EOB: Official Site of the Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible (Old and New Testament)

Genesis 3:24

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

So he sent the man away from the garden of Eden. He stationed cherubim and a flaming sword on the east side of the garden to protect the path to the tree of life.

EOB Footnote:

The MT includes “from the east” (Hebrew: miqqedem) specifying the location where the cherubim were placed, which is absent from the LXX. The MT reads “the cherubim” with the definite article, while the LXX has simply “the cherub” (singular). The MT phrase “the flaming sword that turned every way” is rendered more literally “the flame of the sword that turned” in the LXX. The MT specifies guarding “the way to the tree of life,” while the LXX reads “the way of the tree of life.” No DSS manuscript witness exists for this verse. The Greek verb for God’s action of expelling Adam uses a term meaning “cast out” or “drove out,” rendered here as “drove out” for clarity. The singular “cherub” in the LXX was retained rather than harmonizing with the MT plural.

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

WEB (World English Bible):

So he drove out the man; and he placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

And he cast out Adam, and caused him to dwell over against the garden of Delight, and stationed the cherubs and the fiery sword that turns about to keep the way of the tree of life.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubims, and a flaming sword, turning every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

He drove out the man, and stationed the cherubim to the east of the garden of Eden, along with the flaming sword that turned in every direction, to guard the way to the tree of life.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

He drives out the man, and causes to dwell at the east of the Garden of Eden the cherubim and the flame of the sword that is turning itself round to guard the way of the tree of life.

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

So he sent out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he put winged ones and a flaming sword turning every way to keep the way to the tree of life.

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

THE EXPULSION AND THE CHERUBIM

The placement of the cherubim with the flaming sword at the entrance to Paradise represents one of the most theologically significant images in all of Scripture, carrying profound implications for the entire economy of salvation.

Patristic Interpretation: The Church Fathers consistently understood this verse as pointing forward to Christ’s redemptive work. Saint John Chrysostom teaches that the cherubim and flaming sword were placed not merely as punishment but as a merciful barrier, preventing humanity from eating of the Tree of Life in a fallen state and thus immortalizing sin. Saint Ephrem the Syrian sees in the flaming sword a prefiguration of baptismal fire that would eventually purify humanity for re-entry into Paradise.

Christological Significance: The Eastern Fathers understood that Christ’s descent into Hades and His Resurrection effectively removed this barrier. Saint Romanos the Melodist beautifully expresses this in his kontakia, proclaiming that Christ, by His Cross, reopened the gates of Paradise. The Good Thief’s entry into Paradise on Great Friday demonstrates this reality: “Today you shall be with me in Paradise” directly reverses the expulsion of Genesis 3:24. Christ Himself becomes the way back to the Tree of Life.

Liturgical Connections: This verse profoundly shapes Orthodox liturgical consciousness. During the Paschal services, the Church celebrates the opening of Paradise’s gates. The Royal Doors of the iconostasis liturgically represent this boundary between heaven and earth, opened during services to signify our access to divine mysteries through Christ. The Cherubic Hymn sung at the Great Entrance invokes these same angelic guardians, now accompanying the faithful as they mystically enter the heavenly sanctuary rather than being barred from it.

The Sunday of Forgiveness, which begins Great Lent, features the hymn lamenting Adam’s expulsion and his weeping before Paradise. This establishes the entire Lenten journey as a return to Eden, culminating in Pascha’s triumphant restoration.

Spiritual Theology: For Orthodox ascetical tradition, the flaming sword represents the purifying trials through which the soul must pass to return to communion with God. The neptic fathers teach that the cherubim symbolize the watchfulness (nepsis) required to guard the heart, while the turning sword represents the discernment needed to cut away passions. Saint Gregory of Nyssa interprets the return to Paradise as the soul’s journey of perpetual ascent into God, the original destiny interrupted by the fall.

The verse thus stands as a hinge point in salvation history, marking both the tragedy of separation and the promise of restoration that finds its fulfillment in the Paschal mystery.

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