Genesis 2:9
Hebrew Bible
8 The Lord God planted an orchard in the east, in Eden; and there he placed the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food. (Now the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of the orchard.) 10 Now a river flows from Eden to water the orchard, and from there it divides into four headstreams.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Onkelos Genesis 2:9
Targum
8 And the Lord God planted a garden in a region of pleasantness in the time of the beginning, and He made to dwell there the man whom He had created. 9 And the Lord God caused to grow from the earth every tree desirable to look upon, and good for food, and the Tree of Life in the middle of the garden, and the Tree from which those who eat its fruit can discern between good and evil. 10 And a river went forth from Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was divided and became four heads of rivers (or four chief rivers).
Date: 100-200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Texts in Conversation
The Hebrew version of Genesis 2:9 names the tree of the knowledge of good and evil without clarifying the nature of that knowledge. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos expands the language to emphasize that it is a tree of knowledge that gives knowledge, making explicit what the Hebrew only implies. This interpretation supports later readings that treat the story as a reflection on how humans acquired abstract reasoning to moral awareness.
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Notes and References
"... Onkelos clarifies the biblical phrase 'the tree of knowledge of good and evil'. Ibn Ezra read this phrase as if 'knowledge' is written twice: it is a tree of knowledge that gives knowledge. There are many instances where biblical verses must be understood in this fashion. Maimonides states that before partaking of the tree, the humans thought at a high level and used their minds to distinguish between truth and untruth. After eating the fruit they thought primarily in moral terms, distinguishing good from bad. Humans should strive to reach the higher intellectual state (Guide of the Perplexed 1:2, treating the episode as a parable teaching us how to live today) ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Genesis: Understanding the Bible Text
(p. 13) Gefen, 2006
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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