Adam

13 Pages 3147 Words

nd of thee [the Lord] in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself’” (3:10). Using Adam’s logic, the central change that takes place in his consciousness is the exposure of his nakedness. By giving the leaves of the fig tree the role of the signifier, the fig tree becomes the symbol of original sin as well as the symbol of the awareness of sin.

Once the acceptance of the sin, of humanity replacing paradise, is born through many generations, the idea of humanity is no longer, in itself, looked at as a flaw. In fact, the fig tree reverts to an image of paradise, though, this time, paradise is allowed within the human perspective. The idea of paradise becomes one of protection. As the fig leaf shielded Adam and Eve from their nakedness and allowed them to handle their shame, the fig tree evolves in the Hebrew Bible as a representation of shelter and safety. In the book of Deuteronomy, God promises to bring the followers of Moses to a land safe from persecution and struggle. He states, “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, …of vines and fig trees and pomegranates…a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing…” (Deuteronomy 8:7-9). The fig tree is one of the many images of the promised land that can be found by following God.

Similarly, the fig tree as a sign of protection and safety is illustrated in the First Book of Kings. Under King Solomon, in a time of rare peace and security, the fig tree is one of the few symbols chosen to represent this peaceful time. The Book reads, “And Judah and Israel dwelt in safety, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon” (1 Kings 4:25). Although the fig tree's leaves were viewed as a foreign object when made to function as Adam's apron, the tree evolves into an acceptable human image. T...