When we first contemplate Eden, the best place to start is with the exact Biblical verses that talk of Eden.  After reading the Bible verses, we will look at possible word origins and translation notes as well as the various locations scholars have suggested for Eden.  And finally, we will look at the various meanings and interpretations that can be drawn from the verses about the Garden of Eden.

In this case, I have taken these verses from the St. Joseph Edition, New American Bible. 
Genesis, Chapter 2, Verses 8-15:
8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed.
9 Out of the ground the Lord God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of knowledge of good and bad.
10 A river rises in Eden to water the garden; beyond there it divides and becomes four branches.
11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it is the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 
12 The gold of that land is excellent; bdellium and lapis lazuli are also there.
13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it is the one that winds all through the land of Cush.
14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it is the one that flows east of Asshur.  The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.

Word Translation & Origins:
In the Saint Joseph Bible, the notes for this section note that in Sumerian the word Eden is derived from ‘eden’, meaning ‘fertile plain.  In Hebrew, a similar-sounding word means ‘delight.’  Together:  the garden in Eden could therefore be understood as the ‘garden of delight,’ so that, through the Greek version, it comes to us as ‘paradise,’ literally, a ‘pleasure park.’
The Archeological Study Bible has a slightly different meaning for the words.  They state that the Sumerian word ‘eden’ means ‘steppe’ or ‘open field,’ and the identical Semitic word, denotes ‘luxury’ or ‘delight.’   The Garden of Eden is not only the name of the garden in which the first humans resided but also a metaphor for the Garden of God, or Yahweh’s dwelling place. 
The Oxford Illustrated Companion to the Bible agrees with the general meanings stated above: that some scholars connect the word ‘eden’ with a Sumerian meaning  of “wilderness” or “plain,” while others have proposed a derivation from the Hebrew word for “delight” or “pleasure.”  Therefore, we identify Eden as an ideal garden of delight, or paradise. 


Location:

*****St. Jerome’s commentary takes perhaps the most logical stand about the location: it states simply that the Garden of Eden is the locale of God.  They take the following reasons as evidence:
    “The river going forth from Eden to water the garden and thence dividing into four rivers of the world, may be the ‘flow’ referenced in verse 6.
    In some Ugaritic and Akk texts the high god dwells at the ‘source of the double deep,’ i.e., the source of all life-giving waters of the earth. 
    The totality of the world is symbolized by ‘four,’ as in the Akk phrase ‘the four quarters of the earth.’ 
St. Jerome’s commentary goes on to state flatly that the location of Pishon and Havilah in this text is unknown.  Later in the Bible, Havilah is a descendant of Shem and Gihon is the name of a spring in Jerusalem.  However, here the river Gihon flows through Cush in southern Mesopotamia (as deduced by the known positions of the Tigris and Euphrates).  
The Zondervan All-in-One Bible Reference Guide also admits the truth: we simply do not have sufficient evidence to determine where the Garden of Eden was actually located. 
The Archeological Study Bible puts forth possible meanings for the Gihon River and Pishon River, with the Gihon possibly being Hebrew for ‘to gush’ and the Pishon being understood as a form of the Semitic verb ‘to spring up.’ Even with these meanings, the ASB admits that the two rivers are difficult to identify.

*****Some scholars believe that the Gihon refers to the Nile, as Cush is sometimes associated with Nubia, south of Egypt.  This is a belief with many complications as by naming the Gihon as the Nile, it makes the rest of the geography impossible, as the other rivers are in a completely different region.

*****Other scholars identify Cush as the land of Kassites, east of the Tigris, which was also known as Kush during ancient times.  This theory has the benefit of placing three of the rivers noted (Gihon, Tigris, & Euphrates) in the same region.  Supported by the verse that God placed the Garden “in the east,” presumably, to the east of Canaan/Israel, where most of the later events of the Bible took place. 

*****A final theory is that Gihon and Pishon were simply parts of the Tigris or Euphrates Rivers, in the form of canals or tributaries.  This is also supported by the verse that God placed the Garden “in the east,” presumably, to the east of Canaan/Israel, where most of the later events of the Bible took place

These theories, while separate from each other, can be incorporated into another set of theories, these based around the words in Verse 10: “A river rises in Eden to water the garden; beyond there it divides and becomes four branches.”  These theories debate whether Eden was upriver of the four branches, encompassed the four rivers, or was downstream of the location of the four branches.

