What does the tree of knowledge of good and evil symbolize?

In Jewish tradition, the Tree of Knowledge and the eating of its fruit represents the beginning of the mixture of good and evil together. While free choice did exist before eating the fruit, evil existed as an entity separate from the human psyche, and it was not in human nature to desire it.

Why did God create the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil?

So by essentially placing the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden and commanding Man to NOT eat from the tree, God was providing Man with the choices of good and evil. Through this Man had the chance to Love God by Obeying Him or rebel against God by Disobeying Him.

Why was it called the tree of knowledge?

This is why the tree is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—because by tasting its fruit the first humans acquired knowledge of good and evil, but lost their knowledge of right and wrong.

Was the forbidden fruit a metaphor?

The words forbidden fruit stand as a metaphor (an image). The metaphor comes from the book of Genesis in the Bible. The fruit has commonly been represented as an apple due to wordplay of the Latin word for apple, malus, which can mean both “evil” and “apple”.

What is the difference between the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge?

The Tree of Life represents the propensity of people to be drawn towards the source of their life, i.e. to seek to return to a natural state. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil represents the propensity of people to be drawn towards separateness, knowledge, leverage and gain.

Is the apple in the Bible a metaphor?

The metaphor comes from the book of Genesis in the Bible. There Adam and Eve are thrown out of Paradise because they eat from the tree of knowledge. The fruit has commonly been represented as an apple due to wordplay of the Latin word for apple, malus, which can mean both “evil” and “apple”.