Tree of good and evil?

Question

This isn't so much about Adam and Eve eatting from the tree. But Why did God need a fruit tree? What if Adam and Eve HADN'T eatten from the tree, would the fruit have rotted, and fell to the ground?

Answer 1

A knowledge of Aramaic idioms is very helpful in this case, the language of the time.

1) It was called the Tree of the KNOWLEDGE of Good and Evil.
2) "Tree" is a metaphor for the body of knowledge.
3) "To partake of", "to eat of" means to make it part of yourself.

This was actually a common idiom of the time, and people were told many stories involving "trees" and the eating thereof.

Look at Adam and Eve's behavior before they ate of the tree, and then look at their behavior afterward. Before, they had no knowledge or good and evil, after, they did.

Was it because they were blind before?

Or did they blind themselves with the eating?

Answer 2

God didn't need the tree. He wasn't being selfish when He told Adam and Eve not to eat from it. God was asking for obedience. They had all the fruit trees, and other plants to eat from, but they were just not supposed to eat from the one, it was a way to show that they weren't God, as in they weren't the most important being in the universe. Unfortunantly we humans don't quite agree with that point of view, and when they were tempted with the opertunity to become God-like they took it, as i believe we all would. <><

Answer 3

And then the animals would have eaten the fruit that fell to the ground, and we'd have a bunch of sinful cows and dogs and llamas and bears and things. Or the seeds would have started to grow in to little knowledge trees. Or maybe, since it was right next to the tree of life, their roots were entwined, and it was able to suck eternal life off the tree of life like a parasite.

Go drink some cough syrup and get some sleep, please!

Answer 4

Fruits have seeds, if the fruit fell to the ground, another tree would grow and if Adam and Eve never ate, one of their decendants eventually would eat.

Answer 5

You have to understand that Genesis was not written by 21st century Americans. It wasn't written by our yuppies. It wasn't written by our intellectuals. Etc.

Moses was the first Hebrew to write these stories. Before him, they were an oral tradition preserved by the tribe elders. Before slavery in Egypt, for many centuries the Hebrews lived much like the Native Americans (before the Europeans came to America).

Here's a shocker- there was no TV. There was no internet. People sat around the campfire and told stories. There IS wisdom in the story of the tree of good and evil.

Right now you are so far out that I can't even begin to explain it to you.

If you seriously do want to understand Genesis, read up on ancient Hebrew history and culture. And then try to imagine yourself with other tribe members around a campfire late at nite LISTENING to these stories.

GOD bless you.
Shoe

Answer 6

Yes, the tree needs people or animals to eat the fruit to spread the seed. Of course, humans rarely eat the seed know a days, but you can imagine a larger animal standing on their hind legs and shoveling down fruit and seed together.

Answer 7

If they hadn't eaten from the tree they would've stayed in the Garden of Eden and no evil or death would've entered the world.

Answer 8

Have you ever heard of symbolism, metaphors, or analogies? But, yes, if the "fruit" had not been eaten, it would have eventually rotted and gone away. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Peace.

Answer 9

Maybe it is just a story to explain why gods and people are different.

Answer 10

This is a story to try to explain people who questions, why we have good and bad with us.