A term borrowed from the Persian language and means "garden of God." The Hebrews used a different word for gardens. They applied it to both everyday gardens and to God's garden in Eden (Genesis 2–3; Isaiah 51:3; Ezekiel 28:13). Later in their history, they borrowed the Persian word that eventually became "paradise." This word appears three times in the Old Testament. It refers to a park or orchard (Nehemiah 2:8; Ecclesiastes 2:5; Song of Solomon 4:13). When the Old Testament was translated into Greek, they used a Greek form of the same word. For Greek-speaking Jews, the garden in Genesis 2 became known as paradeisos.
Paradise in the Old Testament
The original Persian word meant an enclosed or walled garden, especially the royal parks of Persian kings. The Greeks understood it this way as well. This fits with the Hebrew idea of a garden where God walked (Genesis 3:8) and from which people could be excluded (Genesis 3:24). Key features of the Genesis paradise were its fruit trees and rivers.
Paradise in the New Testament
By the time of the New Testament, views of God's garden had changed in several ways, like many myths in various cultures. Like the "Golden Age" in Greek and Roman stories, paradise was once a distant past. But, the Jews began to believe it still existed somewhere unknown, like the "Elysian Fields." It was a place where the righteous dead lived. Over time, they described its wonders more and more, believing it would reappear at the end of time.
The idea of paradise combines myths from various cultures. They describe a perfect world at all times, where death and evil do not exist. The New Testament affirms the truth behind these beliefs. Paradise is a real, otherworldly place. Paul was mysteriously "caught up" there during his life (2 Corinthians 12:4). It is also where Jesus promised the repentant thief on the cross would be with him after death (Luke 23:43). The third and final New Testament reference to paradise (Revelation 2:7), is another promise. It tells us that paradise is where the tree of life grows. It connects the original world of Genesis 2 and the future world of Revelation 22. It includes the life-giving tree, a river, a protective wall, and the presence of the king.