In Genesis chapter 2, we read about a real tree, with real fruit, that grew in the Garden of Eden—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam was told he could eat from any tree in the garden except that one tree. Many people wonder what the fruit on that tree looked like, with a popular option being an apple. A recent headline from LiveScience even asked, “Was the ‘forbidden fruit’ in the Garden of Eden really an apple?” So, was it?
Well, the LiveScience article correctly states, “Nobody knows because the Hebrew Bible just says ‘fruit.’” In the article (which treated Genesis like an interesting legend, not as real history), the author offers a few suggestions from various scholars (such as fig, wheat, grapes, or citron) and sum up the history of how an apple might have become associated with the biblical narrative. In a 2010 article, AiG’s Bodie Hodge also summed up that history:
The confusion of this fruit with the apple may be due to the similarity of the two words in the Latin translation of the Bible, known as the Vulgate. The word evil in the tree’s name in Latin is mali (Genesis 2:17). The word apple in other places is mala (Proverbs 25:11) or malum (Song of Solomon 2:3). It seems like this similarity may have led to the confusion. In the original Hebrew, the words are not even close. The word in Genesis 2:17 for evil is rah, while the word for apples in Proverbs 25:11 and Song of Solomon 2:3 is tappuwach.
We do know that it was a real fruit, growing on a real tree, in real history—and the impact of the rebellious eating of that fruit is still felt acutely today by every single person (in fact, the whole creation).
So the fruit that was “good for food” and “pleasant to the eyes” probably was not an apple. But we do know that it was a real fruit, growing on a real tree, in real history—and the impact of the rebellious eating of that fruit is still felt acutely today by every single person (in fact, the whole creation). You see, Adam and Eve’s choice to sin against their Creator brought death and suffering into God’s once “very good” creation. Now creation groans, waiting for the coming of Christ and the new heavens and new earth he will create (Romans 8:22).
But God didn’t leave Adam and Eve without hope. In Genesis 3:15, he promised that the Seed of the woman was coming and that he would crush the head of the serpent—that Seed was Jesus, the Last Adam. He lived the perfect life we can’t live, died on the cross in our place as the ultimate sacrifice for sin, and then rose again, defeating sin and death. Now Jesus offers new and eternal life, forgiveness, and freedom from sin and death to all who will turn from their sin and trust in him.
So while we can’t know what that fruit in the Garden looked like, every person has the opportunity to trust in Christ for salvation and know for themselves in eternity what the fruit on a different tree—the Tree of Life—looks like (Revelation 22:2). In that glorious day, the consequences of that rebellious bite into the “forbidden fruit” will be gone, all because of our great and merciful God “who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all” (Romans 8:32):
Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:3–4)
Get More Answers on Answers News
This item was discussed today on Answers News with cohosts Bryan Osborne, Tim Chaffey, and Roger Patterson. Answers News is our twice-weekly news program filmed live before a studio audience here at the Creation Museum and broadcast on my Facebook page and the Answers in Genesis Facebook page. We also covered the following fascinating topics:
- “Christian” devotional reads, “Dear God, help me to hate white people.”
- Do we need to be careful that science doesn’t “control the narrative”?
- A South Korean island has only three children due to “population control.”
- And more!
Watch the entire episode of Answers News for April 14, 2021.
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Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken
This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.
FAQs
It was disobedience of Adam and Eve, who had been told by God not to eat off the tree (Genesis 2:17), that caused disorder in the creation, thus humanity inherited sin and guilt from Adam and Eve's sin. In Western Christian art, the fruit of the tree is commonly depicted as the apple, which originated in central Asia.
What fruit was on the tree of knowledge of good and evil? ›
It was disobedience of Adam and Eve, who had been told by God not to eat off the tree (Genesis 2:17), that caused disorder in the creation, thus humanity inherited sin and guilt from Adam and Eve's sin. In Western Christian art, the fruit of the tree is commonly depicted as the apple, which originated in central Asia.
What was the real forbidden fruit in the Bible? ›
Rabbi Meir says that the fruit was a grape, made into wine. The Zohar explains similarly that Noah attempted (but failed) to rectify the sin of Adam by using grape wine for holy purposes. The midrash of Bereish*t Rabah states that the fruit was grape, or squeezed grapes (perhaps alluding to wine).
