Tree of Life

Biblical Texts

The tree of life appears at both the beginning and the end of the Bible.

• Genesis: Genesis 2:9 records that God placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the Garden of Eden. Only the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was forbidden (Genesis 2:17). After Adam and Eve ate that fruit, God sent them out of the garden, lest they eat of the tree of life and live forever. He then placed "Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life" (Genesis 3:22–24). Cherubim are angelic beings; they are discussed in detail in the article Seraphim and Cherubim.
• Proverbs: Proverbs likens wisdom (3:18), the fruit of the righteous (11:30), fulfilled desire (13:12), and a wholesome tongue (15:4) to "a tree of life." These verses use the phrase figuratively for whatever fosters life, not for the tree in the garden itself.
• Revelation: In Revelation, Jesus promises the church in Ephesus, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God" (Revelation 2:7). Chapter 22 depicts the tree of life on either side of the river in the New Jerusalem, yielding its fruit every month, with leaves "for the healing of the nations" (22:2). The chapter also states that those who wash their robes will have the right to the tree of life (22:14) and warns that anyone who takes away from the words of the prophecy will lose his part in the tree of life (22:19).

Terminology and Background

The Hebrew term is ʿets ha-ḥayyim ("the tree of life"). The Greek expression in Revelation uses xylon, a word meaning "tree." Sacred tree motifs appear widely in ancient Near Eastern art and literature and are often compared with the biblical tree of life, but scholars differ on how they relate to the Genesis text. Ezekiel 47:12 describes trees along the river flowing from the temple that bear fruit every month and whose leaves serve as medicine, a scene that closely resembles Revelation 22 in both imagery and wording.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

The way to the tree of life, closed by the Fall in Genesis, is opened again in Revelation. For this reason the tree of life is regarded as one of the foremost symbols of the Bible's structure, in which the beginning and the end mirror each other. The New Testament speaks of eternal life as life restored through Christ, and Revelation portrays this restoration through the tree of life in the New Jerusalem.

Interpretations and Issues

• Literal or symbolic: Some interpreters regard the tree of life as an actual tree, while others take it as a symbol of the life that comes from fellowship with God. Many affirm both aspects together.
• The efficacy of the fruit: Views differ on whether the fruit itself had life-giving power or served as a sign of God's promise. Reformed covenant theology often explains the tree of life as a sign of the life promised on condition of obedience.
• Connection with the cross: Drawing on New Testament passages that call the cross a "tree" (Acts 5:30; 1 Peter 2:24), an interpretive tradition dating back to the early church pairs the cross with the tree of life. This connection, however, is not stated directly in Scripture but belongs to the tradition of interpretation.
• Common confusions: What Adam and Eve ate was the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, not of the tree of life. Nor does the text say that the fruit was an apple. It is likewise silent on whether humans ate from the tree of life before the Fall.

In the Korean Church

In Bible study and preaching, the tree of life is frequently discussed when Genesis and Revelation are read together to explain the overarching story of salvation. The phrase is also used in the names of churches and Christian organizations.