In Judaism and Christianity, the tree of life is first described in chapter 2, verse 9 of the Book of Genesis as being "in the midst of the Garden of Eden" with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After the fall of man, "lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever", cherubim and a flaming sword are placed at the east end of the Garden to guard the way to the tree of life. The tree of life has become the subject of some debate as to whether or not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the same tree.
Stained glass window in St Mary the Virgin parish church, Iffley, Oxfordshire, made in 1995
The tree of life, a print from the Phillip Medhurst Collection of Bible illustrations in the possession of Revd. Philip De Vere at St. George's Court, Kidderminster, England.
Mary Assumption parish church in Pühret (Neustift i.M., Upper Austria): Altar of Virgin Mary: Image of Madonna with Child (1900).
Gilded royal doors carved to represent the tree of life (old wooden church in Chotyniec, Poland).
Tree of the knowledge of good and evil
In Judaism and Christianity, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is one of two specific trees in the story of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2–3, along with the tree of life. Alternatively, some scholars have argued that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is just another name for the tree of life.
Adam and Eve - Paradise, the fall of man as depicted by Lucas Cranach the Elder, the Tree of knowledge of good and evil is on the right
A marble bas relief by Lorenzo Maitani on the Orvieto Cathedral, Italy depicts Eve and the tree
