1. The word here, bedolach, and translated "aromatic resin" in NIV is rendered in some other translations 'bdellium'. The meaning of the Hebrew word—occurring only here and at Num 11:7, is uncertain. Some scholars think it may refer to some kind of pearls instead.
2. The form of the Hebrew verb is what is called hiphil infinitie construct)
3. Probably the most famous English landscape gardener, Lancelot Brown—whenever he was invited to view a grand estate—would invariably comment that it was capable of great improvement. Hence his nickname Capability Brown. Much of what is felt make English gardens English owes it to his influence and few great gardens in England did not have his imprint on them. So sought after was he, King George III made him 'Surveyor of His Majesty's Gardens' and placed him in-charge of the Hampton Court Garden as well as the Kew's.
4. G. von Rad, Genesis (OTL; London: SCM Press, 1961), 77.
5. E. A. Speiser, Genesis (Anchor Bible; New York: Doubleday, 1981), 20.
6. For a view of the attempts to track down the location of the Garden of Eden, see Alessandro Scafi, Maps of Paradise (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013). The enterprise seems futile. The landscape of the region have changed so significantly since ancient times that it will probably be impossible to identify them even if they are actually found. The Noahic flood would certainly have obliterated any traces of evidence that could help in identifying them in the present configuration of the land. And the last Ice Age did not recede the coast-line of the Persian Gulf until about 11,000 BC; its erosive work would also have aided in the destruction of such evidences.
7. Victor Hamilton, The Book of Genesis. Chapters 1-17, (NICOT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990),169. Though greatly appreciative of his work, G. K. Beale over-enthused, I think, in his comparison of Eden with the temple and claiming, "Thus, the common feature of precious stones further associates the Garden with the later temple" (The Temple and the Church's Mission. A biblical theology of the dwelling place of God (NSBT; Downers Grove/Leicester: InterVarsity Press/Apollos, 2004) 73).