Original Word: גַּן
Part of Speech: noun masculine; feminine; proper name, of a location
Transliteration: gan
Pronunciation: gan
Phonetic Spelling: (gan)
KJV: garden
NASB: garden, gardens
Word Origin: [from H1598 (גָּנַן - defend)]

1. a garden (as fenced)

garden

From ganan; a garden (as fenced) -- garden.

see HEBREW ganan

Word Origin
from ganan
Definition
an enclosure, garden
NASB Translation
garden (40), gardens (2).

גַּן noun masculine^{Song of Solomon 4:12} & (Genesis 2:15) feminine enclosure, garden (Late Hebrew id., גַּנָּה Arabic , Ethiopic Assyrian ginû COT^Gloss, also gannatu Dl^{Pr 84}; Aramaic גִּנָּא, גִּנְתָּא, ; Phoenician פר אגנן אם צץ[צ] CIS^{i, 165, 11 & p. 232 f.} birds of enclosure (domestic fowls) or of wing) — absolute גַּן Genesis 2:8 3t.; construct id. Genesis 2:15 19t.; with article הַגָּן Genesis 2:9 9t., but כַּגַּן Lamentations 2:6; suffix גַּנִּי Songs 4:16; Songs 5:1, גַּנּוֺ Songs 4:16; Songs 6:2; Plural גַּנִּים Songs 4:15 2t. — garden as enclosure Lamentations 2:6 (simile); הַיּוֺשֶׁבֶת בַּגַּנִּים Songs 8:13; compare Songs 4:12 (figurative of, bride גַּן נָעוּל); g. of herbs (יָרָק) Deuteronomy 11:10; 1 Kings 21:2; figurative of bride, g. of plants, fruits, and spices Songs 4:16 (twice in verse); Songs 5:1; Songs 6:2 (twice in verse) compare מַעְיַן גנים Songs 4:15; g. of (king's) house) 2 Kings 21:18 = גַּןעֻֿזָּא 2 Kings 21:18,26; גַּן הַמֶּלֶךְ 2 Kings 25:4; Jeremiah 39:4; Jeremiah 52:7; Nehemiah 3:15, compare בֵּית הַגָּן) 2 Kings 9:27 (at Jez-reel ? but this perhaps

proper name, of a location see below בית p. III ); most often of garden (orchard ?) in Eden (Hexateuch only Gen & only J) Genesis 2:8,9,10,16; Genesis 3:1,2,3,8 (twice in verse); Genesis 3:10, called גַּןעֵֿדֶן Genesis 2:15; Genesis 3:23,24; Ezekiel 36:35; Joel 2:3, compare ׳גןיֿ Genesis 13:10; Isaiah 51:3 (both in simile); גןאֿלהים Ezekiel 28:13 (׳עֵדֶן גןאֿל), Ezekiel 31:8 (twice in verse); Ezekiel 31:9 ("" עֵדֶן); in last three the trees of the garden are compare with Assyrian under figure of cedar of Lebanon.

Etymology and Basic Sense

Gan denotes a deliberately enclosed, cultivated plot—often irrigated and protected—devoted to fruit trees, vegetables, aromatic plants, or pleasure. Its frequent pairing with words for planting, watering, and fencing underscores intentional care rather than untamed wilderness.

Distribution in Scripture

The word appears about forty-two times across the Hebrew Bible. Genesis and Song of Solomon account for nearly half of the occurrences, while the historical books, prophets, and a few poetic passages supply the remainder. The contexts cluster around five thematic settings: Eden, the patriarchal period, royal estates, prophetic oracles of judgment and restoration, and poetic metaphors of intimacy.

Garden of Eden: Prototype of Divine Fellowship

Genesis 2–3 presents the archetypal gan in Eden. “The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there He placed the man He had formed” (Genesis 2:8). The garden is God’s own sanctuary:
• Abundant provision (2:9, 16)
• Appointed vocation—“to work it and keep it” (2:15)
• Covenant testing through the two trees (2:16-17)
• Unbroken communion until sin ruptures fellowship (3:8-24)

Eden provides the theological baseline for every later reference to gardens: a place of ordered beauty, life-giving water, fruitful labor, and divine presence.

Gardens in Patriarchal Narratives

When Lot surveys the Jordan Valley, it is “like the garden of the LORD” (Genesis 13:10), revealing that Eden imagery already served as a benchmark for fertility. Balaam’s oracle compares Israel’s tents to “gardens beside a river” (Numbers 24:6), portraying the nation as an Edenic people destined for blessing.

