Editing Tree of the knowledge of good and evil

{{Short description|In Judaism and Christianity, a tree in the Garden of Eden}}
{{Other uses|Tree of Knowledge (disambiguation)}}
[[Image:Lucas Cranach (I) - Adam and Eve-Paradise - Kunsthistorisches Museum - Detail Tree of Knowledge.jpg|thumb|''Adam and Eve - Paradise'', the fall of man as depicted by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]], the Tree of knowledge of good and evil is on the right]]

In [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]], the '''tree of the knowledge of good and evil''' ({{langx|he|עֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע|ʿēṣ haddaʿaṯ ṭōḇ wārāʿ|label=[[Tiberian Hebrew]]}}, {{IPA|he|ʕesˤ hadaʕaθ tˤov wɔrɔʕ|}}; {{langx|la|Lignum scientiae boni et mali}}) is one of two specific trees in the story of the [[Garden of Eden]] in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 2–3, along with the [[Tree of life (biblical)|tree of life]]. Alternatively, some scholars have argued that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is just another name for the tree of life.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Makowiecki|first=Mark|date=2020-12-12|title=Untangled Branches: The Edenic Tree(s) and the Multivocal WAW|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jts/flaa093|journal=The Journal of Theological Studies|volume=71|issue=2|pages=441–457|doi=10.1093/jts/flaa093|issn=0022-5185|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==In Genesis==

===Narrative===
Genesis 2 narrates that [[God]] places the man, [[Adam]], in a garden with trees whose fruits he may eat, but forbids him to eat from "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil". God forms a woman, [[Eve]], after this command is given. In Genesis 3, a [[Serpents in the Bible|serpent]] persuades Eve to eat from its [[forbidden fruit]] and she also lets Adam taste it. Consequently, God [[The Fall of Man|expels them from the garden]].

===Meaning of ''good and evil''===
The phrase in Hebrew, {{lang|hbo|טוֹב וָרָע}} ({{Transliteration|hbo|tov wa-raʿ}}) literally translates as "good and evil". This may be an example of the type of figure of speech known as [[merism]], a [[Literary technique|literary device]] that pairs [[Opposite (semantics)|opposite]] terms together in order to create a general meaning, so that the phrase "good and evil" would simply imply "everything". This is seen in the Egyptian expression "evil-good", which is normally employed to mean "everything".<ref name=Gordon-Rendsburg>{{cite book |last1=Gordon |first1=Cyrus H. |last2=Rendsburg |first2=Gary A. |title=The Bible and the ancient Near East |year=1997 |publisher=W.W. Norton & Co. |location=New York|isbn=978-0-393-31689-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780393039429 |url-access=registration |quote=  merism. |edition=4th |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780393039429/page/36 36]}}</ref> However, if "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" is to be understood to mean a tree whose fruit imparts knowledge of everything, this phrase does not necessarily denote a moral concept. This view is held by several scholars.<ref name=Gordon-Rendsburg/><ref>[[Harry Orlinsky]]'s notes to the NJPS Torah.</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Space and Time in the Religious Life of the Near East |last=Wyatt |first=Nicolas |page=244 |publisher=A&C Black |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-567-04942-1}}</ref>

Given the context of disobedience to God, other interpretations of the implications of this phrase also demand consideration. [[Robert Alter]] emphasizes the point that when God forbids the man to eat from that particular tree, he says that if he does so, he is "doomed to die." The Hebrew behind this is in a form regularly used in the [[Hebrew Bible]] for issuing death sentences.{{sfn|Alter|2004|p=21}}

However, there are myriad modern scholarly interpretations regarding the term {{lang|hbo|הדעת טוב ורע}} (''Hada'at tov wa-ra'' "the knowledge of good and evil") in Genesis 2–3, such as wisdom, omniscience, sexual knowledge, moral discrimination, maturity, and other qualities. According to scholar Nathan French, the term likely means "the knowledge for administering reward and punishment," suggesting that the knowledge forbidden by [[Yahweh]] and yet acquired by the humans in Genesis 2–3 is the wisdom for wielding ultimate power.<ref>{{Cite book|last=French|first=Nathan S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LO0dEAAAQBAJ&q=a+theocentric+interpretation&pg=PP1|title=A Theocentric Interpretation of הדעת טוב ורע: The Knowledge of Good and Evil as the Knowledge for Administering Reward and Punishment|date=2021|others=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|isbn=978-3-525-56499-8|edition=1.|series=FRLANT 283|location=Göttingen|oclc=1226310726}}</ref>

