Tree of the knowledge of good and evil

Lore & Background

In Genesis 2, God places Adam in a garden with many trees but forbids him to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, warning that doing so would bring death. After Eve is formed, a serpent persuades her to eat the forbidden fruit, and she gives it to Adam. As a result, God expels them from the garden. Unlike the tree of life, this tree does not appear elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible or in other ancient Semitic cultures, though the phrase 'knowledge of good and evil' occurs in other biblical passages.

The Hebrew phrase 'tov wa-raʿ' literally means 'good and evil' and may be a merism, a figure of speech pairing opposites to imply 'everything.' Some scholars interpret the tree as imparting knowledge of all things, not necessarily moral concepts. Other interpretations include wisdom, omniscience, sexual knowledge, moral discrimination, maturity, or, according to scholar Nathan French, 'the knowledge for administering reward and punishment.' Robert Alter notes that God's warning uses a Hebrew form regularly employed for issuing death sentences.

Jewish sources suggest various identities for the tree: a fig tree, grape vine, stalk of wheat, etrog, or nut tree. In Jewish tradition, eating the fruit mixed good and evil together, creating the yetzer hara (evil inclination). In Christianity, it is considered the original sin that led to the fall of man. Augustine of Hippo taught that the tree was both symbolic and real, and that the fruit itself was not evil—disobedience was the sin. Gnosticism viewed the tree positively, as a source of salvation, while in Islam the tree is called the 'tree of immortality' and the sin is considered a 'slip' for which Adam and Eve repented and were forgiven.

Reader's Guide

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil holds central significance in Abrahamic religions as the catalyst for humanity's loss of innocence and expulsion from paradise. In Judaism, its fruit introduced the mixture of good and evil into human nature, giving rise to the yetzer hara and the task of beirurim—sifting holiness from evil through observance of the Torah's commandments. In Christianity, the consumption of its fruit constitutes original sin, which Augustine of Hippo interpreted as an act of disobedience that brought disorder to creation and inherited guilt to humanity. Gnostic traditions reversed this view, portraying the tree as a source of divine knowledge (gnosis) that liberates humanity from the archons' deception. The tree's legacy extends into art and language: Western Christian art commonly depicts its fruit as an apple, possibly from a Latin pun (mālum meaning apple, malum meaning evil), though the Bible does not specify the fruit. The tree also appears in a post-Akkadian cylinder seal from Mesopotamia (c. 23rd–22nd century BCE), which some scholars link to the Eden story, though the British Museum disputes this interpretation. Across traditions, the tree symbolizes the boundary between divine command and human choice, and the consequences of seeking forbidden knowledge.

Did You Know?

• Some scholars have argued that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is just another name for the tree of life.
• The Hebrew phrase 'tov wa-raʿ' (good and evil) may be a merism meaning 'everything,' similar to the Egyptian expression 'evil-good.'
• In Jewish tradition, the tree has been identified as a fig tree, grape vine, stalk of wheat, etrog, or nut tree.
• An Akkadian cylinder seal from Mesopotamia (c. 23rd–22nd century BCE) has been linked to the Adam and Eve story, though the British Museum notes that the identification is speculative and not widely accepted.