“Knowledge” as we have come to know the term today is desirable for us to obtain. We spend years studying at school to become more knowledgeable, so then why is this “Knowledge” forbidden in Genesis? From reading Legaspi’s “The First Knowers” it becomes clear that knowledge as we know it today is not what God was forbidding. He forbade specifically the “knowledge of good and evil” which in human hands is a derivative form of subjective judgement which clouds our true understanding.
So, why is eating the forbidden action? Why not touching or looking? According to Legaspi, eating holds special significance in the Bible by setting man as a dependent upon nourishment. Because this nourishment can either be provided or withheld by God it sets up this essential “test” of man’s obedience. Additionally, I believe it may be important that it was fruit from a tree, because man was permitted to eat fruits and vegetables while animals fed on grasses. This is important because the test was only for man, not for other animals who did not feed on other fruits.
Adam and Eve clearly disobeyed God’s simple command to them, and yet their act was more than simple disobedience. They acted in an attempt to elevate their own status up to God himself, just as the serpent tempted them. But not only did their attempt fail, it worked in the opposite way, making them less god-like. They lost their ability to directly understand the essence of things by clouding it with the judgements of knowledge. They became subject to death, pain, and other struggles.
But all is not lost for humanity with their fall. Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden, but this may in fact have been a merciful act by God. Although barred from the tree of life, it is not destroyed meaning that their descendents would have hope of redemption. Humanity is left fallen but not destroyed.
Introduction to Theology: Charlotte Spraul 