The tree of knowledge of good and evil in Hebrew?

Question

In Hebrew, was the tree of knowledge of good and evil a metaphor? I know that Satan being called a serpent was -- go to http://www.biblestudysite.com/19.htm to see more about it -- but what about this tree? Was it an actual tree or is this to a figure of speech? Help on this would be great.

Answer 1

mosaic law forbids the worship of trees/vegetation. representations (such as the menora) are therefore used in stead.



The key jewish text for interpretation of the tree of good and evil is genesis 3:20, where God recognizes that the human, having eaten of the tree, knows good and evil. Jewish tradition views the serpent, and sometimes the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil itself, as representatives of evil.



Rabbi David Fohrman (Hoffberger Foundation for Torah Studies) states that "the tree did not give us moral awareness when we had none before. Rather, it transformed this awareness from one kind into another." After eating from the Tree, humanity's innate sense of moral awareness was transformed from concepts of true and false to concepts of good and evil.



Genesis describes the tree as desirable (3:6), and our concepts of good and evil, unlike our concepts of true and false, also have an implicit measure of desire.

Answer 2

This. is presented as truth

In the garden were beautiful, lush trees, including the elusive "tree of life" and "tree of the knowledge of good and evil," as well as a river with four "headwaters." Care is given to locate the rivers and to describe the lands through which they flowed. The lands were rich in gold and precious jewels, and their location was closely aligned with the land later promised to Abraham and his descendants. Later on associations were made between the Garden of Eden and the land promised to the fathers (cf. Isa 51:3; Eze 36:35; Joel 2:3).

The forbidden tree is the tree of the knowledge of "good and evil." When the woman and the man took of the tree and ate, it was because she "saw that the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom" (v. 6). Thus even the serpent is represented as a paragon of wisdom, an archetypical wise man. However, the serpent and his wisdom lead ultimately to the curse (v. 14). It should not be overlooked that the serpent is said to be one of the "wild animals" that God had made (cf. 1:25; 2:19). It was not a supernatural being.



c. The temptation (3:2-7)



2-7 The story of the temptation is told with subtle simplicity. The snake speaks only twice, but that is enough to offset the balance of trust and obedience between the man and the woman and their Creator. The centerpiece of the story is the question of the knowledge of the "good and evil." The snake implied that God was keeping this knowledge from the man and the woman, while the sense of the narratives in the first two chapters has been that God was keeping this knowledge for the man and the woman (e.g., 1:4, 10, 12, et al.). In other words, the snake's statements are a direct challenge to the central theme that God will provide the "good" for the human race if they will only trust and obey him.

The woman's thoughts in the last moments before the Fall were that she "saw that the . . . tree was good." Up until now the expression has only been used of God. Thus the temptation is not presented as a general rebellion from God's authority but rather a quest for wisdom and "the good" (GK H3202) apart from God's provision. How quickly the transgression comes once the decision has been made! The thrust of the story, with all its simplicity, lies in its tragic and ironic depiction of the search for wisdom. Ironically, that which the snake promised did, in fact, come about: the man and the woman became "like God" as soon as they ate of the fruit. The irony, however, lies in the fact that they were already "like God" because they had been created in his image (1:26).

The possibility that they would know only the "evil" and not the "good" is not raised in the narrative prior to their eating the fruit. Yet when they ate of the fruit and their eyes were opened, it was not the "good" that they saw and enjoyed. Their new knowledge was that of their own nakedness. Their knowledge of "good and evil" that was to make them "like God" resulted in the knowledge that they were no longer even like each other: they were ashamed of their nakedness, and they sewed leaves together to hide their differences from each other. They sought wisdom, but found only vanity and toil

Answer 3

In Genesis 2:8 it's talking about the garden that God made and it describes it as the "garden of pleasure" from the Hebrew word Gan-be'E'dhen. From that we can discern that this was a literal place. Therefore since the next part was about the tree that God placed in the middle of this garden we can see that it was literal, although they did have figurative uses.



In the garden of Eden, God employed two trees for symbolic purposes: “the tree of life” and “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.” Failure to respect God’s decree concerning the latter brought man’s fall.—Ge 2:9, 16, 17; 3:1-24.



The significance of “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad” and of the restriction placed on its fruit has often been incorrectly viewed as relating to the sexual act between the first human pair. This view is contradicted by God’s plain command to them as male and female to “be fruitful and become many and fill the earth.” (Ge 1:28) Rather, by standing for “the knowledge of good and bad” and by God’s pronouncement decreeing it to be out-of-bounds for the human pair, the tree became a symbol of God’s right to determine or set the standards for man as to what is “good” (approved by God) and what is “bad” (condemned by God). It thus constituted a test of man’s respect for his Creator’s position and his willingness to remain within the area of freedom decreed by God, an area that was by no means cramped and that allowed for the greatest enjoyment of human life. Therefore, to violate the boundaries of the prohibited area by eating of “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad” would be an invasion of or a revolt against God’s domain and authority.

Answer 4

I'm not sure I'd put a lot of stock in your source. There's nothing, Biblically, to suggest the serpent of Genesis was not an actual snake, and in the NT we are told that Satan was that snake, but it was not Satan, but the snake, that God cursed to crawl on its belly. I do not believe the Tree was a metaphor, because in Revelation it is said to be in Heaven by God's throne.



God has told us not to look for hidden meanings in His word, and I would be wary of someone who says they've found them. In most places where something is metaphorical we are told that it is or it is plain from the text that it is. That's not the case in Genesis, nor in any other place within the Pentituch.

Answer 5

the tree of knowledge of good and evil was put in the garden of Eden as a test for Adam and eve. God told them that they could eat off any tree except from the tree of knowledge however they disobeyed him by eating the forbidden fruit with the encouragement of the devil and sin entered the world. so the tree was most definitely real!

Answer 6

We don't have a unified answer for this question, although I'd guess that most Jews believe it is a metaphor. Personally, I think it's a metaphor for wisdom. The story goes, that Adam and Eve grew up in their father's garden. When they reached puberty, they became embarrassed and needed to cover themselves. Their father wanted them to become independent and wise slowly by learning through life's experiences -- not by deciding that they had somehow learned all they needed to know. By this time, it is time for them to go out in the world of reality to learn, become wise, and to use self-restraint by learning from life's hard knocks. They do this, knowing all the while that their father is always there for comfort, guidance, and support. All that's necessary is that they ask!

.

Answer 7

It was a real tree,, And God said not to eat from it,, But Satan tempted Eve,, and so sin was born,, it was Satan that brought this on,, But people always want to blame God for evil,, instead of blaming Satan..

Answer 8

Many people believe it is a figure of speech. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_Knowledge_of_Good_and_Evil#In_Judaism

I am inclined to believe that it was a real tree giving them the double vision of good and evil. Just like the bread and the wine in the last supper.

Answer 9

The tree was an entity/serpent/devil etc....the tree of life is Yeshua...tree of knowledge of good and evil/sin is the devil...adam and eve took of it..no apple mentioned....shortly after they know their sex parts and cover them...hmmmmmm...then God says to the serpent/devil I will emnity between THY/serpent seed and the woman's/eve's seed....where did the serpent now have a seed planted? hmmmmmm

Answer 10

Who really knows? I quess unless there is some actual data that specifically states whether it was an actually tree or not I guess you either believe that it was an actual true or you don't.