Genesis 2:8-9
8 The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9 Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.I believe the Genesis account of creation is factual and literal. So naturally, when Moses describes a garden in the east part of Delight, or Eden, with two specific trees, I take it that these were two actual trees. When I teach on the Genesis creation story, I always ask what type of trees these were. The kids typically describe an apple tree, especially for the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Tree of KG&E). This is how the tree has always been depicted in paintings, bible pictures, and cartoons for years. It is true, no real description exists for the Tree of KG&E or for the Tree of Life, and so it is natural for people to insert an image of something they are familiar with. We do know there was fruit on the trees though. Some scholars surmise it was fig or pomegranate, as these are typical types of fruit trees in the region where the Bible was written. I believe they are types of fruit trees no longer available or known to mankind.
Did you hear the one about..? Adam bit the apple and, feeling great shame, covered himself with a fig leaf. Eve, too, felt shame and covered herself with a fig leaf. Then she went behind the bush to try on a maple leaf, a sycamore, and an oak.
Genesis 2:15-17
15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
