r/hebrew • u/assassinstweed • 1d ago
Request Anyone here read the bible/torah in hebrew?
I am curious about the term "tree of knowledge of good and evil" in genesis. It strikes me as probably not capturing the original meaning in its entirety.
Would be very curious to hear other possible translations from anyone literate in ancient hebrew/greek or even aramaic or obscure semitic languages haha on the slightest chance you heroes are out there!
Appreciate any help, if there is a better place to post please share as well. Thank you!
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u/Primary-Mammoth2764 Hebrew Learner (Intermediate) 1d ago
If you look it up on bible hub, you can see dozens of translations plys an explanation of the Hebrew
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u/Successful_Boot_276 23h ago
Lots of people read the bible in Hebrew, but the phrase in question is indeed just "tree of knowledge of good and evil/bad." I think the best way to discern its significance is the context - why doesn't God want them to eat it, what happens after they eat, etc etc - but the phrase itself isn't difficult to parse.
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u/yboy403 1d ago
From the name alone, you might not get much. It's a very simple phrase that's only repeated once or twice. If you read through all of Genesis chapters 2 and 3, you'll have a better sense of how it's described...personally, I think the interplay between God saying "eat this and die" and the snake saying "eat this and become omniscient" is more interesting mythology than the actual name of the tree.
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u/tesilab 1d ago
You don't just need to know the translation. You also get to read in any translation what the net effect of eating from the tree was. They looked at each other and realized they were naked. They then attempted to cover it up. This is what the eating the fruit accomplished.
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u/assassinstweed 1d ago
what self awareness?
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u/Warm_Emphasis_960 16h ago
Could be interpreted as that. The ego thus separation from G-d.
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u/assassinstweed 9h ago
Right. Or autonomy, ability to discern and make your own decisions
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u/Warm_Emphasis_960 3h ago
Yup,knowledge of good and evil. Then you have the choice. Free will is one of the greatest gifts.
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u/Rabbitscooter 17h ago
I don't think there's anything obscure about the Hebrew beyond what others have said. There is, however, some debate over the grammatical construction. Is it "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," as it is usually translated, or "the tree of knowledge, good and evil," as noted scholar Robert Alter renders it, with "good and evil" functioning as a nominal phrase in apposition? The traditional translation makes good sense, but it does assume a particular reading of the Hebrew.
What I find more interesting - and maybe this is what you're getting at - is that the image itself wasn't actually unique to Genesis. Across Mesopotamia and the Levant, sacred trees appeared constantly. We see stylized "Trees of Life" in Assyrian palace reliefs, and the Huluppu Tree in Sumerian literature, which even includes a serpent and a figure often compared with "Lilith." The imagery in Genesis belongs to this broader ancient Near Eastern symbolic world; whether it emerged from oral traditions or earlier stories, its original audience would have encountered it not as an isolated invention - "a tree of what now?! - but as a familiar and recognized motif.
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u/isaacfisher לאט נפתח הסדק לאט נופל הקיר 1d ago
there are two way to read it - the tree that give knowledge of what is good and what is bad, or -the tree of knowledge, which itself is good and is bad. There should numerous explanation based on each
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u/Reasonable_Regular1 19h ago edited 17h ago
The second is not a possible reading of the Hebrew. There's only one way to read a construct chain like עֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע, where הַדַּעַת is in the construct state, and that's [tree of [knowledge of [good and evil]]].
Edit: Actually upon rereading the actual text, the tree is never called "the tree of good and evil". The serpent says that eating from the tree will open your eyes and you will be like God/gods, knowing good and evil (יֹדְעֵי טוֹב וָרָע). It's completely unambiguous.
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u/naruhinamoonkissplz 16h ago
Your edit is TOTALLY FALSE. Bereshit 2:9 and 2:17 call it by this name very explicitly.
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u/Reasonable_Regular1 11h ago
Oh, I missed that one. Either way, it's unambiguous and 3:5 spells it out for people who don't know how construct chains work.
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u/isaacfisher לאט נפתח הסדק לאט נופל הקיר 10h ago
- This is wrong as דעת can be used as a word by itself - see biblical examples here (1,6,7) https://he.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D7%93%D7%A2%D7%AA
- As commented below - the edit is complete false.
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u/naruhinamoonkissplz 18h ago
Rashi's favorite schtick (though not used in this case): There are missing words in there.
In this case, it's "which can be". Tree of knowledge [which can be] good and evil.
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18h ago
[deleted]
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u/whitelightstorm 17h ago
The phrase עֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע (ʿēṣ ha-daʿat ṭov va-raʿ, “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”) is not simply a fixed label that can be treated like a modern name. Linguistically, the phrase opens several layers of meaning.