*****The first theory is that the four rivers shared a common source in Eden, placing Eden in northern Mesopotamia or Armenia.  However, the fact that the Tigris and Euphrates lack a common source makes this theory suspect.

*****The second theory is that Eden is upriver of the four branches.  This makes some sense with the current geography as the Tigris and Euphrates do indeed converge in southern Mesopotamia before they empty into the Persian Gulf.  In this scenario Eden may still, as above, have been located in northern Mesopotamia or in the mountains in Armenia, from which the Tigris and Euphrates spring. 

*****A third is theory is that Eden was in southern Mesopotamia, where the Tigris and Euphrates converge.  This would place Eden downriver of the four branches. 

*****A fourth theory is that Eden refers to an extremely large area of land, and that the four rivers referred to did not actually “meet” at any point, and instead, that they simply flowed within the boundaries of Eden.  In this theory, some believe that the Pishon and Gihon respresent the Indus and Nile, indicating that Eden includes the entire Fertile Crescent from India to Egypt.

Further Notes:

Once we have dispensed with the many, many theories about where Eden was located, we must look beyond the literal words to the various meanings and interpretations included in these verses.  Eden has at its center the tree of life and the tree of knowledge.  Thus, the garden is not simply an earthly garden, but a place created especially by God for humans.  It is a model of the perfect relationship that existed between God and humans before the disobedience. 

According to the Oxford Illustrated Companion to the Bible, later prophets had an altered meaning of the term.  I’ll quote directly from that source: “The image of the garden of Eden reappears in somewhat altered form in the later prophets.  The expulsion from Eden functions as a metaphor for the coming judgment against the nations (Tyre: Ezek. 28:11-19; Egypt: Ezek 31:8,9,16,18), and for the coming judgment of the day of the Lord (Joel 2:3).  The garden of Eden is also an image of promise; in parallel with ‘the garden of the Lord,’ Eden appears in Isaiah 51:3 as a metaphor for the renewal of the land of Israel after the Babylonian exile (see also Ezek. 26:25, Rev. 22:2-3).”


Further reading:
I found a wonderful site that goes much more deeply into the matter of the location that I do.  If you want more- or more complete- information, please visit: http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/biblical-garden-of-eden.html.
 

Sources:

Brown, Raymond E. (S.S.), Fitzmyer, Joseph A. (S.J.), & Murphy, Roland E. (O. Carm). (1990) Genesis. “The New Jerome Biblical Commentary.” Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Catholic Book Publishing. (various) Genesis: Chapter 2 Notes. “St. Joseph Edition, New American Bible.” New York, NY: Catholic Book Publishing.

Geisler, Norman & Howe, Thomas. (1992). Genesis 2:8. “The Big Book of Bible Difficulties.” Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books.

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. (2005). The Location of Eden. “New International Version: Archaeological Study Bible”. Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, MI.

Green, Kevin (compiler). (2008). Eden. “All-In-One Bible Reference Guide”.  Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan.

Lockyear Sr., H. (Ed.) (1986) Eden. “Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible”. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Metzger, Bruce M. & Coogan, Michael D. (2003). Eden. “The Oxford Illustrated Companion to the Bible”. New York, NY: Tess Press.

There are "difficulties" and misunderstandings about a lot of Bible verses, and some of the most complex and interesting of these are in Genesis. 

2:2- Were the "days" and "nights" referred to during creation literal 24-hour periods?  There is evidence both for and against the idea that these days were meant to be interpreted as 24-hour periods of time.  First of all, there is no contradiction between the Bible and fact; it is a contradiction about the scientific evidence and/or the interpretation of scripture.  The evidence of the Earth being billions of years old agrees completely if one interprets the "days" referenced to be longer periods of time than a simple 24 hours.  So, either most scientists are wrong about the age of the Earth or SOME Biblical commentators are incorrect in their interpretation when they insist the days of creation were 24-hour periods with no gaps before, during, or after.  (Evidence for the different interpretations of the meaning of the word "day" are available in multiple commentaries, study books, internet pages, and Bibles.  I won't belabor the issue by re-hashing all of the quotes on both sides of the issue.)

2:8- Was Eden a real location on Earth?  See "Eden" entry under Dictionary & Facts section of the website (Eden is located on the "Places" page).

