Editing Tree of life (biblical)

{{Short description|Tree in the Garden of Eden}}
{{about|the concept in Abrahamic religions|the general cultural motif|Tree of life|other meanings|Tree of life (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Stained glass window in the Church of St Mary the Virgin Iffley - geograph.org.uk - 765978.jpg|thumb|Stained glass window in St Mary the Virgin parish church, Iffley, Oxfordshire, made in 1995]]
{{Jewish culture}}

In [[Judaism]] and [[Christianity]], the '''tree of life''' ({{langx|he|עֵץ הַחַיִּים|[[Etz Chaim|‘ēṣ haḥayyīm]]}}; {{langx|la|Lignum vitae}})<ref>{{cite web |url=https://israelstudycenter.com/the-power-of-hebrew/ |title=The Power of Hebrew |website=Israel Study Center |first=Eli |last=Lizorkin-Eyzenberg |date=July 7, 2016 |access-date=March 26, 2017}}{{dead link|date=February 2024|bot=medic}}</ref> is first described in {{bibleverse|Genesis|2:9|HE|chapter 2, verse 9}} of the [[Book of Genesis]] as being "in the midst of the [[Garden of Eden]]" with the [[tree of the knowledge of good and evil]] ({{lang|he|עֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע}}; {{lang|la|Lignum scientiae boni et mali}}). After the [[fall of man]], "lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever",<ref>{{Bibleverse||Genesis|3:22|KJV}}</ref> [[cherubim]] and a flaming sword are placed at the east end of the Garden to guard the way to the tree of life.<ref>{{Bibleverse||Genesis|3:24|KJV}}</ref> The tree of life has become the subject of some debate as to whether or not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the same tree.<ref>{{harvnb|Mettinger|2007|pp=5–11}}; [https://academic.oup.com/jts/article-abstract/71/2/441/6032179 Makowiecki 2020], pp.441-457</ref>

In the Bible outside of Genesis, the term "tree of life" appears in [[Book of Proverbs|Proverbs]] ({{Bibleref2-nb|Prov|3:18; 11:30; 13:12; 15:4|NRSV}}) and [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]] ({{Bibleref2-nb|Rev|2:7; 22:2,14,19|NRSV}}). It also appears in [[2 Esdras]] ({{Bibleref2-nb|2Esd|2:12; 8:52|NRSV}}) and [[4 Maccabees]] ({{Bibleref2-nb|4Macc|18:16|NRSV}}), which are included among the [[Jewish apocrypha]]. 

According to the [[Life of Adam and Eve|Greek Apocalypse of Moses]], the tree of life is also called the Tree of Mercy. [[Adam]] believed the oil of the tree of life would relieve him of his ailments and sent [[Seth]] and [[Eve]] to the doors of the Garden to beg for some oil of the tree of life.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Apocalypse of Moses|url=http://www.pseudepigrapha.com/pseudepigrapha/apcmose.htm|access-date=2022-02-23|website=www.pseudepigrapha.com}}</ref>

== Number of trees ==
[[Karl Budde]], in his [[Historical-critical method|critical study]] of 1883, proposed that there was only one tree in the body of the [[Book of Genesis|Genesis narrative]], and that it had been portrayed in two ways: one as the tree in the middle of the Garden, and two as the [[Tree of the knowledge of good and evil|forbidden tree]]. [[Claus Westermann]] gave recognition to Budde's theory in 1976.<ref>{{harvnb|Mettinger|2007|p=7}}</ref>

[[Ellen van Wolde]] noted that among [[Bible scholar]]s "the trees are almost always dealt with separately and not related to each other" and that "attention is almost exclusively directed to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, whereas the tree of life is paid hardly any attention."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Van Wolde |first1=Ellen |title=Words Become Worlds |date=1994 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=9004098879 |page=32}}</ref>