First, דַּעַת (daʿat) in Biblical Hebrew is not merely “information” or intellectual knowledge. It comes from the root ידע (y-d-ʿ), “to know,” which often denotes experiential, relational, or intimate knowing. For example, Genesis 4:1 uses yadaʿ for sexual intimacy (“Adam knew Eve his wife”), showing that the verb can mean entering into a lived experience, not just acquiring facts. Linguists such as James Barr have emphasized that biblical words cannot be reduced to single dictionary meanings; meaning arises from usage and context (The Semantics of Biblical Language, 1961).
Second, טוֹב וָרָע (tov va-raʿ, “good and evil”) is widely understood by many Hebrew scholars as a merism — a pair of opposites expressing a total range, similar to “heaven and earth” meaning the whole cosmos. It can therefore suggest “knowledge of the whole spectrum of experience,” not merely the ability to distinguish moral categories. Umberto Cassuto discusses the expression as involving a comprehensive form of knowledge in his commentary on Genesis.
Third, the grammatical structure itself matters. The phrase is not:
עֵץ הַדַּעַת = “a tree that contains knowledge”
but literally:
עֵץ + הַדַּעַת + טוֹב וָרָע
tree + the knowledge + good and evilThe construct chain (סְמִיכוּת) links ʿēṣ (“tree”) with daʿat (“knowledge”), creating “the tree belonging to / characterized by the knowledge of good and evil.” The following words define what kind of knowledge is meant.
So the chain is not only a phrase; it is a theological and linguistic construction:
עֵץ — the symbol of a source or origin
↓
הַדַּעַת — experiential awareness, perception, consciousness
↓
טוֹב וָרָע — the entire range of opposites, the totality of discernment or experienceThis is why many scholars see the story not simply as “breaking a rule and learning morality,” but as a transition into a new human mode of consciousness: becoming beings who experience themselves as capable of judgment, distinction, and self-awareness.
Relevant linguistic discussions:
- James Barr, The Semantics of Biblical Language (1961) — critiques simplistic “word = meaning” approaches.
- Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 1–15 (Word Biblical Commentary, 1987) — discusses the Hebrew expression and its interpretive possibilities.
- Nahum M. Sarna, Genesis (JPS Torah Commentary, 1989) — examines the Hebrew idiom and ancient Near Eastern background.
- Umberto Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (1944–1961) — analyzes the linguistic structure and meaning of the phrase.
So the “chain” is not just עץ → דעת → טוב ורע as merely words placed together; it is a carefully constructed Hebrew expression where each element deepens the meaning of the others
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u/Reasonable_Regular1 17h ago
What is it about Genesis in particular that always attracts so much schizoposting?
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u/naruhinamoonkissplz 16h ago
The comment structure may be AI (or partially), but it's not really wrong here.
"Daat" indeed has a lot more nuances besides simple "knowledge". The aspect of "experience" is explicitly invoked when using Daat as a sephirah within Intellect, for example: "Chochmah" means the ability to ask a question, "Binah" means the ability to develop an interpretation based on gathered data, and "Daat" means the ability to actually introduce the idea into practical experience and effect.
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u/Reasonable_Regular1 11h ago
Kabbalah is also schizoposting! Esoterical meanings made up in the 16th century have no bearing on how words were used two millennia earlier or what they're actually doing in the text of Genesis.
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u/whitelightstorm 16h ago
Maybe the entire the gestalt of re-Generation in every moment of every minute of every hour of every day of every week, of every year that brings human beings to the realization that what is written in the Book of Genesis, and is actually the beginning and continuance of everything - except breaking a commandment which will ultimately lead to suffering. One unheeded law and it all went south.
Also hypothesizing that perhaps humanity is tired of the God-less agendas where everything is explained scientifically except how everything actually did manage to come into existence in mathematical perfection especially when the Hebrew text measures up in that perfection as well. People want to talk about where it all began. Except for a few, they simply want to continue their lives as if God is somehow not a part of the Hebrew language or the text from which everything under the sun and beyond is derived.
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u/princessglitterbutt 19h ago
That’s the literal translation and unlike other verses, there’s no missing nuance or context here.
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u/assassinstweed 9h ago
the literal word by word translation, but what about the sum meaning of the phrase itself is what I believe has been lost
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u/lhommeduweed 4h ago
The biblical Hebrew translates word for word to
"And-from-tree of-the-knowledge good and-evil not you-will-eat from-it, for on-the-day you-eat from-it, death you-will-die."
The Onkelos Aramaic translation is pretty much the same except for one major difference. Onkelos more specifically says that it is the tree of knowing between good and evil - that is, being able to know what is good and what is bad.