2:17- God states "the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die."   Why, then, didn't Adam immediately die?  Various explanations include: From the moment he took the first bite, the endless, happy existence he was going to have in Eden vanished and the fact that he would eventually die became a reality.  Hence, he began to physically die.  Adam "died" spiritually, that is, he was separated from God from the moment he ate of the fruit. 

2:19- The order of creation: animals, man, then man naming the animals, seems to be different in chapters 1 and 2.  Chapter 1 gives a strict chronological explanation of creation.  Chapter 2 covers the story in general, with the focus being on God bringing the animals (which he had previously created) to Adam to be named. 

Authored by Leandro Delgado

I have found myself in the midst of a great rivalry. Of course it is not as old and has not gotten as famous like some of the well-known rivalries like: the Hatfileds vs. the McCoys, Cox vs Direct tv, or Tyson vs. Holyfield. The only people who are aware of the rivalry are my husband (because he is forced to listen) and the barista involved. I visit the coffee shop across the street every morning. I order the same thing everyday. Several times she has made my drink the wrong way, politely, I drank it and decided not to complain. After I felt like the mistake was on the reg, I decided to point it out. What a mistake! Now, when she waits on me she is careful to take her time. I waited for ten minutes the other morning for my latte when no one else was in line. She will make my skinny latte, with whole milk! I don’t know what to do. My husband suggested I just go to the coffee shop next door, but that would be like losing!

There are "difficulties" and misunderstanding about a lot of Bible verses, and some of the most complex and interesting are in Genesis. 

Genesis 1:1- the actual point of creation.  In science, it is called "THE singularity" (a singularity is a zone that cannot be explained with our current understanding of physics).  The theory of the Big Bang works perfectly mathematically until it goes back it time towards the actual point of creation.  Thus far, science cannot explain the actual moment of creation.  The same problem arises with the scientific law "energy is neither created nor destroyed."  The math falls apart at the actual moment of creation.  So, the Biblical explanation does NOT contradict with the scientific explanation.  However, many scientists are starting to disbelieve the Big Bang theory due to the fact there are many contradictions.  Research and theories are constantly being developed and are beyond the scope of this book.

Genesis 1:1-5- were the "days" and "nights" literally 24-hour periods?  (See Genesis: Chapter 2 for more complete discussion). 

Genesis 1: 13-18- the sun wasn't created until the third day, but God separated the light and darkness on the first day.  There are two explanations often put forth: 1) God Himself was the source of light prior to the creation of the sun  -and/or-  2) God had already made the sun prior to this point and it was providing light, but it wasn't until the third day he put it in it's current position (1:17 "set them in the dome of sky"). 

Genesis 1:26- God refers to Himself in the plural when he says "let us make man in our image."  This is simply how the Hebrew language uses the word.  "Us" is simply a more majestic form of "I"....not an indication of multiple Gods, references to the angels, or any other crazy theories (aliens, for example).  Many Middle Eastern languages work this same way.  Some claim that the "us" is a way of proving the existence of the trinity, but that is a misunderstanding of the translation.  Other Old Testament verses more clearly foreshadow the trinity. 

4:1 The Hebrew name "qayin" (Cain) and the term "qaniti" (I have produced) is another play on words that would be recognized in the original Hebrew, but is lost in translation.
4:4-5 Origin of sacrifice & various meanings: see below
4:15 The mark put on Cain was probably a tattoo.  Tattooing of tribal marks has always been common among inhabitants of the Near Eastern deserts.
4:16 The land of Nod does NOT refer to a specific geographical location, instead it means "land of nomads" or "land of wanderers."  Nod is play on the Hebrew word "nad" (line over a), which is the participle of "to wander." 

The original beginnings of the practice of sacrificing to God are much debated, though in the rest of the Bible much of the practice relies on Genesis 4:4-5 as the foundation for sacrifice being an appropriate behavior.  One of the major questions is: was sacrifice a direct command of God -or- did man come up with the concept out of religious instinct? 

It is important to note that the offerings themselves weren’t the source of God’s rejection or acceptance. God doesn’t have a preference for meat over grain. It was the “spirit” in which it was given, aka- was the sacrifice given out of the spirit of faith or was it a mere "superstition"?  Other scholars put forth the premise that Abel offered the first-born of his flock, the best part, and that Cain's offering was not of the best part of his crop. 

