See (Genesis 2-4) The tree of the knowledge of good and evil (more simply the tree of knowledge, Hebrew: עֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע, Etz haDaat tov V'ra) is one of two 'magical' trees in the story of the Garden of Eden.[1].
The Eden story, which takes up chapters 2 to 4 of the Book of Genesis, tells how God creates the first man and puts him in a paradise-garden in Eden (which may be the mythological garden on the sacred mountain of Zion). Before making the first woman God tells the man that he may eat the fruit of any of the trees in the garden except that of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God then forms the first woman (named Eve, meaning "Mother of All Living"), and Genesis 2 ends with a note that the man and woman "were naked and felt no shame". A talking snake subsequently tempts the woman to eat the fruit with the promise of knowledge; the woman and the man both eat, become aware of their nakedness, and make coverings for themselves; and God, aware that the first humans now have knowledge, banishes them from the garden lest they eat from the Tree of Life and become like the gods.
It is not clear what kind of knowledge is involved, but the three major candidates are: (1) knowledge of everything, through the mental capacities which lead to human culture; (2) moral capacity; and (3) sexual knowledge, since the man and woman recognise their nakedness on eating the fruit.[2]
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Gordon and Rendsburg[3] have suggested that the phrase "טוֹב וָרָע", translated good and evil, is a merism, i.e. a figure of speech whereby a pair of opposites are used together to create the meaning all or everything (as in the English phrase, "they searched high and low", meaning that they searched everywhere). They conjecture, therefore that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil means tree of all knowledge. This meaning can be brought out by the alternative translations tree of the knowledge of good and of evil (the word of not being expressed in the Hebrew) or tree of knowledge, both good and evil. The phrase occurs twice as applied to the tree, Genesis 2:9, Genesis 2:17. It also occurs twice as describing the knowledge gained Genesis 3:5 and Genesis 3:22 where it may be translated perhaps with knowledge, both good and evil.
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 potentia. While free choice (apparently) 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 yeitzer hara, the Evil Inclination.[4][5]
Rashi notes[6] that the first sin came about because Eve added an additional clause to the Divine command:
Kabbalah explains that the sin of the Tree of Knowledge (called Cheit Eitz HaDa'at) brought about the great task of beirurim, of sifting through the mixture of good and evil in the world, to extract and liberate the sparks of holiness trapped therein.[7] Since evil has no independent existence, it depends on holiness to draw down the Divine life-force, on whose "leftovers" it then feeds and derives existence.[8] Once evil is separated from holiness through 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.[9][10][11] Thus, the task of beirurim rectifies the sin of the Tree and draws the Shechinah back down to earth, where the sin of the Tree had caused Her to depart.[12][13]
In Christian theology, the tree of knowledge is connected to the doctrine of original sin (Gen 2:17 and 3:1-24).
Catholic interpretation goes back to Augustine of Hippo, who 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. Another example was Sarah and Hagar, real persons representing two covenants: Old and New (Gal 4,24n).[14] Augustine underlined that the fruits of that tree were not evil by themselves, because everything that God created was good (Gen 1:12). It was disobedience of Adam and Eve, who had been told by God not to eat of the tree (Gen 2:17), that was obnoxious and caused disorder in the creation.[15] Augustine also taught that humanity inherited sin itself and the guilt for Adam and Eve's sin.[16]
This doctrine of inherited guilt was accepted by the Roman Catholic Church at various Councils, including Carthage (418), Second Council of Orange (529), and Council of Trent (1546).[17] Catechism published after Second Vatican Council states clearly that Adam and Eve's "human nature deprived of original holiness and justice" is "transmitted by propagation to all mankind" (CCC 404). Consequences of the original sin, which remain in the human nature even after baptism, are not bound to sexual dimension alone, but "it can refer to any intense form of human desire ... It unsettles man's moral faculties and, without being itself an offence, inclines man to commit sins" (CCC 2515).[18] By eating of the fruit of the tree, Adam and Eve sought to be like God.
