Was the Fruit an Apple?
How Did Eve Know It Was Edible?
Was the Fruit an Apple?
How Did Eve Know It Was Edible?
[Was the Fruit an Apple? How Did Eve Know It Was Edible? Satan, the Fall, and a Look at Good and Evil by Bodie Hodge] "If you were to open a children’s book about Adam and Eve and read about their sin, chances are that it would say Adam and Eve ate an “apple.” Having children of my own and receiving kind gifts relating to Genesis, such as Bibles for kids, I usually have to look them over for any red flags. When these children’s books say that the fruit was an “apple,” I usually get frustrated—so, I get frustrated a lot, as this is a common problem (like the righteous anger Nehemiah felt in Nehemiah 5:1–7)!
It’s not just in children’s books. For example, this idea made its way into the
encyclopedia:
Many people believe an apple was the fruit that, according to the Bible, Adam
and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden.
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.
Why Not an Apple?
Simply put, the Bible doesn’t say the fruit was an apple. Furthermore, while
apples are mentioned in Scripture (e.g., Song of Solomon 2:3, 8:5; Joel 1:12 ),
they are not mentioned in the Garden of Eden, which is where the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil was located.
The forbidden fruit was indeed a real fruit, but not necessarily an apple. It
was the fruit that came from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
The Fruit
What did fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil look like? We
simply don’t know. However, there are speculations. In fact, various artists
have developed different depictions such as:
This last one, which was done for children, could be used for humor as well.
After Dan Lietha deliberately designed the fruit to not look like an apple, Ken
Ham joked that this fruit looks rather similar to a hand grenade! This joke,
which is now used by others as well, can be used as example of the truly
devastating implications if eaten!
Regardless, we simply have no idea what the fruit looked like and only
speculation within biblical limits is warranted..." Full text: Was the
Fruit an Apple? How Did Eve Know It Was Edible? Satan, the Fall, and a Look at
Good and Evil by Bodie Hodge
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2010/06/29/satan-the-fall-good-evil-fruit-edible