What is the forbidden fruit in Genesis Adam and Eve? ›
The Old Testament tells of Adam and Eve, our progenitors. They lived in paradise in total innocence until the serpent (the devil) enticed them to eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge. As punishment for their disobedience, God banished them from Paradise.
Was the forbidden fruit a pomegranate? ›
In the Quran, pomegranates grow in the Garden of Paradise and are referred to on multiple occasions as God's good creations. The pomegranate is also said to be found in the Garden of Eden according to Ancient Iranian Christianity and was believed to be the real forbidden fruit rather than the apple.
What does the forbidden fruit symbolize? ›
The term “forbidden fruit” is a metaphor for anything that is desired but not moral, legal or permissible to indulge in.
What kind of fruit was the forbidden fruit? ›
Rather than a broad, general term for "fruit," it took on a narrower meaning: "apple." Once that change in meaning became widely accepted, readers of the Old French version of Genesis understood the statement "Adam and Eve ate a pom" to mean "Adam and Eve ate an apple." At that point, they understood the apple to be ...
What kind of fruit is on the tree of life? ›
The color of the tree is described as resembling the Sun, its branches are beautiful, its leaves are similar to that of cypress, and its fruit is like clusters of white grapes. However, in the Secret Book of John, the Tree of Life is portrayed negatively.
What is the forbidden fruit theory? ›
Forbidden-fruit theory (Bushman & Stack, 1996) encompasses commodity theory that holds that the more a commodity is perceived to be unavailable or not easily obtainable, the more it is valued compared to a commodity that is freely and easily obtainable.
What is the curse of the forbidden fruit? ›
Central to the story, too, is the “forbidden fruit.” Harvested from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, God expressly forbids Adam and Eve from eating it. So, of course, they devour it. Their taboo snack results in a curse plaguing humanity with toil, disease, and death.
Ellen van Wolde noted that among Bible scholars "the trees are almost always dealt with separately and not related to each other" and that "attention is almost exclusively directed to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, whereas the tree of life is paid hardly any attention."
Where is the Garden of Eden located today? ›
The location of Eden is described in the Book of Genesis as the source of four tributaries. Various suggestions have been made for its location: at the head of the Persian Gulf, in southern Mesopotamia where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers run into the sea; and in Armenia.
What does the apple symbolize in the Bible? ›
The unnamed fruit of Eden thus became an apple under the influence of the story of the golden apples in the Garden of Hesperides. As a result, the apple became a symbol for knowledge, immortality, temptation, the fall of man and sin.
What is the fruit of the tree of knowledge? ›
"Rabbinic commentators variously characterized it as a fig, a pomegranate, a grape, an apricot, a citron, or even wheat. Some commentators even thought of the forbidden fruit as a kind of wine, intoxicating to drink." When Jerome was translating the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil," the word malus snaked in.
What do pomegranates symbolize in the Bible? ›
In Exodus (28:33–35) pomegranate designs are part of God's instructions for the making of priestly garments. Pomegranate Images appear on many ancient coins of the biblical period, representing prosperity and beauty. The presence of pomegranate trees was symbolic of a nation's financial and material wealth.
What do apples symbolize? ›
In various mythologies, apples are used as a symbol of love, beauty, and wisdom.
What was the fruit in the Garden of Eden? ›
They didn't always show an apple: Artistic renderings of the "Fall from Eden" depicted the fruit as a citron ("Ghent Altarpiece" by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, 1432), as an apricot ("Eve Tempted By the Serpent" by Defendente Ferrari, 1520-25), and as a pomegranate ("The Fall of Man" by Peter Paul Rubens, 1628-29), ...
What is the fruit of knowledge of good and evil verse? ›
but God did say, `You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die. '" "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
What was the fruit from the heavens? ›
In the holy book of Islam, Fig (Anjeer) is mentioned as 'The Fruit of Heaven', which belongs to the mulberry family. This fruit has numerous benefits and quite a few varieties which are mentioned below.