This is the human condition vividly described by the Book of Genesis when it tells us that God placed the human being in the Garden of Eden, in the middle of which there stood “the tree of knowledge of good and evil” (2:17). The symbol is clear: man was in no position to discern and decide for himself what was good and what was evil, but was constrained to appeal to a higher source. The blindness of pride deceived our first parents into thinking themselves sovereign and autonomous, and into thinking that they could ignore the knowledge which comes from God. From that time onwards the human capacity to know the truth was impaired by an aversion to the One who is the source and origin of truth. St. Paul reveals just how far human thinking, because of sin, became “empty”, and human reasoning became distorted and inclined to falsehood (cf. Rom 1:21-22). The eyes of the mind were no longer able to see clearly: reason became more and more a prisoner to itself. The coming of Christ was the saving event which redeemed reason from its weakness, setting it free from the shackles in which it had imprisoned itself. [19]
Some Christians debate over the Western doctrine of original sin and the Eastern doctrine of ancestral sin.[20] There is a minority of Christians that affirm the doctrine of Pelagianism, which believes every individual faces the same choice between sin and salvation that Adam and Eve faced and that ultimately each person can by themselves and without God's assistance (grace) overcome sin or temptation. There are some non-denominational Christians who do not accept the idea of original sin, because they believe that we are not born into sin, we are born into a sinful world. Therefore children are innocent until an age of accountability and the decision to accept Jesus Christ is possible with full understanding. Illuminism as per gnostic mysticism has been associated with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. To the Christian, the tree of life is Jesus Christ, and not by higher knowledge, but only by faith in the atonement brought by His blood, true life in Him can be found and restored.
The Qur'an doesn't name this tree and it is always referred to as "the tree". Muslims believe that when God created Adam and Eve, He told them that they could enjoy everything in the Garden but this tree, and so, Satan appeared to them and told them that the only reason God forbade them to eat from that tree is that they would become Angels or become immortals.
When they ate from this tree their nakedness appeared to them and they began to sew together, for their covering, leaves from the Garden. As a result of their sin, they were removed from heaven and placed on Earth to live and die. Consequently, they repented to God and asked for his forgiveness and were forgiven. It was decided that those who obey God and follow his path shall be rewarded with everlasting life in Heaven, and those who disobey God and stray away from his path shall be punished in Hell.
God in Quran (Al-A'raf 27) states: "[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 trees appear in other religions. Stories with male, female, serpent, and tree can be found depicted on Mesopotamian cylinder seals dating as far back as 2200 B.C. But they are very unlikely to constitute a source for the author of Genesis because they do not connect very well with the Genesis account.[21] According to Toledoth Hypothesis, sources probably did exist for the writing of Genesis that extend into history even earlier than 2200 B.C. but they would have belonged to someone in the genealogical line of Abraham. In the closest, most relevant comparison, the iconic image of the tree guarded by the Serpent appears on Sumerian seals; much later, it is the central feature of the Garden of the Hesperides in Greek mythology, where the guardian serpent receives the name Ladon.
In Indian Mythology the Tree Similar to the Tree Of Knowledge is known as Kalpvruksh and can grant any wish.
In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is an immense tree that is central in Norse cosmology. It was said to be the world tree around which the nine worlds existed. Its name is generally considered to mean "Ygg's (Odin's) horse".
According to the Theosophical teachings, eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents the point in evolution when humanity acquired a mind and self-consciousness. This made human beings recognize themselves as individuals, symbolized by Adam and Eve becoming aware of their nakedness. Being expelled from Eden is a symbol of the fact that, by acquiring a mind, humanity steps outside the realm of animals, which are taken care of by Nature. Human beings now have to work to build shelter and to get food. Besides now having the ability to distinguish between good and evil, humans became responsible for their actions. In this view, being expelled from Eden is the natural result of evolution and not a punishment, and a necessary step to awaken the spiritual consciousness through self-directed efforts.
According to some, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis may mean the beginning of dualistic thinking, and the Garden of Eden represents the previous spiritual world, a world of enlightened mankind, a world of oneness. Ishmael, a 1992 novel by Daniel Quinn, discusses the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as representing the story of the Fall Of Man.
The pseudepigraphic Book of Enoch 31:4, dating from the last few centuries before Christ and purporting to be by the antediluvian prophet Enoch, describes the tree of knowledge: "It was like a species of the Tamarind tree, bearing fruit which resembled grapes extremely fine; and its fragrance extended to a considerable distance. I exclaimed, How beautiful is this tree, and how delightful is its appearance!"
In the Talmud, several opinions are proposed as to the identity of the fruit:
In Western Christian art, the fruit of the tree is commonly depicted as the apple, which originated in central Asia. This depiction may have originated as a Latin pun: by eating the malum (apple), Eve contracted mālum (evil).[26] or simply because of religious artists' poetic licence.
Proponents of the theory that the Garden of Eden was located somewhere in what is known now as the Middle East suggest that the fruit was actually a pomegranate, partly because it was native in the region.[27] This ties in with the Greek myth of Persephone, where her consumption of four pomegranate seeds leads to her having to spend time in Hades.
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