Why does the account emphasize knowledge? According to Legaspi, what sort of knowledge is communicated by eating of “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad”? And should it be eating? Why not touching or looking at some special object? Why a tree from which you eat? Yes, it is an act of disobedience, but how else can we describe the failure of Eve and Adam? Does this act make Adam and Eve more god-like? Less? Both? Why might it be merciful that God banishes them from the Garden?
The account in Genesis emphasizes knowledge primarily with regard to the distinction of good and evil.
The prohibition of eating from the tree of knowledge, as opposed to looking/touching some special object, is of note. As Legaspi describes, the act of eating inherently brings into view the dependency of man on the nourishment of the earth. With respect to the tree of knowledge, this dependency reflects man’s need to understand the distinction between good and evil. Similarly, the source of this distinction being a tree is also of note. At the surface, this particular tree is just like any other tree, an appendage of the earth which provides its own resources to the environment. In this case, however, the resources this particular tree provides are much more complex than any normal tree.
Although eating from tree of knowledge does not make Adam and Eve entirely god-like, as promised by the serpent, it does allow them to reflect on their current situation. They immediately recognize their nakedness, covering themselves up with leaves from a fig tree. They recognize the serpent as a traitor. Eating from the tree gave Adam and Eve the ability to make subjective evaluations on the goodness and evilness of things.
Although punished with mortality and suffering, Adam and Eve were not doomed. One such reason relies on the continued existence of the tree of life. This form of life, standing in direct opposition to death and suffering, can be interpreted to exist as a sort of goal for man, accessed via the search for wisdom.
jrundle 