Was The Fruit Metaphorical?

Was The Fruit Eve Ate Metaphorical?
A minority opinion by some is that the fruit mentioned in Genesis that Eve ate—the fruit from the forbidden tree—was actually symbolic of her having venereal acts with Satan. To posit this, people firstly note that the Devil was in the garden(this is true and something discussed here). Then they go on to say eating the fruit would not provide the knowledge of good and evil; thus, Lucifer likely told it to her during or after these acts. However, this claim is simply absurd and is based on no evidence. There is absolutely no reason to draw the conclusion it is metaphorical, or even referring to intercourse. It would make far more sense to believe that God, in his omnipotence(all unlimited power), simply made the fruit act in that way.

Some have argued apples are commonly used to depict sexual acts as we see this at times in Greek mythology(1); however, this tradition came far after the old testament and even if it came before, the forbidden fruit is not even an apple. This came later in Christian depictions due to the Latin pun, "Malum malum" meaning evil apple in Latin.  Malum is a noun for apple, and malum is an adjective for evil. 

Another argument is that God rejected Cain's sacrifice because he was part demon; however, this is a misreading of the text. "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:  But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell," (Genesis 4:1-5 KJV). We see in the passage that the offerings were very different, one was fruit while the other was the fat of his first flock, one of extreme importance to Abel while the other was of less importance, mere fruit. Another possible answer is that fruit just is not an offering given to God so it was not something he took, the lamb was a blood offering but there is no equivalent for fruit.

Some have also tried to claim that as Cain killed his brother, and he was of Eve, perhaps he was part Demon, but this once again is made completely on an assumption with no actual reason to think it is true. He was fallen as his family was, and he could feel jealousy and anger(Genesis 4:5), so it would be in his nature to commit this evil.

The final seal of the coffin is some say since God punished the three, perhaps they were in relations. However, this rejects the entire passage and the point of him judging them. He judged them for they disobeyed him, not because they did acts with the Devil.

Work Cited:

McCartney, Eugene Stock. “How the Apple Became the Token of Love.” Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, vol. 56, 1925, (P. 70–81). JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/282885. Accessed 28 Feb. 2023.