What If the Fruit on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil Were Chocolate?
So Many Questions…..
Who hasn’t heard the story of Eve taking the apple from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil thereby subjecting mankind and creation to curses? Looking in from the outside, there are so many questions:
- Why was there a walking, talking snake?
- Did other animals talk at that time?
- What was an evil creature doing in the garden?
- What was Adam doing while Eve was chatting it up with the snake?
- If you could walk and talk to God on a regular basis, why would you believe a snake over God?
- Why in the world would you be tempted by an apple?
- There are so many other good fruits out there. Sure it’s red, but really?
- Who would be willing to disobey God and risk his displeasure for a piece of fruit?
I like fruit and all, and I eat some every day, but it’s not very tempting. Technically, Genesis 3 doesn’t mention an apple at all, but does it really matter? Most dieters don’t ruin their diets because they craved fruit. Heck, Weight Watchers even makes fruits zero points. I think most of us have a hard time relating to Eve being tempted by fruit. It makes her seem rather stupid and naïve. If I could resist, the temptation of fruit, why couldn’t Eve? Instead she destined us all to a life of misery. If she had only waited a little longer, God would have taught her how to make chocolate chip cookies, and then the world would have been blissful for all time.
A Chocolate Temptation
But what if the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil didn’t grow fruit but instead grew chocolate bars (or for some of my other readers—wine), would you be able to resist? How many of you have a secret stash of chocolate hidden in a place just for you? How many of you set out at the beginning of the day determined to eat healthy, but then find yourself sneaking some in the pantry? How many of you have let some form of chocolate destroy your dieting goals? How many of you decided to have just one little bite, but kept going back for one more piece and kept going back until suddenly the whole bar was gone? How many of you have had a stressful day and instead of praying reached for that chocolate bar? Or told yourself that you deserved it because you had a hard day or week or year? I know I do this on a regular basis. Would I be willing to risk the fate of the whole world for a piece of chocolate? I hope not, but I know how strong the pull of chocolate is. Am I better than Eve? Decidedly not. My temptations are just different.
So what kind of fruit was it?
The Rabbis have a variety of speculations on the forbidden fruit. None of which are chocolate or apples.
Figs
Once Adam and Eve realized they were naked, they covered themselves with fig leaves. Therefore, they had to be in close proximity to a fig tree. This is a very popular hypothesis among scholars. Figs are also one of the seven species mentioned in Deuteronomy 8: 7-8.
Pomegranates
Pomegranates symbolize God’s law as there are 613 which is the same number of commandments listed in the Torah. Like the fig, it is also one of the 7 species. Pomegranates adorn the temple and the robes of the high priest. (1 Kings 7: 18, 20, 42 and Exodus 28: 33-34). They also appear in Song of Songs (4:3, 4:13, 6:7, 6:11, 7:12 and 8:2), where they also symbolize fertility and love. Out of all the possible fruit on the list, this seems the most attractive that would be pleasing to the eye. Note: Jewish tradition favors wheat, grapes, etrog, or figs over pomegranates.
Etrog or Citron
What is an Etrog? It is a yellow citron that looks a little like a lemon. It’s not as juicy as a lemon, but it’s peel can be used to make candy, or it can be made into jelly. It was one of the four species in Leviticus 23:40. (They interpret the word hadar tree to be the citron tree.) Since Genesis says the tree (not the fruit) was good to eat, this is true of the citron tree whose bark tastes like its fruit.
Grapes
Rabbi Meir in the Babylonian Talmud states that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good adn Evil was a grapevine since nothing brings tragedy to man like wine does. If you think about it, wine like the Tree of Knowledge should only be consumed when we are mature enough to use it wisely. It can be a blessing or a curse.
Wheat
This is the strangest one to me. Rabbi Judah states that the fruit is a stalk of wheat. Wheat like the grapes and pomegranates is one of the seven species. In the Torah, wheat symbolizes knowledge because a child does not know how to call out to his Father and Mother until he tastes grain. (Talmud, Berachot 40a and Sanhedrin 70b; Bereishit Rabbah ibid.)
So, what was Eve’s temptation?
Was Eve’s temptation really a piece of fruit? Genesis 3: 6 says, “When the woman saw that the fruit (or technically tree) was good for food, and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom she took some and ate it.”
It seems like Eve as tempted in 3 ways:
- Good for food
- Pleasing to the eye
- Desirable for gaining wisdom
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Good for Food
The Hebrew word here for good is “tov” or “tob” which means functional. It seems that Eve made a rationale decision first. Was the fruit, in fact, safe to eat? After all God said that eating it would bring death.
Now notice, the tree that she was looking at was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. What does that mean? The tree had the ability to give discernment between what was good (functional) or evil (dysfunctional). But God already made a declaration about that tree’s fruit. He said “you must not eat from the tree of knowledge, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” He declared the tree’s fruit bad for mankind (at least for the time being). So at this very first step, before Eve ever really took the fruit, she make a decision contrary to God’s declaration of what was good and evil. She’s redefining what’s good and bad based on her own desires. She decided that the serpent was correct, and she wouldn’t surely die.
