The Discovery of Genesis (43 page)

Why should the symbol for
fruit
be used instead of one for “leaves” ? In Genesis, the leaves of the fig tree are specified as being selected to make the “aprons.” Of all the large-leafed trees in the garden, it is noteworthy that the leaves of a
fruit
tree were used for the garments. Thus three fruit trees are actually mentioned in Genesis; they are of prime importance to the story of the fall of Adam and Eve. They ate of the
fruit
of the forbidden tree; they thereby lost access to the
fruit
of the tree of life; and they used the leaves of the
fig
tree to cover their nakedness. Is it not appropriate then to single out
fruit
, rather than leaves, since all trees have leaves but not fruit?

It was God’s custom to visit in face-to-face communion with Adam and Eve each day in the garden. The time was approaching when He would appear. “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8). The purpose of
God’s
daily visit with Adam and Eve is substantiated by the word
, meaning
to inspect.
A new radical,
eye
, is noted and combined with
.
,
to observe, see, visit, interview, or meet
is thereby further expressed.

Ordinarily when God came to visit with Adam and Eve, it was the highlight of the entire day, but on this occasion, after their glorious covering had faded, they were afraid and attempted to hide. “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife
hid themselves
from the presence of the Lord God
among the trees
of the garden” (Genesis 3: 8). The word
to hide
is composed of three elements, two of which have been previously studied:
body
and tree
. The figure
in this instance means
is
, so that literally this character is saying
the body is a tree
, or Adam and his wife are trees. As they hid among the trees, they were not seen, only the trees.