Tree of Life - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Tree of life (disambiguation)

The tree of life is a motif in various mythologies and a metaphor for the common descent of life on Earth.Tree of life may also refer to:-Religion:* Tree of life , a tree in the Garden of Eden...

for other meanings of the term.

The tree of life (Heb. עץ החיים Etz haChayim) in the Book of Genesis is a tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

planted by God

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

in midst of the Garden of Eden

Garden of Eden

The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...

(Paradise

Paradise

Paradise is a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and...

), whose fruit gives everlasting life, i.e. immortality

Immortality

Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...

. Together with the tree of life, God planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil . According to some scholars, however, these are in fact two names for the same tree. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, both are forms of the world tree

World tree

The world tree is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European religions, Siberian religions, and Native American religions. The world tree is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens, thereby connecting the heavens, the earth, and, through its...

.

The Biblical account states that Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...

were exiled from the Garden of Eden after eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to prevent them from eating from the tree of life:
By questioning God's word and authority, the serpent

Serpent (Bible)

Serpent is the term used to translate a variety of words in the Hebrew bible, the most common being , , the generic word for "snake"....

, who is regarded as Satan

Satan

Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...

in Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

but not in Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

, initially tempted Eve into eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, an act explicitly forbidden by God. The serpent tempted Eve by suggesting that eating the fruit would cause her to become as wise as God, having knowledge of good and evil. Eve ate the fruit, against God's command to Adam and later so did Adam, despite God's warning that "in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17). As a consequence of their transgression

Transgression

Transgression may be:*a Biblical transgression, violation of God's ten commandments; sin *a legal transgression, a crime usually created by a social or economic boundary*a social transgression, violating a norm...

, the land, the Serpent, Adam, and Eve were each cursed by God. To prevent them access to the tree of life God separated them from the tree of life, casting them out of the Garden. The banishment from the Garden of Eden is balanced in the New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

by the planting of the tree of life on mankind's side of the divide.

In the Book of Revelation

Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...

, a Koine Greek

Koine Greek

Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....

phrase xylon zoës (ξύλον ζωής) is mentioned 3 times. This phrase, which literally means "wood of life" is translated in nearly every English Bible version as "tree of life", see , , and .

The tree of life is represented in several examples of sacred geometry

Sacred geometry

Sacred geometry is the geometry used in the planning and construction of religious structures such as churches, temples, mosques, religious monuments, altars, tabernacles; as well as for sacred spaces such as temenoi, sacred groves, village greens and holy wells, and the creation of religious art...

and is central in particular to the Kabbalah

Kabbalah

Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...

(the mystic study of the Torah

Torah

Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...

), where it is represented as a diagram of ten points

Tree of life (Kabbalah)

The Tree of Life, or Etz haChayim in Hebrew, is a mystical symbol used in the Kabbalah of esoteric Judaism to describe the path to God and the manner in which he created the world ex nihilo...

. It is also a recurrent theme in many other religions.

Analysis

Serpents, trees and fruit are important symbols in the religion of Jews

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

, Christians

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

, and Muslims. These symbols are also found in the Norse saga

Norse saga

The sagas are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, the battles that took place during the voyages, about migration to Iceland and of feuds between Icelandic families...

of the ash tree Yggdrasil

Yggdrasil

In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is an immense tree that is central in Norse cosmology. It was said to be the world tree around which the nine worlds existed...

, where the tree provides a magical springwater of knowledge. In opposition to the serpent (immortality

Immortality

), is the eagle

Eagle

Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...

and hawk

Hawk

The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...

. There is a similar mythology in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, where a carving of a tree of life depicts a bird and a dragon

Dragon

A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...

- in Chinese mythology

Chinese mythology

Chinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written tradition. These include creation myths and legends and myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state...

, the dragon often represents immortality. James Frazer

James Frazer

Sir James George Frazer , was a Scottish social anthropologist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion...

in his book The Golden Bough

The Golden Bough

The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer . It first was published in two volumes in 1890; the third edition, published 1906–15, comprised twelve volumes...

