Ask NT Wright Anything – Episode Summary

Podcast: Ask NT Wright Anything
Episode: Where is the Garden of Eden? NT Wright on Genesis, editing & authority
Date: December 28, 2025
Host: Mike Bird
Guest: NT (Tom) Wright

Episode Overview

This episode features NT Wright and Mike Bird tackling listener questions about challenging passages in the Bible, focusing especially on:

• Paul's "tent" metaphor in 2 Corinthians 5 and resurrection theology.
• The puzzling directions regarding the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2.
• Broader issues of Biblical authorship, editing, and the authority of scripture.

The discussion sheds light on how to approach complex or apparently inconsistent biblical texts, the role of editing and redaction, and what these mean for the authority and inspiration of scripture.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The "Tent" Metaphor in 2 Corinthians 5 (04:40–11:05)

Listener Question:
Does Paul’s reference to the “earthly tent” in 2 Corinthians 5 refer to the human body or is it more about the tabernacle language found elsewhere in scripture?

Tom Wright's Response:

• Multiple Meanings: The “tent” simultaneously draws on both the image of the human body and the wilderness tabernacle. Paul has the tabernacle from Exodus in mind (see 2 Corinthians 3), but also refers clearly to the mortal human body.
• Contextual Flow: From chapter 4:7 onwards, Paul discusses suffering, persecution, and ultimate hope in resurrection, rather than just evangelism or church growth (“reaching more people to join the fellowship of grace”), as the questioner suggested.
• Resurrection Emphasis: Paul points not to a Platonic soul-escaping-the-body idea, but to the deeply Jewish and Christian hope in a renewed, immortal, physical body.
• Parallel with Jesus’ Words: The metaphor resonates with John 2, where Jesus refers to his body as a temple/tent, highlighting the meeting place of heaven and earth.
• Heaven as Storage, Not Destination: “Heaven” in Paul’s language means the place where God’s future (e.g., our resurrection body) is kept until it’s revealed on earth, not where we escape forever.
  • “If I say, supposing you were coming to visit me, and supposing I was gonna be out when you arrived, I might say, there's some beer in the fridge. And that doesn't mean you've got to get in the fridge to drink the beer. It means when you need some beer, you'll find it in the fridge.” (10:00)
• Final Thought: Paul is not digressing about a disembodied existence; he’s doubling down on the hope of resurrection—fully clothed, more bodily than before.
• Further Reading: Tom’s book, The Resurrection of the Son of God, explores all NT resurrection passages (10:45–11:05).

Notable Quote:

“The idea of tent here is not about a temporary dwelling which we're going to get rid of and be happily shot of it for good and all. Rather, Paul says we then have a building from God, not made with hands, eternal in the heavenly places.” — Tom Wright (08:40)

2. Where is the Garden of Eden? Textual Layers and the Authority of Genesis (13:06–25:06)

Listener Question:
Genesis 2:10–14 describes the Garden of Eden’s location in sudden, almost travel-guide detail. Was this a later addition? What does this mean for the authority of scripture?

Tom Wright's Response:

• Bible’s Editing Process: It’s normal and expected that Old Testament books, including Genesis, were compiled and edited from multiple sources—most likely during or after the exile. This does not threaten a robust doctrine of inspiration.
• Rabbinic Wisdom: Editing is not a flaw. Wright recalls rabbis seeing the “R” for “redactor” in margins, but one Jewish saying is that “R” means “Rabbeinu”—“our teacher”, someone God's providence has provided to structure scripture for us (17:20).
• Apparent Jumps in the Text: Ancient writers often deliberately juxtaposed contrasting material—a technique seen in both Old and New Testaments, and even in modern literature and music, to achieve meaning and depth beyond strict linear logic.
• Genre Play in Genesis: Genesis 1:1–2:4 (the “first account”) is an overarching, poetic vision; Genesis 2:4b onward gives a more localized, sometimes playful, and possibly older account.
  • “One of my favorite little lines...is that the river Pishon flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold, and the writer says, and the gold of that land is good. It's an extraordinary little note…almost a tease.” (19:28)
• Order of the Accounts: Many scholars think the “second account” in Genesis 2 was written first, later supplemented by the universalistic, cosmic account of Genesis 1.
• Letting Scripture Breathe: We need to “lighten up” about inspiration so we can enjoy scripture’s oddities and allow apparent tensions to provoke reflection, not anxiety.
• Location of Eden: The text situates Eden in the ancient world’s geography to make a theological point (possibly pointing to the Fertile Crescent and beyond), not to offer a GPS coordinate.
• Genre Flexibility: “History, parable, allegory, or something else? All of the above.” (24:10)
• Previewing the Abrahamic Promise: Mention of place is already hinting at the land’s future significance for Israel (24:34).

