Pardes
/pɑːrˈdɛs/noun
A Hebrew word meaning an orchard or garden, especially in Jewish religious and mystical contexts.
Did you know?In medieval Jewish thought, PaRDeS became an acronym for four interpretive paths: literal, hinted, homiletic, and mystical—making the word itself a map into hidden knowledge.
Etymological Timeline
Old Persian, c. 6th–4th Century BCE
Old Persian
pairidaeza
“A walled enclosure or royal garden; literally something enclosed all around”
Ancient Greek, c. 5th–4th Century BCE
Greek
paradeisos
“A park, garden, or enclosed pleasure ground, adopted from Persian”
Biblical and Rabbinic Hebrew
Hebrew
pardēs
“An orchard or garden”
Septuagint and Later Greek
Greek
paradeisos
“A garden of delight, especially the Garden of Eden”
Medieval Hebrew, c. 12th–13th Century
Hebrew
PaRDeS
“An acronym for four methods of scriptural interpretation, culminating in mystical interpretation”
Modern English
English
pardes
“An orchard, paradise, or the mystical system of four levels of interpretation”
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