==Religious views==

===Christianity===

==== Catholic Church ====
In the [[Catholic Church]] the Tree of Life in [[Book of Revelation]] verse 2:7 is the [[Eucharist in the Catholic Church|Eucharist]].<ref>Schmitz, Fr. Mike. “Day 359: John's Apocalypse — The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)” Ascension Press. 24 Dec. 2021. YouTube. https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=cLKNkdyrb94</ref>

====Eastern Christianity====
[[File:Apocalypse 43. The tree of life. Revelation cap 22 v 2. Mortier's Bible. Phillip Medhurst Collection.jpg|thumb|''The tree of life'',<ref>{{bibleverse|Rev.|22:2|NRSV}}</ref> a print from the [[c:User:Phillip Medhurst|Phillip Medhurst]] Collection of Bible illustrations in the possession of the Rev. Philip De Vere at St. George's Court, [[Kidderminster]], England]]

The [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] has traditionally understood the tree of life in Genesis as a [[Typology (theology)|prefiguration]] of the [[Christian cross|Cross]], which humanity could not partake of until after the [[Incarnation (Christianity)|incarnation]], [[death and resurrection of Jesus]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Roman |first=Dr. Alexander |title=Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden |publisher=Ukrainian Orthodoxy |url=http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/automne2004/treeoflife.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070227172919/http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/automne2004/treeoflife.htm |archive-date=February 27, 2007 }}</ref>

====Western Christianity====

In ''[[The City of God (book)|The City of God]]'' (xiii.20–21), [[Augustine of Hippo]] 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. 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]]'' (Q97), [[Thomas Aquinas]] 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 of Hippo|Augustine]] in the ''[[City of God (book)|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]] (''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.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Pühret - Kirche Marienaltar Bild.jpg|Mary Assumption parish church in Pühret (Neustift i.M., Upper Austria): [[Altar]] of [[Virgin Mary]]: Image of [[Madonna (art)|Madonna with Child]] (1900).
File:Chotyniec4.jpg|Gilded [[royal doors]] carved to represent the tree of life (old wooden church in [[Chotyniec]], [[Poland]])
File:Tree of Life by G.K. Chesterton.png|Tree of Life at St. Teresa's Catholic Church, [[Beaconsfield]], UK
</gallery>

===Judaism===
According to [[Jewish mythology]], in the [[Garden of Eden]] there is a tree of life or the "tree of souls"<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dRi8v-j7OMC&q=%22Tree+of+Souls%22&pg=PA153 |title=Origins of the Kabbalah |access-date=2014-05-01|isbn=0691020477 |year=1990 |last1=Scholem |first1=Gershom Gerhard |publisher=Princeton University Press }}</ref> that blossoms and produces new [[souls]], which fall into the [[Guf]], the ''Treasury of Souls''. The Angel [[Gabriel]] reaches into the treasury and takes out the first soul that comes into his hand. Then [[Lailah]], the Angel of Conception, watches over the embryo until it is born. <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/95135842/224/THE-TREASURY-OF-SOULS |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030044612/http://www.scribd.com/doc/95135842/224/THE-TREASURY-OF-SOULS |archive-date=2012-10-30 |title=200_ THE TREASURY OF SOULS for Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism |work=Scribd. |url-status=dead |access-date=15 June 2015}}</ref>

==== Jewish Mythology ====

The tree of life appears in [[Asherah]] iconography, particularly on the [[Lachish]] ewer and Pithos A from [[Kuntillet Ajrud]], where it is flanked by ibexes.<ref>Taylor, Joan E. “The Asherah, the Menorah, and the Sacred Tree.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 1995</ref><ref>Hestrin, Ruth. “The Lachish Ewer and the ‘Asherah.” Israel Exploration Journal, vol. 37, no. 4, 1987, pp. 212–223. Israel Exploration Society.</ref> The tree’s design, with buds, flowers, and possibly [[almond]] drupes, resembles the menorah, which is thought to represent a stylized [[almond tree]] in Exodus 25:31-36 <ref>Yarden, L. The Tree of Light: A Study of the Menorah. E&W Library, 1971.</ref> This suggests a continuation of Asherah’s cultic representation in the temple.<ref>Stager, Lawrence E. “Jerusalem and the Garden of Eden.” Eretz-Israel 1999.</ref> Scholars have explored these connections, noting parallels between sacred trees, Asherah, and the menorah.<ref>Hestrin, Ruth. “The Lachish Ewer and the ‘Asherah.” Israel Exploration Journal, vol. 37, no. 4, 1987, pp. 212–223. Israel Exploration Society.</ref><ref>Smith, Mark S. The Early History of God. Eerdmans, 2002.</ref>