Royal and Private Gardens in the Monarchy

Kings cultivated pleasure-parks near Jerusalem. The burial of Manasseh “in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza” (2 Kings 21:18) and the repeated mention of “the king’s garden” (2 Kings 25:4; Jeremiah 39:4; Nehemiah 3:15) show that gan could function as a royal cemetery, a strategic escape route, or a civic landmark. These urban gardens required stone walls, aqueducts, and watchmen, reflecting advanced horticulture and engineering in Iron Age Judah.

Prophetic Imagery: Gardens as Symbols of Blessing and Judgment

Prophets employ gan both positively and negatively:
• Blessing—“For the LORD will comfort Zion… He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD” (Isaiah 51:3).
• Spiritual vitality—“You will be like a well-watered garden” (Isaiah 58:11; Jeremiah 31:12).
• Judgment—enemy invasion turns fruitful land “like the garden of Eden” into a “desert waste” (Joel 2:3).
• Restoration—“I will restore from captivity my people Israel… they will make gardens and eat their fruit” (Amos 9:14).

Thus a thriving gan epitomizes covenant obedience, whereas a desolate gan signals divine displeasure.

Wisdom and Poetic Literature: Gardens of Delight

Song of Solomon layers bridal intimacy upon garden imagery:
• “A garden locked is my sister, my bride” (Song of Solomon 4:12) safeguards purity.
• “Awake, O north wind… let my beloved come into his garden” (4:16–5:1) intertwines marital union and Edenic pleasure.
• The lover “went down to the garden of nuts” (6:11) to inspect fresh growth, mirroring the Shepherd-King’s tender oversight of his bride.

The imagery teaches that marital love flourishes within God-designed boundaries, echoing Eden’s harmony.

Eschatological Restoration: The Recreated Garden

Eden’s lost blessings resurface in future hope. Isaiah 61:11 promises, “As a garden causes seeds to spring up, so the Lord GOD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all the nations.” Revelation, while using Greek terms, culminates the theme with the river and tree of life (Revelation 22:1-2), signaling the final gan where God again dwells with redeemed humanity.

Historical and Cultural Background

Ancient Near Eastern rulers often maintained walled orchards irrigated by channels and cisterns. Archaeological remains south of Jerusalem confirm terraced gardens supplied by Hezekiah’s tunnel. Such settings illuminate Isaiah’s description of Judah as “a garden without water” (Isaiah 1:30) when covenant infidelity cut off living streams.

Theological Themes and Ministry Application

1. God as Gardener: From Eden to the New Jerusalem, Scripture portrays the LORD as planter, waterer, and keeper. Believers draw confidence that He cultivates their lives with skilled hands (John 15:1-2).
2. Human Stewardship: Adam’s mandate models responsible care for creation and for one’s own heart. Spiritual disciplines parallel pruning, irrigation, and weed removal.
3. Covenant Blessing and Judgment: A flourishing gan reflects obedience; drought and desolation warn against sin. Personal and corporate fruitfulness springs from abiding in the Vine.
4. Intimacy and Boundaries: The Song of Solomon teaches that true delight thrives within God-ordained fences, urging purity before and fidelity within marriage.
5. Eschatological Hope: Every verdant garden points forward to the restored Eden where the Lamb is the light and the river of life never runs dry.

In sum, gan is more than an agricultural term. It threads through Scripture as a richly textured symbol of divine fellowship, covenant blessing, disciplined stewardship, and ultimate restoration in Christ.

בְּגַ֥ן בְּגַן־ בְגַן־ בַּגַּנִּ֔ים בַּגַּנִּ֗ים בַּגָּ֑ן בַּגָּ֖ן בגן בגן־ בגנים גַּ֣ן גַּ֥ן ׀ גַּן־ גַּנִּ֔ים גַנִּ֖י גן גן־ גני גנים הַגָּ֑ן הַגָּ֔ן הַגָּ֖ן הַגָּֽן׃ הַגָּן֒ הגן הגן׃ כְּגַ֣ן כְּגַ֥ן כְּגַן־ כַּגַּן֙ כגן כגן־ לְגַן־ לְגַנִּי֮ לְגַנּ֔וֹ לגן־ לגנו לגני מִגַּן־ מגן־ bag·gān bag·gan·nîm bagGan baggān bagganNim baggannîm bə·ḡan bə·ḡan- ḇə·ḡan- began bəḡan bəḡan- ḇəḡan- gan gan- ḡan·nî gan·nîm ganNi ḡannî ganNim gannîm hag·gān hagGan haggān kag·gan kaggan kə·ḡan kə·ḡan- kegan kəḡan kəḡan- lə·ḡan- lə·ḡan·nî lə·ḡan·nōw legan ləḡan- leganNi ləḡannî leganNo ləḡannōw mig·gan- miggan miggan- veganInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts