Genesis 2:9
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
9 [a]Out of the ground the Lord God made grow every tree that was delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.(A)
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- 2:9 The second tree, the tree of life, is mentioned here and at the end of the story (3:22, 24). It is identified with Wisdom in Prv 3:18; 11:30; 13:12; 15:4, where the pursuit of wisdom gives back to human beings the life that is made inaccessible to them in Gn 3:24. In the new creation described in the Book of Revelation, the tree of life is once again made available to human beings (Rev 2:7; 22:2, 14, 19). Knowledge of good and evil: the meaning is disputed. According to some, it signifies moral autonomy, control over morality (symbolized by “good and evil”), which would be inappropriate for mere human beings; the phrase would thus mean refusal to accept the human condition and finite freedom that God gives them. According to others, it is more broadly the knowledge of what is helpful and harmful to humankind, suggesting that the attainment of adult experience and responsibility inevitably means the loss of a life of simple subordination to God.
Revelation 22:2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
2 down the middle of its street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life[a] that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations.
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Revelation 22:14
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
14 Blessed are they who wash their robes so as to have the right to the tree of life and enter the city[a] through its gates.(A)
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