridgm.).
One interesting but much defaced representation of a similar kind has been found on the Assyrian sculptures. Gardens and orchards, with various kinds of trees, appeared to be watered with canals similar to those which once spread fertility over the plains of Babylonia, and of which the choked- up beds still remain. A man, suspended by a rope, was being lowered into the water. Upon the corner of a slab, almost destroyed, was a hanging garden, supported upon columns, whose capitals were not unlike those of the Corinthian order (Layard, Ninevek and Babylon, page 198 sq.).
3. Gardens in. the East, as the Hebrew word indicates, are enclosures on the outskirts of towns, planted with various trees and shrubs. From the allusions in the Bible we learn that they were surrounded by hedges of thorn (Isa_5:5) or walls of stone (Pro_24:31). For further protection, lodges (Isa_1:8; Lam_2:6) or watch-towers (Mar_12:1) were built in them, in which sat the keeper (נֹצֵר, Job_27:18), to drive away the wild beasts and robbers, as is the case to this day. Layarp (Nin. and Bab. page 365) gives the following descriptron of a scene which he witnessed: "The broad silver river wound through the plain. The great ruin cast its dark shadows in the moonlight, the lights of 'the lodges in the gardens of cucumbers' flickered at our feet, and the deep silence was only broken by the sharp report of a rifle fired by the watchful guards to frighten away the wild boars that lurked in the melon-beds." The scarecrow also was an invention not unknown (προβασκάνιον, Bar_6:70). SEE LODGE.
In a climate like that of Palestine the neighborhood of water was an important consideration in selecting the site of a garden. The nomenclature of the country has perpetuated this fact in the name Engannim "the fountain of gardens" — the modern Jenin (comp. Son_4:15). To the old Hebrew poets "a well-watered garden," or "a tree planted by the waters," was an emblem of luxuriant fertility and material prosperity (Isa_58:11; Jer_17:8; Jer_31:12); while no figure more graphically conveyed the idea of dreary barrenness or misery than "a garden that hath no water" (Isa_1:30). From a neighboring stream or cistern were supplied the channels or conduits by which the gardens were intersected, and the water was thus conveyed to all parts (Psa_1:3; Ecc_2:6; Sir_24:30). It is a matter of doubt what is the exact meaning of the expression "to water with the foot" in Deu_11:10. Niebuhr (Descr. de l'Arabie, page 138) describes a wheel which is employed for irrigating gardens where the water is not deep, and which is worked by the hands and feet after the manner of a tread-mill, the men pulling the upper part towards them with their hands, and pushing with their feet upon the lower part" (Robinson, 2:226). This mode of irrigation might be described as "watering with the foot." But the method practiced by the agriculturists in Oman, as narrated by Wellsted (Trav. 1:281), may answer to this description, and serves to illustrate Pro_21:1 : "After ploughing, they form the ground with a spade into small squares with ledges on either side, along which the water is conducted. When one of the hollows is filled, the peasant stops the supply by turning up the earth with his foot, and thus opens a channel into another." SEE IRRIGATION.
4. Gardens were dedicated to various uses among the Hebrews, such as we still find prevailing in the East. One most essential difference between them and our own is that they are not attached to or in any way connected with the residence, but are situated in the suburbs, sometimes from half a mile to a mile distant from the houses of the persons to whom they belong. It is manifest that all the gardens mentioned in Scripture were outside the several towns. This is, however, to be understood of regular gardens, for shrubs and flowers were often planted in the open courts of the dwelling- houses. People repair to their suburban gardens to take the air, to walk, and to refresh and solace themselves in various ways. For their use there is mostly in each garden a kind of summer-house or pavilion, fitted up with much neatness, gayly painted, and furnished with seats, where the visitants may sit and enjoy themselves. Here sometimes banquets were and are still given, attended by singing and music (Isa_51:3; Isa_65:3). SEE GARDEN-HOUSE.
The kings and nobles had their country houses surrounded by gardens (1Ki_21:1; 2Ki_9:27), and these were used on festal occasions (Son_5:1). So intimately, indeed, were gardens associated with festivity, that horticulture and conviviality are, in the Talmud, denoted by the same term (Buxtorf, Lex. Talm. s.v. אריסות). It is possible, however, that this may be a merely accidental coincidence. The garden of Ahasuerus was in a court of the palace (Est_1:5), adjoining the banqueting-hall (Est_7:7). In Babylon, the gardens and orchards were inclosed by the city walls (Layard, Nin. 2:246). Attached to the house of Joachim was a garden or orchard (Sus. 4)"a garden inclosed" (Son_4:12) — provided with baths and other appliances of luxury (Sus. 15; comp. 2Sa_11:2). SEE PALACE.
It would seem that the Jews were much in the habit of performing their devotions in gardens, on account of their retirement (Gen_24:63; Matthew 16:30; 26:36; John 2:48; Joh_18:1-2). This interesting practice, however, was idolatrously abused; for the worship of idols in these shady seclusions was not of unfrequent occurrence, and is often mentioned in Scripture (1Ki_14:23; 2Ki_16:4; 2Ki_17:10; 2Ch_18:4; Isa_1:29; Isa_65:3; Isa_66:17; Jer_2:20; Jer_3:6; Eze_20:28). SEE GROVE.
