Genesis3:24

Translation

So He drove the man out, and He placed in front

of the garden of EDEN Cherubim,

and a flaming, whirling sword to guard the way to the tree of life.

Paraphrase

So He expelled the man [from the enclosure] and He placed at the entrance of the protected enclosure of DELICATE DELIGHTS some exceedingly powerful angels, as well as a symbol of painful death and punishment that cannot be avoided; these would guard the only physical way to the tree that can sustain life.

Footnotes

1: “in front”

This word usually means “the East”, but it can also mean “the front.” Here “in front of” is probably best. This shows the prominence of the East in the minds of ancient peoples of that part of the world. Their maps were oriented toward the East, not the North. This is because the sun comes up in the East, and thus, life itself comes from the East. There are a number of examples in Scripture of important things or people coming from the East. If they could only have one entrance, or if one entrance remained open while all the others were sealed, it was logical to them that such an entrance be the one facing East. The Orchard of Eden was located “in the East” and now its only entrance faced further East, pointing toward its own point of origin. The orchard was the point of origin for human life on this planet, but its source of life was the true giver of life, the One who made life possible in the first place.