Pleasing to the Eye
However, even if the serpent was correct, theoretically the fruit could have looked disgusting and unappetizing, but it didn’t. Instead it gave delight to the eyes. The Hebrew word “ta’ava” has the connotation of lust, covetousness, or an object of desire. Most of us Americans have never been hungry enough to lust after a piece of fruit. Although, we might lust after a piece of chocolate cake. But more likely we lust after more intangible things. There are millions (probably billions) of dollars invested in marketing to help us lust after not only objects but also ways to fulfill our other inner desires. We don’t buy the expensive purse just because it’s practically sized, but because it delights our eyes and makes us feel like we belong to a certain crowd.
Desirable for Gaining Wisdom
How did the serpent tempt Eve? First, he caught her off guard and tempted her to distrust her Creator. He said, “Did God really say?” Then he used the title “Elohim” which emphasized God as their Creator. (See my post Understanding Elohim: The Kingly Attributes of God.) But earlier in this chapter God was called Yahweh Elohim which stressed the covenantal relationship with God. By dropping the Yahweh, the serpent subtly caused Eve to doubt God’s goodness. Then he made the fruit seem “safe” by saying that she would not surely die. Finally, he played his ace, “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knowing good and evil. “(Genesis 3:5)
The Hebrew word here for wisdom is “sakal” or “sekel.” According to Strong’s Lexicon, “In the biblical context, “sekel” is often linked with moral and spiritual insight, emphasizing the importance of aligning one’s understanding with God’s will.”
Image Bearer or Image Breaker?
Remember Eve was made in the image of God. God intended mankind (male and female) to reflect him and be his image bearers. We are a creators, definers, rulers, judges, individuals within community, delegators, resting beings created for enjoyment, eternal beings, and spiritual fathers (and mothers). We are the pinnacle of His creation and declared us to be “very good.” (See my posts Reflecting God’s Image Part 1 and Part 2.) Yet he put some limitations on us. Our Yahweh Elohim, who we are in a covenantal relationship with, wanted us to refrain from eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil at this juncture of time. The text doesn’t explicitly say why, but God knew that at this point that it wouldn’t be good for us or for creation. Eve was a spiritual infant. Just as we wouldn’t give a toddler the keys to our car, so our heavenly Father withheld this fruit for us. The question was “Could we trust His words and wisdom?” Some speculate that He may have been waiting until we were mature enough to handle such knowledge.
Yet the serpent tempted us with the desire to be like God. Instead of listening to Yawheh Elohim, she wanted to be able to define good and bad on her own terms. She wanted freedom from God not intimacy with God. Instead of becoming the image bearer she was created to be (the reflector of all goodness, light, and life) she became an image breaker for the world. In order to bear His image, we have to know him better. We need to walk in intimacy with Him and bask in his goodness.
Instead of reflecting God’s glory, Eve wanted herself to shine. But instead of fulfilling her purpose she became the image of the serpent who also wanted to be like God. (Ezekiel 28: 13-17 and Isaiah 14:12-14 have historically have been linked to describe Satan or Lucifer).
Why was eating the forbidden fruit so significant?
God created us to be these awesome creatures to rule wisely and lovingly over his creation. Although we were made out of dust, we were placed in his garden to dwell and walk with the Creator of the universe. We had an intimate relationship with God, and Adam and Eve had true intimacy with one another.
But we ate the fruit! Instead of being image bearers of the King, we became like the serpent. Instead of intimacy we have shame and discord with one another. Instead of us working with creation we are fighting against it for survival. Instead of eternity we chose death and suffering.
Our Yahweh Elohim asked us not to trust our eyes and appetites, but to listen to his voice. That was the first lesson of wisdom. The best way to know a counterfeit is to study the real thing. In order to have a true understanding of good and evil, we had to learn what was good first. After all “The Fear of the Lord is beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10) Instead we chose to learn about evil first, and therefore we lost the ability to truly discern the difference between good and evil. Like Eve we define good and evil based on our eyes, our flawed understanding, and our appetites instead of what God says. We were supposed to guard the garden, but instead we let the enemy inside us and are consequently filled with shame. That shame separates us from our Creator who is love.
This is why we need someone to crush the head of the serpent. We can’t do it! We lost the ability to not only truly discern good but to actually do good. Even when we know what’s good and right, we choose the bad. After all if I have difficulty resisting the chocolate, how much more difficulty do I have resisting evil when the stakes are higher?
My Three Questions
In my earlier posts I said there were 3 questions that everyone needs to answer to truly understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
- Who is God?
- Who did God intend us to be?
- And why was eating the forbidden fruit was so significant?
We reflected on the first question in my posts about Understanding Elohim and the Kingly Attributes of God and Understanding God: The Significance of Logos in the Gospel of John-Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. (Note: I still need to write a blog post expanding on God’s identity as Yaweh.)
Then we explored the second question in my posts Reflecting God’s Image Part 1 and Part 2. Now in this post we dove into the 3rd question:
Why was eating the forbidden fruit so significant? This sets us up perfectly for understanding why Jesus is such good news!
Genesis Study
This blog aligns nicely with my Genesis 3 Study. Use my Genesis discipleship materials to help others understand these essential truths. I have recently posted them in both Microsoft Word and pdfs. Remember this blog is written for educators, but the discipleship material is accessible for everyone.
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References
- Was the Forbidden Fruit Really an Apple? – Parshah Focus – Parshah
- What Sort of Fruit Tree was the Tree of Knowledge? – Parshah Focus – Parshah
- The Etrog: Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil – TheTorah.com