In today’s day and age, we don’t offer meat and grain to the Lord. However, we can offer a “proper” spirit and behavior.
Can you name some examples of “proper” spiritual feelings or behavior that the Lord would “accept as an offering”?

Due to the sin of killing his brother, Cain receives punishment from God.  However, Cain complains that it is too great to bear. We receive trials and tribulations (as part of life and for God’s own reasons; not because we murdered someone).  It is important to note that God will help us through those trials as long as we display faith in his all-knowing wisdom. 

Name one trial or tribulation that you have gone through. Did God help give you strength? In retrospect, did you gain any spiritual benefit from the trial/tribulation?

My grandma sent me an e-mail with this story/joke in it.  The e-mail claimed it was a true story, but as I cannot verify the truthfulness of the tale, I'm going to post it as a joke.  Enjoy!

The pastor of a church had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc.

The kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten.

That's what he did, all the while checking his progress in the car. He then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved the car a little further forward, the rope broke.

The tree went 'boing!' and the kitten instantly sailed through the air - out of sight.

The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten.  So he prayed, 'Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping,' and went on about his business.

A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. This woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, 'Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?'

She replied, 'You won't believe this,' and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing.. Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, 'Well, if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it.' She told the pastor, 'I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her.'

I'm re-organizing the site the little bit, so give me a couple more days and I'll get back to posting regularly!
Thanks!

Facts:
Genesis is the first book of the Pentateuch.  The English title is derived from the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament), which is derived from of the Greek.  Genesis means "the origin, source, creation, or coming into being of something" (also "beginning").

Author:
Tradition states that Moses is the author, as he is credited with authoring the other books of the Pentateuch.  The Pentateuch is Genesis through Deuteronomy.  It is also possible (and a bit more likely) that the stories and laws were passed down via oral tradition and then written, with many different authors contributing to the text, with authorship suggested around 1446 to 1406 b.c..  Strictly speaking, Genesis is an anonymous work.  If the author/editor was Moses, the date of authorship is suggested to be about 550 b.c.

Theme:
Genesis is concerned with origins- of the world, of human beings, and of Israel and its ancestors.  Creation and the origin of the “specialness” of the tribe of Israel (as demonstrated by the tracing of the genealogy from Adam to Jacob) are the main themes of the book.
The beginning of "salvation" is also a theme of Genesis, one which repeats throughout the Bible.  Salvation includes: sin and grace, wrath and mercy, along with the idea of a covenant with God leading to redemption.

Timeline:
2166-1991 b.c.- Abraham’s life
2070 b.c.- Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed
2066-1886 b.c.- Isaac’s life
2006-1859 b.c.- Jacob’s life
1915-1805 b.c.- Joseph’s life

Outline (short version):
I. Primeval History: Four Great Events (1:1-11:26)
---A. The Creation of the Universe; Adam and Eve (1-2)
---B. The Fall and the Results of Sin (3-5)
---C. The Flood (6-9)
---D. The Scattering of the Nations (10:1-11:26)
II. Patriarchal History: Four Great Characters (11:27-50:26)
---A. Abraham (11:27-20:18)
---B. Isaac (21-26)
---C. Jacob (27:1-37:1)
---D. Joseph (37:2-50:26)

Outline (long version):
Part 1: Primeval History (1:1-11:9)
I. The Creation (1:1-2:25)
---A. Creation of the World (1:1-2:3)
---B. Creation of Man (2:4-2:25)
II. The Fall (3:1-5:32)
---A. The Fall of Man (3:1-3:24)
---B. After the Fall (4:1-5:32)
III. The Judgment of the Flood (6:1-9:29)
---A. Causes of the Flood (6:1-6:5)
---B. Judgment of the Flood (6:6-6:22)
---C. The Flood (7:1-8:19)
---D. Results of the Flood (8:20-9:17)
---E. After the Flood: The Sin of the Godly Line (9:18-9:29)
IV. The Judgment of the Tower of Babel (10:1-11:9)
---A. Family Lines after the Flood (10:1-10:32)
---B. Judgment on all the Family Lines (11:1-11:9)

