Tree of life (biblical)

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This article is about the concept in Abrahamic religions. For the general cultural motif, see Tree of life. For other meanings, see Tree of life (disambiguation).
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In

cherubim and a flaming sword are placed at the east end of the Garden to guard the way to the tree of life.[3] 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.[4]

Stained glass window in St Mary the Virgin parish church, Iffley, Oxfordshire, made in 1995

In the Bible outside of Genesis, the term "tree of life" appears in Proverbs (3:18; 11:30; 13:12; 15:4) and Revelation (2:7; 22:2,14,19). It also appears in 2 Esdras (2:12; 8:52) and 4 Maccabees (18:16), which are included among the Jewish apocrypha.

According to the 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.[5]

Number of trees

critical study of 1883, proposed that there was only one tree in the body of the 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 forbidden tree. Claus Westermann gave recognition to Budde's theory in 1976.[6]

Bible scholars "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."[7]

Religious views

Christianity

Eastern Christianity

The tree of life,[8] a print from the Phillip Medhurst Collection of Bible illustrations in the possession of Revd. Philip De Vere at St. George's Court, Kidderminster, England.

The

death and resurrection of Jesus.[9]

Western Christianity

In

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

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.”

aging
. This is the standing interpretation in modern Reformed theology as well.

Judaism

According to

Lailah, the Angel of Conception, watches over the embryo until it is born.[11]

Kabbalah

Main article: 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.[12]

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

References

  1. ^ Lizorkin-Eyzenberg, Eli (July 7, 2016). "The Power of Hebrew". Israel Study Center. Retrieved March 26, 2017.[dead link]
  2. ^ Genesis 3:22
  3. ^ Genesis 3:24
  4. ^ Mettinger 2007, pp. 5–11; Makowiecki 2020, pp.441-457
  5. ^ "The Apocalypse of Moses". www.pseudepigrapha.com. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  6. ^ Mettinger 2007, p. 7
  7. ISBN 9004098879
    .
  8. ^ Rev. 22:2
  9. ^ Roman, Dr. Alexander, Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, Ukrainian Orthodoxy, archived from the original on February 27, 2007
  10. ISBN 0691020477
    . Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  11. ^ "200_ THE TREASURY OF SOULS for Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism". Scribd. Archived from the original on 2012-10-30. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  12. Kopelman Foundation
    . Retrieved 23 October 2018.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tree of life (Bible) and Tree of life (Christian).

Jewish and Non-Jewish views

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