Hey, this is John at the Bible Project.

Last week we began a new conversation with my friend and scholar Dr. Tim McEy about

the theme of trees in the Bible.

Now I'm a city boy, I didn't grow up on land and went camping every once in a while.

I've grown a couple tomato plants in my day, but in general, I don't spend a lot of time

thinking about trees.

The ancient peoples from the remote western world of Egypt to the eastern river marches

of Babylonia lived in the land, not simply on it.

They were all agrarian cultures whose livelihood was found and maintained among the shade,

fruit, shelter, and beauty of trees.

There can be little doubt that this lifestyle had a significant effect on these ancient cultures

and the way they perceived the world.

These were some of the most sacred elements in ancient Near Eastern civilization.

The biblical authors love to talk about trees, and there's one tree in particular that

stands out.

It's on page 2 of the Bible, and it's at the very end of the Bible.

It's crucial to the entire narrative of the biblical story, and that's the Tree of Life.

Why a Tree of Life?

We're going to make a cultural step here.

In the ancient Near East, the Tree of Life is a thing.

It's a thing in Egypt, a thing in Babylon, a thing in Canaanite culture.

The biblical authors are using a known image, but giving it a unique biblical meaning

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