In the previous post we looked at the account of the formation of the man from the dust of the ground. We saw there that humans are intrinsically linked to the earth and that we are given a vocation that is related to the earth. As we consider the next couple of verse, we are introduced to the garden within which God places the man. And we are introduced to two trees that we will attempt to understand in this post.

Hebrew text:

8 וַיִּטַּ֞ע יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהִ֛ים גַּן־בְעֵ֖דֶן מִקֶּ֑דֶם וַיָּ֣שֶׂם שָׁ֔ם אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָצָֽר׃

9 וַיַּצְמַ֞ח יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹהִים֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה כָּל־עֵ֛ץ נֶחְמָ֥ד לְמַרְאֶ֖ה וְט֣וֹב לְמַאֲכָ֑ל וְעֵ֤ץ הַֽחַיִּים֙ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַגָּ֔ן וְעֵ֕ץ הַדַּ֖עַת ט֥וֹב וָרָֽע׃

Transliteration:

8 way·yiṭ·ṭa‘  Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hîm  gan- bə·‘ê·ḏen miq·qe·ḏem;  way·yā·śem šām, ’eṯ- hā·’ā·ḏām  ’ă·šer yā·ṣār.

9 way·yaṣ·maḥ  Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hîm  min- hā·’ă·ḏā·māh, kāl-  ‘êṣ neḥ·māḏ lə·mar·’eh wə·ṭō·wḇ  lə·ma·’ă·ḵāl; wə·‘êṣ ha·ḥay·yîm bə·ṯō·wḵ  hag·gān, wə·‘êṣ had·da·‘aṯ ṭō·wḇ wā·rā‘.

NIV:

8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Study:

The NIV unfortunately, and probably in an attempt to harmonize the second account of creation with the first, refers to the planting of the garden in a past perfect tense stating that “the Lord God had planted a garden.” However, the Hebrew וַיִּטַּע (way·yiṭ·ṭa‘) incorporates a simple past tense and the phrase should be rendered as “the Lord God planted a garden” indicating a sequence following from the formation of the man.

The text now indicates that God made all kinds of trees grow. The mechanism is not specified in v. 9. However, v. 8 declares that God planted a garden. So the text visualizes God as a gardener, working the ground to make it fruitful. This is also the task God later gives the man (v. 15).

And we are introduced to two trees – the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What are these trees? First, given the symbolic nature of the text, we should avoid trying to insist that these are literal trees. Rather, the two trees symbolize some crucial elements about the nature of life in the garden and we should attempt to understand what they may be.

Later, when the man and the woman are banished from the garden, God states, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” (Genesis 3.22) This seems to indicate that humans were created mortal for the man needed to eat from the tree of life in order to live forever. This runs contrary to the teaching of many Christian leaders who insist that humans were created immortal and became mortal when they sinned as described in Genesis 3. However, this owes more to the teachings of Plato than it does to those of the bible. If the humans were banished from the garden so that they would not eat from the tree of life and live forever, the plain conclusion is that without access to the tree of life humans are mortal. The tree of life, then, is something that allows humans to avoid the decay toward death, thereby living forever. What exactly it is is impossible to determine. In fact, it shows up even in Revelation 22.2, where it is described in a quite fantastical manner and is said to be there ‘for the healing of the nations’, whatever that means.

The second tree has a longer name. It is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We will look at the prohibition about eating from this tree in a later post that deals with Genesis 2.15-17. For this post, I want to focus on what this tree is. Now, we must be careful to use the full name of this tree lest we misunderstand what its purpose is. It is not the tree of knowledge, which would indicate that, having given each of us an intellect, God prohibits us from using it. God does not gift us with something only to deny us its use. Neither is it the tree of good and evil, as though the tree itself gives access to both good and evil. We must remember that God has created this tree. And he did not create anything evil. Hence, this tree cannot be a tree that gives access to good and evil.

It is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The knowledge of good and evil is a moral or ethical knowledge. If I, in a certain situation, possess the knowledge of good and evil, it means that I am able to determine which courses of action are good and which are evil. It means that I have knowledge to decide on the moral choice to make and the ethical path to take. And just as eating from the tree of life would allow me to life forever, eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would give me the knowledge of good and evil in every situation.

But this is not knowledge that is suitable for humans. We are limited beings. I can barely sort through my own priorities. How could I assume that I would possess sufficient insight to make a decision that would be moral for everyone? To eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is to claim for myself the knowledge of knowing what is right and what is wrong not just for myself but for everyone and in every situation. This is truly something that is the prerogative of God and is not something that humans should aspire for.

Why then was this tree in the garden? The humans were permitted to eat from the tree of life. And the text tells us that God made “trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.” And the humans were permitted to consume any of those fruits. But why did God place this tree with its forbidden fruit in this pristine garden? What purpose did it serve if humans were not supposed to eat from it? We know from Genesis 3 that it provided the occasion with which the serpent tempted the humans. Was that the only reason it was there? Had the serpent not chosen to tempt the humans using the tree, would it have proven to be inconsequential?

I think not. I think, rather, that the tree was in the garden to underscore an important lesson – finitude needs boundaries. The tree was in the garden to encourage restraint on the part of the finite humans.

You see, the first humans had a massive vocation. They had to tend to this garden and care for the plants and animals that God had made them responsible for. This is no small task. Given the sheer number of species we are talking about, this was more than sufficient to occupy all the time of the first humans. They had been created to exercise the authority God had reposed in them. They had been entrusted with the task of governing the earth. They just did not have time for anything else! Yet, as we will see later, the placement of a boundary itself was sufficient to make them feel deprived when they had been placed in the most idyllic locale possible.

The presence of the tree raised the question: “Will you be satisfied with all the good things you have or will you allow the one prohibition to eat at your soul?”

Prayer:

Our gracious, almighty Father. You have given us so many good things. You have showered us will blessings we can barely begin to count. Yet, in your wisdom, you have placed boundaries for us – boundaries we are not to cross, not because you are a grudging God, but because what lies beyond the boundaries is detrimental to us. We ask you to enable us to recognize the boundaries you have placed in our lives and to respect them. We ask you to lead us into your eternal life. And we ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.