Part 2: Patriarchal History (11:10-50:26)
I. The Life of Abraham (11:10-25:18)
---A. Introduction of Abram (11:10-11:32)
---B. The Covenant of God with Abram (12:1-25:18)
------1. Initiation of the Covenant (12:1-12:20)
------2. Separation of the Covenant (13:1-14:24)
------3. Ratification of the Covenant (15:1-16:16)
------4. Institution of the Covenant: Circumcision (17:1-17:27)
------5. Testing of the Covenant (18:1-20:18)
------6. Consummation of the Covenant (21:1-25:18)
II. The Life of Isaac (25:19-26:35)
---A. The Family of Isaac (25:19-25:34)
---B. The Failure of Isaac (26:1-26:33)
---C. The Failure of Esau (26:34-26:35)
III. The Life of Jacob (27:1-36:43)
---A. Jacob Gains Esau's Blessing (27:1-28:9)
---B. Jacob's Life at Haran (28:10-31:55)
---C. Jacob's Return (32:1-33:20)
---D. Jacob's Residence in Canaan (34:1-35:29)
---E. The History of Esau (36:1-36:43)
IV. The Life of Joseph (37:1-50:26)
---A. The Corruption of Joseph's Family (37:1-38:30)
---B. The Exaltation of Joseph (39:1-41:57)
---C. The Salvation of Jacob's Family (42:1-50:26)

1 The man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have produced a man with the help of the Lord."
2 Next she bore his brother Abel.  Abel became a keeper of flocks, and Cain a tiller of the soil.
3 In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the soil,
4 while Abel, for his part, brought one of the best firstlings of his flock.  The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
5 but on Cain and his offering he did not.  Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen.
6 So the Lord said to Cain: "Why are you so resentful and crestfallen?
7 If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master."
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out in the field."  When they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"  He answered, "I do not know.  Am I my brother's keeper?"
10 The Lord then said: "What have you done!  Listen: Your brother's blood cries out to me from the soil!
11 Therefore you shall be banned from the soil that opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.
12 If you till the soil, it shall no longer give you its produce.  You shall became a restless wanderer on the earth."
13 Cain said to the Lord: "My punishment is too great to bear.
14 Since you have now banished me from the soil, and I must avoid your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, anyone may kill me at sight."
15 "Not so!" the Lord said to him.  "If anyone kills Cain, Cain shall be avenged sevenfold."  So the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest anyone should kill him at sight.
16 Cain then left the Lord's presence and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
17 Cain had relations with his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch.  Cain also became the founder of a city, which he named after his son Enoch.
18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael; Mehujael became the father of Methusael, and Methusael became the father of Lamech. 
19 Lamech took two wives; the name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second Zillah.
20 Adah gave birth to Jabal, the ancestor of all who dwell in tents and keep cattle.
21 His brother's name was Jubal; he was the ancestor of all who play the lyre and the pipe.
22 Zillah, on her part, gave birth
to Tubalcain, the ancestor of all who forge instruments of bronze and iron.  The sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. 
23 Lamech said to his wives: "Adam and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my utterance: I have killed a man for wounding me, a boy for bruising me.
24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold."
25 Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son whom she called Seth.  "God has granted me more offspring in place of Abel," she said, "because Cain slew him."
26 To Seth, in turn, a son was born, and he named his Enosh.  At that time men began to invoke the Lord by name.

3:5 "liked gods who know" can also be interpreted as "like God who knows." 
3:8 Adam and Eve heard the Lord God moving in the garden at the breezy time of day.  The literal translation is "the wind of the day" and refers to the fact that in Palestine a cooling breeze blows from the sea shortly before sunset. 
3:15 "He will strike....at his heel"- in translation it is turned to a singular from a multiple, aka: "They will strike...at their heels" is another meaning.  Also, the word "serpent" is actually a play on the original Hebrew for the word "naked" making an alliteration in the original text.  The word "serpent" is actually a play on the original Hebrew for the word "naked" making an alliteration in the original text. Later tradition hold that the serpent is actually "Satan", earlier tradition simply credits the serpent as being a "mischievous creature."  Later theology ties this to the phrase in 1John 3:8 "the Son of God appeared that he might destroy the works of the devil", making this passage as the first promise of a Redeemer (Jesus Christ) for mankind.

The serpent promises that the fruit will open their eyes to good and evil.  The first thing they realize is that they are naked, which brings shame to them (as they hasten to cover themselves).  We are later taught that true wisdom is following God's will perfectly. And his will was quite clear that they were not to eat the fruit. 
God, however, told them that they would die if they ate of the fruit.  The serpent told them they would live, but gain wisdom. 

So, did the serpent lie??
If not, did man and woman gain wisdom by their act?
What do you think and why?