==Religious views==

===Judaism===
Jewish sources suggest different possible identities for the tree: a fig tree (as fig leaves were used to clothe Adam and Eve after the sin), a grape vine (as "nothing brings wailing to the world like wine"), a stalk of wheat (as "a child does not know how to say Father and Mother until he tastes grain"),<ref>[[Babylonian Talmud]], [https://www.sefaria.org.il/Berakhot.40a.14?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en Berakhot 40a]</ref> an [[etrog]] (as the description in {{Bibleverse|Genesis|3:6|HE}} matches the etrog fruit's beautiful appearance,<ref>{{Alhatorah|Leviticus|23:40|Ramban}}</ref> or else the etrog tree's allegedly tasty [[Bark (botany)|bark]]<ref>[https://www.sefaria.org.il/Bereishit_Rabbah.15.7?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en Breishit Rabbah 15:7]</ref>), or a nut tree.<ref>[https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/1982723/jewish/Was-the-Forbidden-Fruit-Really-an-Apple.htm Was the Forbidden Fruit Really an Apple?]</ref>

In [[Jewish]] tradition, the Tree of Knowledge and the eating of its fruit represents the beginning of the mixture of good and evil together. Before that time, the two were separate, and evil had only a nebulous existence in potential. While free choice did exist before eating the fruit, evil existed as an entity separate from the human psyche, and it was not in human nature to desire it. Eating and internalizing the forbidden fruit changed this, and thus was born the {{Transliteration|he|[[yetzer hara]]}}, the evil inclination.<ref>Rashi to Genesis 2:25</ref><ref>Ramban to Genesis 3:6</ref>

According to [[Rashi]], the sin came about because Eve added an additional clause to the divine command: "Neither shall you touch it." By saying this, Eve added to [[Yahweh|YHWH's]] command, and thereby came to detract from it, as it is written: "Do not add to His Words" ({{bibleverse|Proverbs|30:6|HE}}).<ref>{{Alhatorah|Genesis|3:3|Rashi}}</ref> However, In ''[[Legends of the Jews]]'', it was Adam who had devoutly forbidden Eve to touch the tree even though God had only mentioned the eating of the fruit.<ref>Ginzberg, Louis (trans. Henrietta Szold, 1913). [https://archive.org/details/legendsofjews01ginz/page/72/mode/2up The Legends of the Jews, Vol. I]. Jewish Publication Society of America. p. 72.</ref>

According to one source, Eve also fed the fruit to the animals, leading to their mortality as well.<ref>[[Bereishit Rabbah]] 19:5</ref>

In the [[Kabbalah]], the sin of the Tree of Knowledge (called {{Transliteration|he|Cheit Eitz HaDa'at}}) brought about the great task of {{Transliteration|he|[[beirurim]]}}, sifting through the mixture of good and evil in the world to extract and liberate the sparks of holiness trapped therein.<ref>Epistle 26, Lessons in Tanya, Igeret HaKodesh</ref> Since evil no longer had independent existence, it henceforth depended on holiness to draw down the Divine life-force, on whose "leftovers" it then feeds and derives existence.<ref>ch. 22, Tanya, Likutei Amarim</ref> Once evil is separated from holiness through {{Transliteration|he|beirurim}}, its source of life is cut off, causing the evil to disappear. This is accomplished through observance of the [[613 commandments]] in the Torah, which deal primarily with physical objects wherein good and evil are mixed together.<ref>ch. 37, Lessons in Tanya, Likutei Amarim</ref><ref>Torah Ohr 3c</ref><ref>Torat Chaim Bereishit 30a</ref> The sin of the Tree caused God's presence ([[Shechinah]]) to depart from earth;<ref>Bereishit Rabbah 19:7; Ramban to Genesis 3:8</ref> in kabbalah, the task of {{Transliteration|he|beirurim}} rectifies the sin of the Tree and causes the Shechinah to return.