====Kabbalah====
{{Main|Tree of life (Kabbalah)}}

The tree of life is represented in several examples of [[sacred geometry]] and is central in particular to the [[Kabbalah]], where it is represented as a diagram of ten nodes called [[sefirot]] (singular sefirah), or the ten emanations or attributes of God. It portrays how God, the Creator, demonstrates his creative energy throughout the universe, via angels and then to humans. Each of the tree's branches (sefirot) represents a different category of creative force that is overseen by a different Archangel. Believers claim that by focusing on the various energies one by one, people can develop a closer spiritual union with God. Kabbalah is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism.<ref name="JE">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Ginzberg |first1=Louis |author-link1=Louis Ginzberg |last2=Kohler |first2=Kaufmann |author-link2=Kaufmann Kohler |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3878-cabala |title=Cabala |encyclopedia=[[Jewish Encyclopedia]] |publisher=[[Kopelman Foundation]] |date=1906 |access-date=23 October 2018}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The tree of life is mentioned explicitly in the 2006 film ''[[The Fountain]]''; it is discussed in connection with the Hebrew Genesis book.

In the 1995 Anime ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', beings known as Angels possess the “fruit of life”, which provides them with infinite energy, enabling regeneration and shapeshifting, among other abilities.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Bible|Religion}}
* [[Adam and Eve]]
* [[al-Qurnah]]
* ''[[The Fountain (film)|The Fountain]]''
* [[Sidrat al-Muntaha|Lote tree]]
* [[Sephirot]]
* [[Sidrat al-Muntaha]]
* [[Tree of Jesse]]
* [[Tree of life]]
* [[Tree of life vision]]
* [[Trees in mythology]]
* [[Yggdrasil]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

* {{cite book|last=Mettinger|first=Tryggve|title=The Eden Narrative: A Literary and Religio-historical Study of Genesis 2-3|year=2007|publisher=Eisenbrauns|isbn=9781575061412|author-link=Tryggve Mettinger}}

==External links==
{{External links|section|date=June 2021}}
{{Commons category multi|Tree of life (Bible)|Tree of life (Christian)}}
* [http://www.entheomedia.org/datura_gallery.htm Entheomedia.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001121259/http://www.entheomedia.org/datura_gallery.htm |date=1 October 2018}}
* [http://ancientegypt.hypermart.net/treeoflife/ Ancient Egypt, the tree of life]

'''Jewish and Non-Jewish views'''
* [http://www.digital-brilliance.com/kab/nok/q1.txt Colin Low's Notes on Kabbalah - The Tree of Life]
* [http://www.kheper.net/topics/Kabbalah/Kabbalah.htm Kheper's Kabbalah Page]
* [http://www.workofthechariot.com/TextFiles/Translations-SY-Ezra.html Work of the Chariot]
* [https://grdv.co.uk/newperspective/ The Isometric Sephiroth: The Forgotten Correspondences]
* [http://www.psyche.com/psyche/tree/tree.html Etz Hhaim:  The Tree of Life: The Original Tree of the Sepher Yetsira]

{{Adam and Eve}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tree Of Life (Judeo-Christian)}}
[[Category:Adam and Eve]]
[[Category:Biblical phrases]]
[[Category:Book of Revelation]]
[[Category:Christian mythology]]
[[Category:Esoteric cosmology]]
[[Category:Garden of Eden]]
[[Category:Jewish mysticism]]
[[Category:Jewish mythology]]
[[Category:Religious cosmologies]]
[[Category:Trees in Christianity]]
[[Category:Cherubim]]
[[Category:Immortality]]