(mu / tree)
(tian / field, farmland)
Genesis 2:8-9
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put
the man he had formed. And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of
the ground -- trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the
middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil. NIV
Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the East, and there he put the
man he had formed. He made all kinds of beautiful trees grow there and produce
good fruit. In the middle of the garden stood the tree that gives life and the
tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. TEV
U
T
(ming / command, life, fate, destiny)
The oracle bone character for the first mouth is inverted, symbolizing speaking
from above. The second mouth indicates a person. The "kneeling man" is not a
meaningful character by itself anymore, but here it has been modified to a
standing character, modified further into the lower right corner of the
modern character for command. God is speaking a command to the man. The
character has additional meanings of involving life, fate, and destiny because
it was a very important command:
Genesis 2:15-17
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and
take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from
any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." NIV
Then the Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and
guard it. He told him, "You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except
the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. You must not eat
the fruit of that tree; if you do, you will die the same day." TEV
U
T
(tian /field) + (mu / tree) =
(guo / fruit, consequence, result)
Though there was an abundance of types of fruit, there was a consequence for
one of them.
(jin / forbid)
God gave just one command to the first people and it involved trees and
obedience. The "knowledge" obtained from the bad tree would not be simply
intellectual, but experientially knowing bad and evil. The perfection and
goodness that God created would be lost.
Back, Next
Beginning,
Oracle Bones,
God,
Water,
Earth,
Mankind,
Adam,
Eve,
Good Tree,
Bad Tree,
Penalty,
Clothes,
Lamb,
Gate,
Murder,
Flood,
Lifespans,
Scattering,
Border Sacrifice,
Genesis 1 to 11