Tree of the knowledge of good and evil

"And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow … the tree of knowledge of good and evil." (Genesis 2:9)

The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a tree in the story of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2–3, which God had forbidden Adam to eat a fruit from.

Quotes

Hebrew Bible

• וַיַּצְמַח יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים מִן־הָאֲדָמָה כׇּל־עֵץ נֶחְמָד לְמַרְאֶה וְטוֹב לְמַאֲכָל וְעֵץ הַחַיִּים בְּתוֹךְ הַגָּן וְעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע׃
  • Genesis 2:9 (MT)
  • Translation:
    • And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
      • KJV translation

• הֲמִן־הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִיךָ לְבִלְתִּי אֲכׇל־מִמֶּנּוּ אָכָלְתָּ׃
  • Genesis 3:11 (MT)
  • Translation:
    • Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
      • KJV translation

• וַיֹּאמֶר הָאָדָם הָאִשָּׁה אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּה עִמָּדִי הִוא נָתְנָה־לִּי מִן־הָעֵץ וָאֹכֵל׃
  • Genesis 3:12 (MT)
  • Translation:
    • And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
      • KJV translation

• וַתֹּאמֶר הָאִשָּׁה הַנָּחָשׁ הִשִּׁיאַנִי וָאֹכֵל׃
  • Genesis 3:13 (MT)
  • Translation:
    • And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
      • KJV translation

Commentary

"Impatience to remain any longer in ignorance of evil would be but the beginning of the long train of actual evil." (Saint Gregory of Nyssa)

• When we have torn off the coatings of this life's perishable leaves, we must stand again in the sight of our Creator; and repelling all the illusion of taste and sight, take for our guide God's commandment only, instead of the venom-spitting serpent. That commandment was, to touch nothing but what was Good, and to leave what was evil untasted; because impatience to remain any longer in ignorance of evil would be but the beginning of the long train of actual evil. For this reason it was forbidden to our first parents to grasp the knowledge of the opposite to the good, as well as that of the good itself; they were to keep themselves from "the knowledge of good and evil," and to enjoy the Good in its purity, unmixed with one particle of evil.
  • Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On Virginity, Chapter 12

See also

• Evil
• Genesis
• Good
• Knowledge
• Tree of life (biblical)