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Fruit—specifically the fruit forbidden by God in the third chapter of Genesis—symbolizes the temptation to mistrust and disobey God. The fruit growing in the garden of Eden is good, specifically provided by God for Adam and Eve to eat and delight in. However, God has forbidden Adam and Eve from eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; while it’s never described as evil in itself, this fruit yields moral knowledge that isn’t meant for Adam and Eve right now. The serpent tempts Eve to sample the fruit anyway, claiming that she won’t really die as God has warned, and that God simply doesn’t want human beings to gain divine knowledge. Persuaded to question God’s intentions, Eve eats the appealing fruit anyway, and she gets Adam to eat some, too. After this act of disobedience against God, the human couple, along with their offspring, is cursed with suffering and death.
Fruit Quotes in Genesis
The Genesis quotes below all refer to the symbol of Fruit. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 3
Quotes
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Genesis LitChart as a printable PDF.
Fruit Symbol Timeline in Genesis
The timeline below shows where the symbol Fruit appears in Genesis. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...these things were good. Then he created all kinds of vegetation, all seed-yielding plants and fruit-bearing trees.
(full context)
Chapter 3
Looking at the tree, the woman sees that it is beautiful, and its fruit looks appetizing, especially since eating it will supposedly make her wise. So she takes fruit...
(full context)
...naked—did he eat from the forbidden tree? The man says that the woman gave him fruit from the tree. In turn, the woman says that the serpent tricked her.
(full context)
