Genesis 3:22 (WEB)
The LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand, and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—”
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Genesis 3:22 (KJV)
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Key words
- עֵץ הַחַיִּיםets hachayyim · Hebrew
- 'the tree of life' — the tree whose fruit gives unending life; the couple had been free to eat of it (2:16).
- וָחַי לְעֹלָםvachay le'olam · Hebrew
- 'and live for ever' — what Adam and Eve forfeit by being barred from the tree.
Why it matters
After the fall, God bars the way to the tree of life 'lest he… live for ever.' Pitre uses this to show that Adam and Eve were created not only sinless but with access to immortality, and that death is a loss, not the original design (pp 22–23). The point matters twice over: the New Eve's freedom from sin restores the first state, and the Ark's incorruption points to the body of Mary kept from the corruption of the grave. Note: on p 18 Pitre cites this verse for the phrase 'mother of all the living,' which is actually Genesis 3:20.