Notable Quotes:

“All the Old Testament ... has been edited, has been put together. Somebody ... has worked on the multiple texts that were available and has produced a fair copy which then the people of God ... have been able to use and read.” — Tom Wright (15:51)

“If somebody has put these texts together, then through the providence of God, that person has become our teacher and has said, you need to read these texts together or side by side or whatever.” — Tom Wright (17:33)

“I think we need to lighten up in terms of our views of inspiration in order just to let Scripture breathe and be itself and enjoy the oddities. Rather like the piece of music where there's a bit which is apparently discordant and then we have to wait and see how it's going to be resolved.” — Tom Wright (21:38)

3. Reflections on Biblical Editing and Authority (22:33–25:06)

Mike Bird’s Takeaways:

• Be wary of excessive source-criticism: rearranging gospel chapters or hypothesizing editors beyond evidence is speculative.
• Evidence of editing (as at the end of John’s Gospel) does not undermine inspiration or authority.
• The core issue is not the presence of editing, but whether we trust that God worked through editors to shape his word for the church.

On Genesis as Genre:

• The narrative intends to ground the story in the real world (24:00–24:30).
• “Maybe that’s something for a bonus episode!” — Mike Bird (25:06)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Paul’s Hope of Resurrection:
  “We don’t want to be naked. In other words, I don't want to be a bare Platonic soul...I need to be fully clothed. In fact, he says not just fully clothed, but more fully clothed.... the new body which we're promised will be like the present one any more. So it'll be more physical, but it will be immortal.” — Tom Wright (09:40)
• On Biblical Editing:
  "Editing in the Bible at some progress in its transmission and canonization is nothing to be sneered at. And that's no...no threat. It's not injurious to a healthy doctrine of Scripture.” — Mike Bird (23:38)
• On Enjoying the Oddities:
  "I think we need to lighten up...in order just to let Scripture breathe and be itself and enjoy the oddities." — Tom Wright (21:38)
• Genre Blending:
  “History, parable, allegory, or something else? All of the above. And the rivers are tricky to figure out, but some people have said it looks as though this was a kind of a loose, rather fanciful description of the Fertile Crescent....” — Tom Wright (24:10)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Topic | Timestamp | | ------- | ----- | --------- | | Introductions & Advent chat | Opening thoughts | 01:27–03:14 | | 2 Corinthians & “Tent” Metaphor | Resurrection & body | 04:40–11:05 | | Listener Q2 – Eden’s Location | Genesis 2, editing | 13:06–25:06 | | Reflections on biblical editing | Authority, genre | 22:33–24:30 | | Conclusion & Invitation | Ask more questions | 25:14–26:16 |

Final Thoughts

This episode encourages listeners:

• Not to worry about “messiness” in biblical composition or editing.
• To see complex biblical metaphors and even apparent non-sequiturs as invitations to deeper theological reflection.
• To approach the Bible as a divinely orchestrated anthology in which ancient (even “jarring”) details are part of how God speaks, rather than errors to be explained away.

To sum up:

Let Scripture breathe; let its oddities teach us; and don’t fear how God uses (and has always used) editors, compilers, and multiple literary genres to communicate truth.