The Sin of the Tree of Knowledge
The single prohibition—not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge—is broken the same day: the serpent persuades Chava, who gives the fruit to Adam.
One commandment is given: eat from every tree, but not from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, "for on the day you eat of it you shall surely die". The serpent, "the most cunning of the beasts", opens not with a command but a question, and Chava answers by adding a fence that was never spoken—"nor shall you touch it". The serpent pushes her against the tree to show that touching did no harm, then promises that their eyes will open and they will be like God, knowing good and evil. She eats and gives to her husband.
The consequence is immediate but unexpected: they do not drop dead, they notice they are naked and hide. Knowledge of good and evil turns out to be shame and inner division, not power. Asked "Where are you?", Adam blames his wife, she blames the serpent. Sentence falls on all three, and death enters the world as a condition of life.
How we know
Sources
Tanakh
- Bereishit 2:16–17 — the prohibition itself and the warning “you shall surely die”
- Bereishit 3 — the conversation with the serpent, the transgression and the judgement
Chazal: Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, Zohar
- Bereishit Rabbah 19:3 — Chavah’s addition “nor shall you touch it” and how the serpent used it
- Sanhedrin 70a — the sages’ dispute over the tree: vine, wheat or fig
- Shabbat 146a — the corruption the serpent brought into humanity, and when it ceased
Rishonim
- Rashi on Bereishit 3:6 — what Chavah saw in the tree before she ate
Basis: stated in the Tanakh.
People and places
Adam · Eve · Garden of Eden · Teshuvah