The custom of burying the dead in.gardens is indicated in Gen_23:19-20; 2Ki_21:4; 2Ki_21:18; 2Ki_21:26; 1Sa_25:1; Mar_15:46; Joh_19:41; and still occurs sometimes in the East, but is not yery prevalent. We find it also among the Greeks (Heliodorus, ,Ethiop. 1:2, page 35), and the Romans (Suetonius, Galba, 20). SEE GRAVE.
5. Gardens were planted not only with fragrant and beautiful plants (Son_6:2; Son_4:16), but with various fruit-bearing and other trees (Gen_2:9; Exo_23:11; Jer_29:5; Amo_9:14). Thus we find mention of nut-gardens (Son_6:11), pomegranate-gardens (Son_4:13), olive-gardens (Deu_8:8; 1Ch_27:28), vine-gardens (Son_4:2; Son_8:8). Here, however, we are not to suppose that the gardens were exclusively occupied by these fruits, but that they were severally predominant in the gardens to which they gave name. The distinction, for instance, between a vine-garden and a vineyard would be, that, in the latter, the vine was cultivated solely for use, whereas in the former it was planted for solace and ornament, to cover walls, and to be trained in arbors and on trellises. The quince, medlar, citron, almond, and service trees are among those enumerated in the Mishna as cultivated in Palestine (Kilaim, 1:4). Gardens of herbs, or kitchen-gardens, are mentioned in Deu_11:10, and 1Ki_21:2. Cucumbers were grown in them (Isa_1:8; Bar_6:70), and probably also melons, leeks, onions, and garlic, which are spoken of (Num_11:5) as the productions of a neighboring country. In addition to these, the lettuce, mustard-plant (Luk_13:19), coriander, endive, one of the bitter herbs eaten with the paschal lamb, and rue, are particularized in the precepts of the Mishna, though it is not certain that they were all, strictly speaking, cultivated in the gardens of Palestine (Kilaim, 1:8). It is well known that, in the time of the Romans, the art of gardening was carried to great perfection in Syria. Pliny (20:16) speaks of it as proverbially elaborate, and again (12:54) he describes the balsam plant as growing in Judea alone, and there only in two royal gardens. It is evident that the gardens of the Hebrews were in a very considerable degree devoted to the culture of medicinal herbs, the preparation of which in various ways was a matter of much solicitude with them (Jer_8:22). This is still the case in the East, where vegetable simples are employed in medicine. SEE MEDICINE.
In addition to the ordinary productions of the country, we are tempted to infer from Isa_17:10, that in some gardens care was bestowed on the rearing of exotics. To this conclusion the description of the gardens of Solomon in the Targum on Ecc_2:5-6 seems to point: "I made me well-watered gardens and paradises, and sowed there all kinds of plants, some for use of eating, and some for use of drinking, and some for purposes of medicine; all kinds of plants of spices. I planted in them trees of emptiness (i.e., not fruit- bearing), and all trees of spices which the specters and daemons brought me from India, and every tree which produces fruit; and its border was from the wall of the citadel, which is in Jerusalem, by the waters of Siloah. I chose reservoirs of water, which, behold! are for watering the trees and the plants, and I made me fish-ponds of water, some of them also for the plantation which rears the trees to water it." In large gardens the orchard(פִּרְדֵּס, παρἀδεισος) was probably, as in Egypt, the enclosure set apart for the cultivation of date and sycamore trees, and trees of various kinds (Son_4:13; Ecc_2:5). Schroeder, in the preface to his Thesaurus Lingua Armenicae, asserts that the word "epardes" is of Armenian origin, and denotes a garden near a house, planted with herbs, trees, and flowers. It is applied by Diodorus Siculus (2:10) and Berosus (quoted by Josephus, Ant. 10:2, 1) to the famous hanging gardens of Babylon. Xenophon (Anab. 1:2, 7) describes the "paradise" at Celasnse in Phrygia, where Cyrus had a palace, as a large preserve full of wild beasts; and Aulus Gellius (2:20) gives "vivaria" as the equivalent of παράδεισοι (comp. Philostratus, Vit. Apol. Tyan. 1:38). The officer in charge of such a domain was called "the keeper of the paradise" (Neh_2:8). SEE PARADISE.
The law against the propagation of mixed species (Lev_19:19; Deu_22:9; Deu_22:11) gave rise to numerous enactmaents in the Mishnauto to insure its observumumce. The portions of the field or garden, is which the various plants were sown, were separated by lighet fences of reed, ten palms in heights the distance between the reeds being not more than three palms, so that a kid could not enter (Kilaim, 4:3, 4). SEE DIVERSE.
See Schröder, De horais Hebraeor. (Marlburg, 1722); Bradley, Descript. ecoasoma. et hortic. vett. (Lond. 1725); Van Goeus, De κηποταφίᾷ (Utr. 1763). SEE AGRICULTURE.

CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.





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