John Calvin Commentary Genesis 2:9

"And out of the ground made Jehovah God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." — Genesis 2:9 (ASV)

And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow. The production spoken of here belongs to the third day of the creation. But Moses expressly declares the place to have been richly replenished with every kind of fruitful tree, that there might be a full and happy abundance of all things.

This was purposely done by the Lord, so that man's cupidity might have less excuse if, instead of being content with such remarkable affluence, sweetness, and variety, it should (as indeed happened) hurl itself against God's commandment. The Holy Spirit also intentionally relates by Moses the greatness of Adam’s happiness, so that his vile intemperance—which such abundance was unable to restrain from breaking out against the forbidden fruit—might appear more clearly.

And certainly, it was shameful ingratitude that he could not rest in a state so happy and desirable. Truly, that was more than brutal lust, which such great bounty was not able to satisfy.

No corner of the earth was then barren, nor was there any that was not exceedingly rich and fertile; but that blessing of God, which was elsewhere comparatively moderate, had in this place poured itself wonderfully forth. For not only was there an abundant supply of food, but with it was added sweetness for the gratification of the palate, and beauty to feast the eyes.

Therefore, from such benignant indulgence, it is more than sufficiently evident how inexplicable man's cupidity had been.

The tree of life also. It is uncertain whether he means only two individual trees or two kinds of trees. Either opinion is probable, but the point is by no means worthy of contention, since it is of little or no concern to us which of the two is maintained.

There is more importance in the epithets, which were applied to each tree because of its effect—and this was not by human will, but by God. He gave the tree of life its name, not because it could confer on man that life with which he had been previously endowed, but so that it might be a symbol and memorial of the life he had received from God.

For we know it is not at all unusual for God to give us the attestation of his grace by external symbols. He does not indeed transfer his power into outward signs; but by them he stretches out his hand to us, because, without assistance, we cannot ascend to him.

He intended, therefore, that man, as often as he tasted the fruit of that tree, should remember from where he received his life, so that he might acknowledge that he does not live by his own power, but by the kindness of God alone; and that life is not (as is commonly said) an intrinsic good, but proceeds from God.

Finally, in that tree there was a visible testimony to the declaration that in God we are, and live, and move. But if Adam, until then innocent and of an upright nature, needed monitory signs to lead him to the knowledge of divine grace, how much more necessary are signs now, in this great weakness of our nature, since we have fallen from the true light?

Yet I am not dissatisfied with what has been handed down by some of the fathers, such as Augustine and Eucherius: that the tree of life was a figure of Christ, inasmuch as he is the Eternal Word of God. Indeed, it could not be a symbol of life in any other way than by representing him symbolically.

For we must maintain what is declared in the first chapter of John (John 1:1–3): that the life of all things was included in the Word, but especially the life of men, which is joined with reason and intelligence. Therefore, by this sign, Adam was admonished that he could claim nothing for himself as if it were his own, so that he might depend wholly upon the Son of God and might not seek life anywhere but in him.

But if he, at the time when he possessed life in safety, had it only as deposited in the Word of God, and could retain it in no other way than by acknowledging that it was received from Him, how can we recover it after it has been lost? Let us understand, therefore, that when we have departed from Christ, nothing remains for us but death.

I know that certain writers restrict the meaning of the expression used here to corporeal life. They suppose such a power of quickening the body to have been in the tree that it would never languish through age; but I say, they omit what is the chief thing in life, namely, the grace of intelligence. For we must always consider for what purpose man was formed and what rule of living was prescribed to him. Certainly, for him to live was not simply to have a body fresh and lively, but also to excel in the endowments of the soul.

Concerning the tree of knowledge of good and evil, we must hold that it was prohibited to man, not because God wanted him to stray like a sheep, without judgment and without choice, but so that he might not seek to be wiser than was fitting for him, and might not, by trusting his own understanding, cast off the yoke of God and set himself up as an arbiter and judge of good and evil.

His sin proceeded from an evil conscience, from which it follows that judgment had been given to him by which he might discriminate between virtues and vices. Nor could what Moses relates—namely, that he was created in the image of God—otherwise be true, since the image of God comprises in itself the knowledge of him who is the chief good.

Thoroughly insane, therefore, and monsters of men are the libertines who pretend that we are restored to a state of innocence when each is carried away by his own lust without judgment. We now understand what is meant by abstaining from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: namely, that Adam might not, in attempting one thing or another, rely upon his own prudence; but that, cleaving to God alone, he might become wise only by his obedience.

Knowledge is here, therefore, understood disparagingly, in a bad sense, as that wretched experience which man, when he departed from the only fountain of perfect wisdom, began to acquire for himself. And this is the origin of freewill: that Adam wished to be independent and dared to try what he was able to do.