This account emphasizes knowledge because it is the desire for knowledge that motivates Adam and Eve and ultimately results in their punishment. Legaspi points out that this knowledge is not a “divine omniscience,” but rather a knowledge that gives someone the “capacity to make independent judgments concerning human welfare.” In other words, by eating the fruit Adam and Eve were given the ability to judge, the ability to assign these labels to different things/actions. Legaspi describes knowing good and evil as the ability “to pronounce on the propriety and ultimate value of things,” which only God should be able to do. So, the tree of knowledge does not give a person a god-like knowledge, but rather the capability to make judgements, making them “like God’ in a sense. The fact that they ate the fruit (as opposed to touching it) is also significant, as explained by Legaspi. Both accounts show the act of eating as an exchange between God and humans: God gives the gift of food and humans receive it by eating it. In this particular account, however, the exchange is framed as a “prohibition,” which further emphasizes humans’ dependence on and obedience to God.
It’s also worth noting that the central object of the story is a tree. In literature, trees are often used to symbolize life and wisdom. The two trees present in this account (the tree of life and the tree of knowledge) do just that. It’s also important to note that since Adam and Eve violated the tree, these ideas are used against them. The two no longer enjoy everlasting life but rather are sentenced to a life that will inevitably end, and they receive knowledge but not necessarily wisdom.
The failure of Adam and Eve in this account is an act of disobedience, but it can also be described as a failure to accept what they’d been given. God gave them everything they could’ve needed with just one condition. But, as human nature would have it, the effects of desire and curiosity kicked in, making them want something beyond what they had: knowledge. This action makes Adam and Eve more god-like in the sense that they now have the ability to make judgements about good and bad. However, it makes them so much more human because it shows their imperfections and results in them living mortal lives that will end. God’s punishment (banishing them) is merciful because he could’ve done way worse. He allowed them to still live out their lives while still paying for their disobedience.
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