Paradise is a concept (idea) developed in both the Jewish and Christian religious traditions. The concept originated with an Old Persian word—pairidaêza—describing an enclosure or a beautiful garden, such as a king’s garden. Words meaning paradise later developed in Aramaic, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, and other languages.
Early Jews developed the concept of paradise to mean both an earthly and heavenly place. Early Jewish writings describe paradise as a place of rest for the righteous (those faithful to God ). Such writings place paradise in various locations on Earth and in different levels of heaven . They describe it as a forest, park, orchard, or garden with fruitful trees. It is an unspoiled, healthful place. In some accounts, people live in paradise. Some writings describe the trees in paradise as being God’s faithful who are planted there.
An ancient people called the Samaritans also believed in an earthly and heavenly paradise. They described it as the Garden of Eden , the home of Adam and Eve in the Bible . The New Testament also makes references to paradise as a heavenly place. For example, in the Gospel of Luke , Jesus Christ tells a dying thief that he will be with Jesus in paradise.
