December 29 ~ Tivet* 2 ~ Genesis 3

*Tivet is the current Biblical month.


The Tree of Life



And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:9


And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: So he drove (cast out, divorced) out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. Genesis 3:22, 24



She (Wisdom and Understanding) [is] a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy [is every one] that retaineth her. The fruit of the righteous [is] a tree of life; and he that winneth souls [is] wise. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but [when] the desire cometh, [it is] a tree of life. A wholesome tongue [is] a tree of life: but perverseness therein [is] a breach in the spirit. Proverbs 3:18, 11:30, 13:12, 15:4

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations. Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Revelation 2:7, 22:2, 14

The Tree of Knowlege (of good and evil)

According to Wikipedia, The Book of Enoch 32:4, dating from the last few centuries before Christ and purporting to be by the antediluvian prophet Enoch, describes the Tree of Knowledge: "It was like a species of the Tamarind tree, bearing fruit which resembled grapes extremely fine; and its fragrance extended to a considerable distance. I exclaimed, How beautiful is this tree, and how delightful is its appearance!" The carob tree is a relative of the tamarind tree. (As a woman you just have to know that the first sin was from chocolate, right? LOL)

The Tree of Life

The Tree of Life was used mostly in the Proverbs to describe wisdom, the fruit of a righteous person, a wholesome (healing, to make one healthful) tongue that affects one's spirit, and fulfilled desires. But Proverbs chapter 3 I think best sums it up from creation to the Tree of Life ...

My Child,

Forget not my Torah (teaching, instruction); but let thine heart keep my commandments (mitzvot): For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding (binah - discernment) [like they did in the garden when she saw it was "pleasant"]. [But] In all thy ways acknowledge him (yada - knowing him intimately like a husband knows his wife), and he shall direct (straighten) thy paths (journey). Be not wise (shrewd, crafty like the serpent) in thine own eyes: [but] fear the LORD, and depart from evil (same word as referenced in the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil). It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Happy [is] the man [that] findeth wisdom, and the man [that] getteth understanding (as from the Holy Spirit see Exodus 31:3). Her ways [are] ways of pleasantness (beauty), and all her paths [are] peace (shalom - complete, health, tranquility). She [is] a tree of life to them that lay hold (chazaq - strengthen, to tie fast, to bind) upon her: and happy [is every one] that retaineth her. The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. My child, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. (Excerpted from Proverbs 3)

The final admonition

See, I have set before thee this day [trees of] life and good, and death and evil ... therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed (children) may live. That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for He [is] thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land [garden] ...

Deuteronomy 30:15, 19b, 20