Tag: Peach

Unless we read the story of the Fall of Man in the original Hebrew, we are told that it began with Eve being tempted by an apple. The Hebrew, however, simply identifies the fruit as a fleshy fruit. The apple was part of European culture, not of the Middle East (though some apples may have been imported). Eve’s fruit did not become an apple until the Bible was translated into Latin. The translators used malum for “apple”, eschewing pomum (pome), which had a broader meaning and was probably a more accurate translation of the Hebrew. They may have preferred malum because the word also meant an “evil” or “wrong-doing”. Even if the pun between apple and evil was unintended, it was certainly convenient for sermons.

Apples were more than mere fruit in pagan Europe. They had many other associations. The Norse gods got their immortality from magic golden apples. The god Balder was worshipped as the god of the apple tree; indeed, his name derives from abaldur, meaning “apple tree”. Crab and bitter apples had healing powers and were used in potions and poultices. And, of course, the apple provided alcoholic cider. Since the apple was such an important aspect of paganism, it was convenient for the missionary monks to have apples associated with a fundamental aspect of Christianity that sought to supplant pagan beliefs, and conveniently also an association with evil.

Back to the fruit that tempted Eve. If not the apple, what fruit was it?

The one generally favored is the pomegranate. Pomegranates originated in Persia and were cultivated in the Mediterranean regions for millennia; they were native to Palestine, according to the Bible (Deuteronomy 8:8). As a fruit, pomegranates are attractive, and they are wonderfully flavored. But there are some problems. Despite the pome in its name, the fruit is more seedy than fleshy. Access to the best part of the pomegranate is not as easy as it is in other fleshy fruits. I find it difficult to imagine Eve taking a bite out of a pomegranate.

Another native, the fig has also been suggested. Adam and Eve used the fig tree as a boutique after they partook of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, so we know there was one in Eden. Since the fig tree and the Tree of Knowledge are two different trees, it is doubtful that the fig was Eve’s fruit. Figs were probably part of Adam and Eve’s normal diet.

My favorite candidate is the peach/nectarine, though it may also have been the apricot. Apricots came into the Mediterranean region through Armenia (hence the scientific name Armeniaca), and they were widespread in Palestine by the time the Bible was written down.

The peach, which originally came from China, would have been more exotic to the Hebrews, being by now extensively cultivated in Persia, as the scientific name recognizes: persica. The Bible was written down not in Israel or Judea, but when the Jews were in exile in Babylon, where peach trees must have been well in evidence around them, probably more so than the pomegranate or fig, and definitely more than the absent apple.

So, how about it? Did this fruit bring about the fall of Man? I like to think so. Imagine Eve’s delight in taking a bite out of a delicious peach or nectarine, and the juice dripping down her chin. “Wow! Hey Adam, try this.”