Does this tree of life have anything to do with the one in the Garden of Eden (3:18)?
18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who retain her.--NKJV I compare my cross reference in my margin, Genesis 2:9, which says, "And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."
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Asked April 02 2019
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Jack Gutknecht
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Tim Maas
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In the passage from which the verse cited in the question (Proverbs 3:18) is taken, Solomon is likening wisdom to a tree of life, based on the benefits that possessing wisdom will confer on a person in this earthly life, such as long life, riches, honor, peace, happiness, and pleasantness. However, I do not believe that Solomon's intent was to indicate a similarity between wisdom and the Tree of Life planted by God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9). The Tree of Life evidently produced fruit that would cause anyone who ate of that fruit to become immortal (Genesis 3:22). (That was why God prevented humans from having access to that tree after they had fallen into sin (Genesis 3:24).) The Tree of Life was subsequently apparently removed from earth by God, but is described by John as being again present in the new Jerusalem at the close of the present age (Revelation 22:2). Solomon, by contrast, is speaking only of the benefits that the possession of wisdom will produce in this earthly life (as indicated by his reference to a long life, rather than to immortality).
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