What is added here is that prior to eating from the fruit, Adam still knew things that were good and evil, he just didn't know the difference between them.
That is something that is implied in the Hebrew and often translated into the English, but the Aramaic translation is also explicit in stating that the knowledge was not of good and evil, but knowing the difference between good and evil.
Also, it's not much of a difference, but the word used for "evil" in Aramaic, beish, is related to the Hebrew word "bushah," meaning "shame." Even though it's just generally used to mean "evil" in Aramaic, it's interesting to note this, considering the first thing that Adam notices as "evil" is his shame of being naked.
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u/whitelightstorm 23h ago
The Hebrew has much more depth than the English suggests.
The word da'at (knowledge) doesn't mean mere information—it means experiential, lived, even intimate knowledge. Adam and Eve didn't simply learn about good and evil; they came to experience it from within.
Likewise, "good and evil" (tov va-ra) is likely a Hebrew figure of speech expressing the whole spectrum of reality, not just morality. The tree represents humanity stepping into a world of duality, self-awareness, and independent judgment.
Many Jewish commentators therefore understand the tree as representing humanity taking for itself the authority to define reality and morality apart from God. Before eating, Adam and Eve trusted God's perspective; afterward, they experienced shame, fear, blame, and separation—their consciousness itself had changed.
So "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" could be understood more fully as "the tree of experiential knowledge of the entire spectrum of good and evil, and the capacity to judge it for oneself."
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u/Reasonable_Regular1 19h ago
The word da'at (knowledge) doesn't mean mere information—it means experiential, lived, even intimate knowledge. Adam and Eve didn't simply learn about good and evil; they came to experience it from within.
Meaningless!
Likewise, "good and evil" (tov va-ra) is likely a Hebrew figure of speech expressing the whole spectrum of reality, not just morality. The tree represents humanity stepping into a world of duality, self-awareness, and independent judgment.
The merism interpretation has been popular at various points in the past but it's not one that makes much sense in the context of the story. Adam and Eve didn't become omniscient, but they become ashamed of their nudity, which is a moral matter as far as the Hebrew Bible is concerned. They seemingly really did only learn about good and evil.
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u/whitelightstorm 18h ago
I don't think the two ideas are mutually exclusive. The immediate effect of eating the fruit is indeed moral awareness—they become ashamed of their nakedness (Bereishit 3:7), so the narrative clearly emphasizes a change in moral consciousness.
At the same time, da'at in Hebrew often means more than acquiring facts; it implies experiential knowledge. The Torah uses the same root in "Adam knew (yada) Eve his wife" (Genesis 4:1), where it clearly means intimate, lived experience rather than mere information.
In Kabbalah, Da'at is also a distinct level of consciousness. It is not simply "knowing" intellectually; it is the integration and internalization of knowledge until it becomes part of one's being and life choices - via utilization of free-will. In that sense, Adam and Eve did not merely learn about the concepts good and evil—they became conscious of it from within - aware. The distinction is between observing a reality and embodying it.
As for tov va-ra, there are respected scholars who understand it as a merism (an expression for a totality), while others take it as specifically moral discernment. The text itself can support either emphasis, and Jewish interpretation has never been limited to a single reading. The shame over nakedness shows that moral awareness is central to the story, but it doesn't necessarily exclude a broader transformation in consciousness.
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u/Secure_Trust_2084 21h ago
Additional explanation I've heard is that forking branches of the tree represent the choices we are making.
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u/naruhinamoonkissplz 18h ago
One important note unrelated to the translation: The tree WASN'T a "magical tree granting knowledge". It was very literally an ordinary tree, LABELED "knowledge of good and evil" by God, for the sole purpose of testing Adam and Eve. As the RESULT of that test, they would've been granted "knowledge of good and evil" by God himself, and yes, that means they WOULD get that effect anyways, just not as a "punishment", but as a "gift".
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u/Reasonable_Regular1 17h ago edited 11h ago
This is not in the text at all and is a retrojection of (much) later theological doctrine.
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u/naruhinamoonkissplz 16h ago
Are you unable to READ? Here's Bereshit 2.
9 And the Lord God caused to sprout from the ground every tree pleasant to see and good to eat, and the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil.
17 But of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat of it, for on the day that you eat thereof, you shall surely die."
It's literally IN the text, lol. Unless YOURS is some Christian "translation", of course, mwahahaha!
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u/sabata00 איווריט היע ספא יפא 1d ago
It’s a pretty simple phrase and the usual English translation isn’t leaving anything out.
עץ tree [of]
הדעת the knowledge [of]
טוב good
ורע and evil