Did Adam and Eve eat from the tree of life before the fall?

One of the distinguishing features of the Garden of Eden was its trees, which grew edible food (Genesis 2:16). The account mentions two trees by name: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is central to the story of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, as they ate from it in violation of God’s instructions (Genesis 3:1–6). While the book of Genesis does not explicitly state that the first man and woman ever ate from the tree of life, the story hints at this possibility.

Genesis first mentions the tree of life when it locates it, along with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in the middle of the garden. The description reads, “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” (Genesis 2:9). Both trees, and the edible food they grew, play a key role in the story that unfolds.

In His instructions about eating from the trees, God explicitly forbade Adam from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He said, “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 from it you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:16–17). God did not provide any direct instructions about eating from the tree of life. The implication is that, when God said they are free to eat from “any tree in the garden,” this included the tree of life. Yet Genesis never explicitly confirms whether they actually ate from the tree of life.

One interpretation holds that eating from the tree of life enabled Adam and Eve’s immortality. This view is based on what God said when explaining the consequences of their sin: “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever” (Genesis 3:22). Consequently, after their sin, God rendered them mortal by barring their access to the tree. This restriction was a mercy in that it prevented Adam and Eve from living forever in their fallen state. To ensure they could not return to the tree of life, God “placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24).

Those who hold that Adam and Eve did not eat from the tree of life before their fall offer different scenarios. One argument is based on God’s command forbidding Adam “to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat” (Genesis 3:22). According to this view, God was preventing a future action rather than addressing a past event. The text only specifies that Adam and Eve must not eat of the tree in the future.

A related argument suggests that God’s security measure—the cherubim with the flaming sword—implies that Adam and Eve had not yet eaten from the tree of life. If they had, the reasoning goes, guarding the tree afterward would be meaningless. In this view, eating from the tree once would have resulted in immortality.

Humanity lost access to the tree of life after the fall, but that is not the end of the story. In the last chapter of the Bible, John sees the New Jerusalem. He describes a river of the water of life flowing from the throne of God and “on each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month” (Revelation 22:2). Although God has barred humanity from the tree of life since the fall, one day the redeemed will have access to it once more.