(1890) attempts to give a coherent unified account of a number of religious myths and symbols, whilst Ioan P. Couliano provides an analysis of the symbolism in The Tree of Gnosis (1991), and there are a multiplicity of interpretations existing concerning the Kabbalah's tree of life

Tree of life (Kabbalah)

The Tree of Life, or Etz haChayim in Hebrew, is a mystical symbol used in the Kabbalah of esoteric Judaism to describe the path to God and the manner in which he created the world ex nihilo...

(Sephiroth).

It should be noted that the tree of life and the tree of knowledge are not the same (Genesis 2.9), and that prohibition of eating the fruit only concerns the latter (Gen. 2.17). That Adam or Eve

Eve (Bible)

Eve was, according to the creation of Abrahamic religions, the first woman created by God...

could eat of the tree of life only becomes a concern to God after they have consumed fruit from the tree of knowledge (Gen. 3.22). Although with some variation, orthodox Judaism and Christianity have interpreted the Genesis 3 account, in its most basic form, as follows:

Genesis 2 ends with the creation of Adam and Eve and their blissful state of innocence (they are one flesh, v. 24; and not ashamed of their nakedness, v. 25).
Gen. 3.1 introduces the "crafty" serpent who speaks to Eve and creates doubt by questioning God's interdiction from eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent states that its fruit would impart divine wisdom rather than death, specifically, that she would be like God (Gen. 3.5).
Adam and Eve are both deceived and after eating the fruit their eyes are opened and their first reaction is shame (they proceed to cover their nakedness, v. 7), then fear (they flee God's presence, v. 8).
God converses with Adam and curses him (work), Eve (childbirth-pain) and the serpent (removing its legs) for their transgressions (Gen. 3.9-21). Only in Gen. 3.22 does God express concern about the tree of life and banishes Adam and Eve from Eden.

Many midrashim and other rabbinic commentaries have attempted to explicate and clarify the rather enigmatic creation account. Gnostic thought marks an important departure from this interpretation and often is its complete inversion. It views the serpent in a positive light, attributing to him benevolence toward humanity and portraying the God of creation (Elohim

Elohim

Elohim is a grammatically singular or plural noun for "god" or "gods" in both modern and ancient Hebrew language. When used with singular verbs and adjectives elohim is usually singular, "god" or especially, the God. When used with plural verbs and adjectives elohim is usually plural, "gods" or...

, later referred to as YHWH-Elohim) as evil, deceitful and selfish. YHWH in particular is portrayed as evil and considered a demiurge

Demiurge

The demiurge is a concept from the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy for an artisan-like figure responsible for the fashioning and maintenance of the physical universe. The term was subsequently adopted by the Gnostics...

. In the Modern Era, Gnostic interpretations have made headway largely due to an increased interest in mysticism, esotericism and the gradual rejection of orthodox authority. John Milton

John Milton

John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...

offers the most ambiguous Eve, as she embodies both the rebel flair of Satan

Satan

Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...

, whom the historical Milton is identifiable with, and also the loyalty owed to God

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

. For Byron, she was a hero.

Eastern Christianity

The Eastern Orthodox Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

has traditionally understood the tree of life in Genesis as a prefiguration

Typology (theology)

Typology in Christian theology and Biblical exegesis is a doctrine or theory concerning the relationship between the Old and New Testaments...

of the Cross

Christian cross

The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...

, which humanity could not partake of until after the incarnation

Incarnation (Christianity)

The Incarnation in traditional Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ the second person of the Trinity, also known as God the Son or the Logos , "became flesh" by being conceived in the womb of a woman, the Virgin Mary, also known as the Theotokos .The Incarnation is a fundamental theological...

, death and resurrection of Jesus

Death and Resurrection of Jesus

The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...

.

One of the hymns chanted during the forefeast

Afterfeast

An Afterfeast is a period of celebration attached to one of the Great Feasts celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches ....

of the nativity of Christ

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

says:

Make ready, O Bethlehem, for Eden hath been opened for all. Prepare, O Ephratha, for the tree of life hath blossomed forth in the cave from the Virgin; for her womb did appear as a spiritual paradise in which is planted the divine Plant, whereof eating we shall live and not die as did Adam. Christ shall be born, raising the image that fell of old.

The cross of Christ is also referred to as the tree of life, and in the service books, Jesus is sometimes likened to a "divine cluster" of grapes hanging on the "Tree of the Cross" from which all partake in Holy Communion.

This theme is also found in Western Christianity. By way of an archetypal example consider Bonaventure's "biography" of the second person of the Trinity, entitled "The Tree of Life." [see Cousins, The Classics of Western Spirituality Series]

Western Christianity

Until the Enlightenment

Age of Enlightenment

The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...

, the Christian church generally gave biblical narratives of early Genesis the weight of historical narratives. In the City of God (xiii.20-21), Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...

offers great allowance for "spiritual" interpretations of the events in the garden, so long as such allegories do not rob the narrative of its historical reality. However, the allegorical meanings of the early and medieval church were of a different kind than those posed by Kant

KANT

KANT is a computer algebra system for mathematicians interested in algebraic number theory, performing sophisticated computations in algebraic number fields, in global function fields, and in local fields. KASH is the associated command line interface...

and the Enlightenment. Precritical theologians allegorized the genesis events in the service of pastoral devotion. Enlightenment theologians (culminating perhaps in Brunner and Niebuhr in the twentieth century) sought for figurative interpretations because they had already dismissed the historical possibility of the story.

Others sought very pragmatic understandings of the tree. In the Summa Theologica

Summa Theologica

The Summa Theologiæ is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas , and although unfinished, "one of the classics of the history of philosophy and one of the most influential works of Western literature." It is intended as a manual for beginners in theology and a compendium of all of the main...

(Q97), Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...

argued that the tree served to maintain Adam's biological processes for an extended earthly animal life. It did not provide immortality as such, for the tree, being finite, could not grant infinite life. Hence after a period of time, the man and woman would need to eat again from the tree or else be "transported to the spiritual life." The common fruit trees of the garden were given to offset the effects of "loss of moisture" (note the doctrine of the humors at work), while the tree of life was intended to offset the inefficiencies of the body. Following Augustine

Augustine of Hippo

in the City of God (xiv.26), “man was furnished with food against hunger, with drink against thirst, and with the tree of life against the ravages of old age.”

John Calvin

John Calvin

John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...

(Commentary on Genesis 2:8), following a different thread in Augustine (City of God, xiii.20), understood the tree in sacramental language. Given that humanity cannot exist except within a covenantal relationship with God, and all covenants use symbols to give us "the attestation of his grace", he gives the tree, "not because it could confer on man that life with which he had been previously endued, but in order that it might be a symbol and memorial of the life which he had received from God." God often uses symbols - He doesn’t transfer his power into these outward signs, but "by them He stretches out His hand to us, because, without assistance, we cannot ascend to Him." Thus he intends man, as often as he eats the fruit, to remember the source of his life, and acknowledge that he lives not by his own power, but by God’s kindness. Calvin denies (contra Aquinas and without mentioning his name) that the tree served as a biological defense against physical aging. This is the standing interpretation in modern Reformed theology as well.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Name incorrectly called 'mormons'.)

According to the Book of Mormon

Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...

, the prophet Lehi is shown the tree of life in a dream or vision before he leaves Jerusalem, between 600 and 592 BC. Lehi described the tree as "a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy." (1 Nephi 8:10)

Lehi's son, Nephi, is also shown the vision sometime later. This is recounted in 1 Nephi 11:8-11, "And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow. And he said unto me: What desirest thou? And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereof." Nephi is then shown in vision Mary with the baby Jesus in her arms, after which the Spirit says "Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul." (1 Nephi 11:21-23)

As stated in the above quotation, the tree of life is interpreted to represent "the love of God". The fruit is also described in 1 Nephi 15:36 as being "the greatest of all the gifts of God", and in Doctrine and Covenants 6:13 and Doctrine and Covenants 14:7, salvation and eternal life are described as being "the greatest of all the gifts of God". The vision is thus interpreted to mean that those who go through their earthly life holding fast to the gospel of Jesus Christ (represented by an iron rod leading through a mist of blackness, 1 Nephi 8:19-24) will be able to be redeemed through the grace of God and achieve salvation and eternal life. Through this they might be able to have joy and happiness, as Lehi and the Spirit explained that the fruit was "desirable to make one happy" and "joyous to the soul".

External links

Jewish and Non-Jewish views

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Analysis

Eastern Christianity

Western Christianity

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Name incorrectly called 'mormons'.)

See also

External links