Fruit—specifically the fruit forbidden by God in the third chapter of Genesis—symbolizes the temptation to mistrust and disobey God. The fruit growing in the garden of Eden is good, specifically provided by God for Adam and Eve to eat and delight in. However, God has forbidden Adam and Eve from eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; while it’s never described as evil in itself, this fruit yields moral knowledge that isn’t meant for Adam and Eve right now. The serpent tempts Eve to sample the fruit anyway, claiming that she won’t really die as God has warned, and that God simply doesn’t want human beings to gain divine knowledge. Persuaded to question God’s intentions, Eve eats the appealing fruit anyway, and she gets Adam to eat some, too. After this act of disobedience against God, the human couple, along with their offspring, is cursed with suffering and death.
Fruit Quotes in Genesis
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
Fruit Symbol Timeline in Genesis
