And the LORD God said,
Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of
the tree of life, and eat, and live forever:
All Commentaries on Genesis 3:22 Go To Genesis 3
John Chrysostom
AD 407
It is now necessary to say why, even though man did not receive the knowledge from the tree, it is called “the tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil;” for it is not a trifle to learn why a tree has such a name. In fact the devil said, “On the day when you eat of the fruit of the tree, your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.” How can you maintain, you ask me, that it did not provide him with the knowledge of good and evil? Who said, in fact, that it provided him with this knowledge? The devil, you will answer. So do you put forward the testimony of the enemy and the conspirator? The devil said, “You will be gods.” Did they really become gods? Therefore, since they did not become gods, they did not receive the knowledge of good and evil either. For the devil is a liar and never speaks the truth. In fact the Gospel says, “He never stays in the truth.”
