The Eden Narrative Part 7 :
The Tree of Knowing Good and Bad
Michael Ryan Stotler
Part of Genesis
April 2, 2024

BIbleproject literary design of Genesis 24-17.png

טוֹב ṭôv - Good

רַע raʿ = Badly Made, poor, Bad

Good/ Bad = Condition or Quality

Good/Bad = Pleasant/Unpleasant, Beneficial/Harmful

Good/Bad = Morally Good/Evil

Knowing Tov and Ra

“Within the garden Yahweh had set both a tree of life and a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Taken together, with their fruits connected to life and death respectively, the trees may be seen to function like the Torah, imploring Adam to choose life, just as Moses implored Israel in Deuteronomy 30. Resisting the second tree, the fruit of which offered wisdom independent from God, was Adam’s wisdom, allowing him to perfect the fear of Yahweh through submission of his will to God’s… Just as for Solomon and his foreign wives (1 Kings 11), so too for Adam: the choice between the two trees is cast as a choice between allegiance to Yahweh and his wife, with whom he is “one flesh.” This, through the cunning orchestration of the serpent, is the test for Adam.” —MICAHEL MORALES, WHO CAN ASCEND THE MOUNTAIN OF YAHWEH, 54.