Who Said it was an Apple Tree?

When referring to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, why do we so often refer to it as an apple tree? The Bible gives us no indication of what type of fruit tree this was. Though it does not matter theologically what type of fruit it was that Adam and Eve ate of, it is still interesting to discuss for curiosity sake.

 

Therefore, I beg the question, "Who says?"

 

Who says it was an apple tree? Who told us that it couldn't have been an orange tree? Or a mango tree? Or even a banana or a peach tree for that matter?

The only details the Bible gives us concerning this tree was that it bore fruit.

But wait! We must ask ourselves some key questions before making a definitive statement.

1) How many types of apples are there? Google, the great source of knowledge, tells me that there are well over seven thousand five hundred different varieties of apples. 7,500! Can you believe that!?

2) How many types of fruits are there? Well, considering the fact that there are over seven thousand different types of apples, which is one kind of fruit, I believe that it would be safe to assume that the amount of different kinds of fruit around the world would be staggering. I also found that there are over sixteen hundred (1,600) varying types of bananas!

Those numbers are amazing to think about as we consider the fact that God never meant for us to become bored with His creation. Instead, He created it in such a way that we would spend our whole lives discovering more and more of what He gave us. Truly we serve a wonderful and very creative Maker.

Therefore, because we do not know exactly what kind of fruit it was that was declared to be forbidden, I will present my theoretical conclusion to this dilemma.

I believe that whatever fruit was on this tree does not exist anymore on this Earth.

Why do I say this? Imagine the account as if you are there watching it all take place. Eve is walking in the garden when a snake slithers up against her leg. The serpent begins tempting her to eat of the one tree that she was specifically told not to eat from.

Let us pretend for one second that the tree was a beautiful red apple tree. Satan tempts Eve to eat from it and what does she say? The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.' But I have found that the exact same fruit that is on this tree is on another tree just over that hill, therefore, why would you tempt me with this fruit, Satan, if I am free to eat of the exact same fruit just over there?"

The woman doesn't say that last part does she? Why not? Because this tree is like no other tree that the LORD God had made. Just like the tree of life, this is a type of fruit that is found nowhere else in the whole world.

If this was an apple, then the temptation would not have been near as strong because Eve could have walked a few more feet over to a tree that she was free to eat from and had the same type of fruit - just not in conflict with God's commands.

This was a fruit that could be tasted nowhere else and Adam and Eve knew that. And when they were kicked out of the garden, they, along with the entire human race, were unable to regain entry into the presence of the Lord. Thus, for over sixteen hundred years the garden was guarded by the cherubim of God so that no man would be allowed in.

With that said, the great Noahic Flood would have destroyed the Garden of Eden along with everything growing within its borders. Do you see where I am going with this? This means that the one tree with its one kind of fruit was destroyed in the global flood of Noah's day and thus it remains no more.

The tree of knowledge of good and evil was not an apple tree. It was not an orange tree. It was not a banana tree. None of us know what kind of tree it was because the fruit does not exist anywhere upon this Earth. It was on one tree for one time for one test and when God destroyed the Earth with water, God destroyed this one tree that has no more purpose upon this Earth.