Did Adam and Eve Eat an Apple?

It sometimes happens that author makes sweeping claims that simply are not true. One often finds such a claim in history text books: namely, the claim that the Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire in A.D. 313. This is simply false. Constantine made Christianity legal in A.D. 313 with the Edict of Milan, but it was the Emperor Theodosius I who made Christianity the official religion in A.D. 380. Another claim that turns out to be untrue is frequently made in theological texts: namely, that the fruit eaten by Adam and Eve was historically associated with an apple.

I have been taught this by numerous professors in different classes for a number of years and - up until recently - I accepted it as true because the argument seemed to make sense. The usual claim is that ancient authors - and especially medieval authors - either mistranslated one Latin word for another or enjoyed playing with a Latin pun: malum means "apple" and malus means "bad." The bad fruit, then, turned out to be an apple. But it turns out this is not true.

In his recently published book, Temptation Transferred: The Story of How the Forbidden Fruit Became an Apple [Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2022, 181 pages, $27.42], Azzan Yadin-Israel convincingly argues that the fruit of the tree in the Garden of Eden was not associated with an apple until the twelfth century, beginning in - of all places - France, and not because of Latin but because of French: pom originally meant "fruit" generally, but came to mean "apple" specifically.

Yadin-Israel demonstrates his argument by examining early Jewish, Christian, and Islamic commentaries on the account found in Genesis which usually describe the fruit as a generic fruit or specifically as a fig, but also grapes, a pomegranate, wheat, and even a banana. The text is supported by numerous color and back and white images of sculptural and manuscript depictions of the temptation of Adam and Eve. Additionally, he supports his argument with 361 end notes and a 18 page Inventory of Fall of Man Scenes the reader may consult to verify his thorough research.

While not for everyone, this book will be an enjoyable and intriguing read for those with a somewhat nerdy theological interest, as well as those interested in linguistics, philology, and etymology.

I first learned of this book through episode 217 of the Gone Medieval podcast, "Origins of the Forbidden Fruit Myth."