Genesis 3:22
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
22 Then the Lord God said: See! The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil! Now, what if he also reaches out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life, and eats of it and lives forever?(A)
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Proverbs 3:18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Footnotes
- 3:18 A tree of life: in the Old Testament this phrase occurs only in Proverbs (11:30; 13:12; 15:4) and Genesis (2:9; 3:22, 24). The origins of the concept are obscure; there is no explicit mention of it in ancient Near Eastern literature, though on ancient seals trees are sometimes identified as trees of life. When the man and the woman were expelled from the garden, the tree of life was put off limits to them, lest they “eat of it and live forever” (Gn 3:22). The quest for wisdom gives access to the previously sequestered tree of life. The tree of life is mentioned also in the apocryphal work 1 Enoch 25:4–5. Rev 2 and 22 mention the tree of life as a source of eternal life.
Revelation 2:7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
7 “‘“Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the victor[a] I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that is in the garden of God.”’(A)
To Smyrna.[b]
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- 2:7 Victor: referring to any Christian individual who holds fast to the faith and does God’s will in the face of persecution. The tree of life that is in the garden of God: this is a reference to the tree in the primeval paradise (Gn 2:9); cf. Rev 22:2, 14, 19. The decree excluding humanity from the tree of life has been revoked by Christ.
- 2:8–11 The letter to Smyrna encourages the Christians in this important commercial center by telling them that although they are impoverished, they are nevertheless rich, and calls those Jews who are slandering them members of the assembly of Satan (Rev 2:9). There is no admonition; rather, the Christians are told that they will suffer much, even death, but the time of tribulation will be short compared to their eternal reward (Rev 2:10), and they will thus escape final damnation (Rev 2:11).
Revelation 22:2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
2 down the middle of its street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life[a] that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations.
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Revelation 22:14
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
14 Blessed are they who wash their robes so as to have the right to the tree of life and enter the city[a] through its gates.(A)
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