Not a smartass Religious Question?

Question

Why is the fruit eaten by Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden always referred to as an apple, even though it is never mentioned in the Bible?

The What Shoudl I do Reatrd- I never said it was a dumbass i question, i just said it was not a smartass question like most of the question in the Religion & Spirituality section are.

Answer 1

Actually, that is a very good question ... and I have the answer :-) I read it recently when I was doing research.

We know that apples did not originate from the Middle East, so the likelihood of the fruit actually being an apple are very slim. (My own thinking is that the fruit was possibly grapes, but that is only my own speculation based on my research ... )

So why do people say that Eve ate an apple? Well, it seems that one main reason is that the Latin word for evil is malum and the Latin word for apple is also malum.

In the fourth century AD, the word malum appeared in the Latin Vulgate translation of Genesis in the phrase ‘the tree of knowledge of good and evil’. Thus, in Latin it could read as the tree of knowledge of good and APPLE. From that time on people began to associate the apple with the fruit which Eve ate.

I hope that helps!

God bless you

Answer 2

the apple was chosen because it was sacred to some pagan sects, espcially druids. bobbing for apples at halloween is a carryover from druidic ceremonies.

if you cut an apple crosswise in half, you will see that the seeds form a pentacle. it is a symbol of the goddess venus, because the planet venus traces a pentacle in its movement thru the sky. it's also considered a symbol of life as a stylized diagram of a human body, and it has numerous mathematical realationships to the way plants grow and to the golden section, which is considered the perfect proportion.

the church couldn't have anybody investigating all these things, so it called them evil.

Answer 3

Kimberly is mostly right. Artist rendition.
But the whole story is about the transition from hunter/gatherer culture to farming, ranching and tribal culture. Being able to produce food predictable (comparatively) lessened peoples dependence on chance = God. If people could bring seeds and livestock with them they could live anywhere and not have to move every season to follow herds or find wild flora to eat.

Answer 4

Well, since the bible speaks of oranges as 'apples of gold', I'm inclined to go along with the 'apples are generic for fruit' theory.

Answer 5

I have no Idea why the refer to it as an apple. And actually it is called the Fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Yeah it is in the first few chapters of Genesis.

Answer 6

Inaccurate traditions of mankind permeate religion, especially christianity, where remnants of pagan practices are deeply imbedded. (decorated trees, Yuletide, colored eggs, bunny, the name Eostre/Easter, human sacrifice for atonement, etc.)

Traditionally in Europe, "apple" was often used as a general term for fruit, just as "corn" is a general term for grain.

Answer 7

People needed a visual. Just like the bible doesn't say Jonah was swallowed by a whale but a "big fish."

Answer 8

Interesting question, I dont know that much about the bible but I am sure the apple was mentioned in the Qura'an.

Answer 9

Yeah, i have no idea. I think it's just because an apple is a very common fruit, that's all. And it's perfectly shaped and all, so it can be very tempting....so juicy.

I'm just speculating here.

Answer 10

It is refered to as Fruit, Don't know where the apple came from.
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