In the Bible's Book of Genesis, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden from which God forbade Adam and Eve to eat. The other tree in the middle of the garden was the Tree of Life. Nothing is said in Genesis about whether or not they were permitted to eat from the tree of life, but since the Bible says "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.", we know they were allowed. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the tree, after being tempted by a serpent, they became knowledgeable of their sin, and were punished by God by being banished from the garden and forced to survive through agriculture "by the sweat of [their] brow". Being banished from Eden meant they would lose access to the tree of life and therefore were condemned to die. "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." (NIV)
Freudian (psychological) interpretation of story related in Genesis
A rather Freudian interpretation is that knowledge of good and evil or simply good and bad refers to the recollection of a memory with an implied judgment. This is a natural process for neurological systems (humans and animals) to make to avoid pain or gain pleasure. However the extensive recollection and teaching such as by the use of a book, which could be called a fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, clearly distinguishes this form of consciousness from the simple awareness of the animal kingdom. The human being begins to make choices that even if they include pain are chosen and considered beneficial.
The process of maturation occurring in the incidents around the tree describes, in an abstract way, the splitting of the human consciousness into the limited context of conscious thought and the underlying all aware subconscious. It also implies the existence of an entheogen that lets humans experience a God-like state of oneness.
Depictions of story
The Tree of Knowledge is commonly portrayed in art and literature as an apple tree, or fig tree for lack of a more specific description. Some trace this to a Latin pun between malus (apple) and malum (evil). Therefore, "Apple of Evil".
The type of tree
Rabbi Meir says: "The fruit of (the Tree of Knowledge of Good-and-Evil) was a grape..."; Rabbi Nechemia says: "It was a fig..."; Rabbi Yehuda says: "It was wheat..." Talmud, Brachot 40a
There are other opinions besides those, but it was certainly not an apple.
The reason it may have been a fig is that they use fig leaves to cover themself after eating it, either because the leaves were nearby, or because God creates the cure before the illness, and the same tree that caused the problem is also used to remedy it. Some commentators hold that it might have been a grape, and that Eve actually made, and drank, wine.
Related information
According to a Christian legend, the Tree of Knowledge was the source of wood for the True Cross.
See also
Last updated: 08-12-2005 14:27:41