===Christianity===
[[Image:Orvieto061.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A marble [[bas relief]] by [[Lorenzo Maitani]] on the [[Orvieto Cathedral]], Italy, depicts Eve and the tree.]]
In Christian tradition, consuming the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was [[Original sin|the original sin]] committed by [[Adam and Eve]] that led to the [[fall of man]] in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 3.

[[Augustine of Hippo]] taught that the "tree" should be understood both symbolically and as a real tree – similarly to Jerusalem being both a real city and a figure of [[Heavenly Jerusalem]].<ref>Augustine, ''On the Literal Meaning of Genesis'' (''[[De Genesi ad litteram]]''), VIII, 4.8; Bibliothèque Augustinniene 49, 20</ref> Augustine underlined that the fruits of that tree were not evil by themselves, because everything that God created "was good" ({{bibleverse|Genesis|1:12}}). It was disobedience of [[Adam]] and [[Eve]], who had been told by God not to eat off the tree ({{bibleverse|Genesis|2:17}}), that caused disorder in the creation,<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''On the Literal Meaning of Genesis'' (''De Genesi ad litteram''), VIII, 6.12 and 13.28, Bibliothèque Augustinniene 49,28 and 50–52; [[Patrologia Latina|PL]] 34, 377; cf. idem, ''De Trinitate'', XII, 12.17; [[Corpus Christianorum|CCL]] 50, 371–372 [v. 26–31;1–36]; ''De natura boni'' 34–35; [[CSEL]] 25, 872; PL 42, 551–572</ref> thus humanity inherited sin and guilt from Adam and Eve's sin.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/120113.htm |title=The City of God (Book XIII), Chapter 14 |publisher=Newadvent.org |access-date=2014-02-07}}</ref>

In Western Christian art, the fruit of the tree is commonly depicted as the [[Apple (symbolism)|apple]], which originated in [[central Asia]]. This depiction may have originated as a Latin pun: by eating the {{lang|la|mālum}} (apple), Eve contracted {{lang|la|malum}} (evil).<ref name="dope">{{cite web|url=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2682/was-the-forbidden-fruit-in-the-garden-of-eden-an-apple|title=The Straight Dope: Was the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden an apple?|access-date=2008-10-06|last=Adams|first=Cecil|author-link=Cecil Adams|date=2006-11-24|work=The Straight Dope|publisher=Creative Loafing Media, Inc.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Martyris |first1=Nina |title='Paradise Lost': How The Apple Became The Forbidden Fruit |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/04/30/526069512/paradise-lost-how-the-apple-became-the-forbidden-fruit |website=NPR.com |date=30 April 2017 |publisher=NPR |access-date=2 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Applebaum |first1=Robert |title=Aguecheek's Beef, Belch's Hiccup, and Other Gastronomic Interjections |url=https://www.thescottsmithblog.com/2018/03/did-you-know-fruit-of-tree-of-knowledge.html |publisher=University of Chicago Press |access-date=2 July 2022}}</ref> According to the Bible, there is nothing to show the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was necessarily an apple.<ref>https://biblehub.com/topical/a/apple.htm, Retrieved 2023-01-01.</ref>

===Gnosticism===
Uniquely, the [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] religion held that the tree was entirely positive or even sacred. Per this saga, it was the [[Archon (Gnosticism)|archons]] who told Adam and Eve not to eat from its fruit, before lying to them by claiming they would die after tasting it. Later in the story, an instructor is sent from the [[Pleroma#Gnosticism|Pleroma]] by the [[Aeon (Gnosticism)|aeons]] to save humanity and reveal [[gnosis]]. This savior does so by telling Adam and Eve that eating the fruit is the way into salvation. Examples of the narrative can be found within the Gnostic manuscripts [[On the Origin of the World]] and the [[Secret Book of John]].<ref>{{cite book |author=James M. Robinson |author-link=James M. Robinson |title=The Nag Hammadi Scriptures |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ebxHP6RPNTUC |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |date=2007 |chapter=5-9 |isbn=9780060523787}}</ref>

[[Manichaeism]], which has been considered a Gnostic sect,<ref>{{cite book |author1=Roel van den Broek |author-link=Roel van den Broek |author2=Wouter Hanegraaff |author2-link=Wouter Hanegraaff |title=Gnosis and Hermeticism From Antiquity to Modern Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0zfCrnqj_FUC |publisher=SUNY Press |date=1998 |page=37 |isbn=9780791436110}}</ref> echoes these notions as well, presenting the primordial aspect of [[Jesus]] as the instructor.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Heuser |first1=Manfred |last2=Klimkeit |first2=Hans-Joachim |title=Studies in Manichaean Literature and Art |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ThDJMif8T5sC |publisher=BRILL |date=1998 |page=60 |isbn=9789004107168}}</ref>

===Islam===
{{see also|Tree of life (Quran)}}
The [[Quran]] never refers to the tree as the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" but rather typically refers to it as "the tree" or (in the words of [[Iblis]]) as the "tree of immortality."<ref>Quran 20:120</ref> Muslims believe that when God created Adam and Eve, he told them that they could enjoy everything in the Garden except this tree and so [[Devil (Islam)|Satan]] appeared to them, telling them the only reason God forbade them to eat from the tree was that they would become [[Islamic view of angels|angels]] or immortal.<ref>Quran 7:20</ref>

When they ate from this tree, their nakedness appeared to them, and they began to sew together leaves from the Garden for their covering.<ref>Quran 7:22</ref> The Quran mentions the sin as being a 'slip'.<ref>Quran 2:36</ref> Consequently, they repented to God and asked for his forgiveness,<ref>Quran 7:23</ref> and were forgiven.<ref>Quran 2:37</ref> In Islamic tradition, the forbidden fruit is not specified in the Quran and according to Sunni beleif. In the Shia tradition, the forbidden fruit is considered wheat or barley, not an apple as within Western Christian tradition<ref>Texts in Transit in the Medieval Mediterranean. (2016). USA: Penn State University Press.</ref>.

In Quran [[Al-A'raf]] 27, God states:
{{blockquote|[O] Children of Adam! Let not Satan tempt you as he brought your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their garments to show them their shameful parts. Surely he [Satan] sees you, he and his tribe, from where you see them not. We have made the Satans the friends of those who do not believe.}}

==Similar depictions in Akkadian seal==
A [[cylinder seal]], known as the [[Adam and Eve cylinder seal]], from post-[[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] periods in [[Mesopotamia]] ({{circa|23rd – 22nd}} century BCE) has been linked to the [[Adam and Eve]] story. [[Assyriology|Assyriologist]] [[George Smith (Assyriologist)|George Smith]] (1840–1876) described the seal as having two facing figures (male and female) seated on each side of a tree, holding out their hands to the fruit, while between their backs is a serpent, giving evidence that the [[fall of man]] account was known in early times of [[Babylonia]].<ref name="Temptation Seal">{{cite book|last=Mitchell|first=T.C.|title=The Bible in the British Museum: interpreting the evidence|year=2004|publisher=Paulist Press|location=New York|isbn=9780809142927|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U5f4EO5t8BYC&q=temptation+seal|edition=New|page=24}}</ref>

The [[British Museum]] disputes this interpretation, and holds that it is a common image from the period depicting a male deity being worshipped by a woman, with no reason to connect the scene with the Book of Genesis.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/adam-and-eve-cylinder-seal/JgFYWzVXpBoYoQ |title='Adam and Eve' cylinder seal |author=The British Museum |publisher=Google Cultural Institute |access-date=2017-04-06}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Adam and Eve (Latter Day Saint movement)]]
* ''[[Dream of the Rood]]''
* [[Original sin]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book|last=Alter|first=Robert. A translation with commentary|title=The five books of Moses|url=https://archive.org/details/fivebooksofmoses00alte|url-access=registration|year=2004|publisher=W.W. Norton|location=New York|isbn=0-393-33393-0|author-link=Robert Alter}}
* {{cite book|last=Knight|first=Douglas|title=Mercer dictionary of the Bible|year=1990|publisher=[[Mercer University Press]]|location=Macon, GA|isbn=0-86554-402-6|edition=2d corr. print.|editor=Watson E. Mills}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Tree of knowledge|Tree of the knowledge of good and evil}}

{{Adam and Eve}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil}}
[[Category:Adam and Eve]]
[[Category:Biblical phrases]]
[[Category:Christian mythology]]
[[Category:Jewish mysticism]]
[[Category:Jewish mythology]]
[[Category:Trees in Christianity]]
[[Category:Garden of Eden]]
[[Category:Kabbalistic words and phrases]]
[[Category:Satan]]