Direction: Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the correct/most appropriate options.
The Tree of Life is a universal symbol found in many religious traditions. In the Hebrew Bible it is directly mentioned in the Book of Genesis and the Book of Proverbs, while in the New Testament, it figures prominently in the Book of Revelation.
According to Genesis, partaking of the fruit of the Tree of Life would have allowed Adam and Eve to live forever. After they sinned by eating of the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, however, they were cast out of the Garden of Eden and forbidden to partake of the Tree of Life. In the Book of Revelation, Jesus promises the Tree of Life, which bears 12 different types of fruit in the New Jerusalem, to those who overcome the tribulation of the Last Days.
During the Middle Ages the Tree of Life became a major symbol in the tradition of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, where it represents the ten sephitot, or divine emanations. Here, it symbolized God's manifestation in the created world, and also the fulfillment of the human being's quest for complete knowledge of God.
In pre-Jewish Mesopotamian religion, the Tree of Life was depicted in various works of art and literature. It was sometimes associated with the goddesses of fertility and guarded by a serpent. In other traditions it is sometimes associated with the "World Tree" that forms a bridge between the spiritual and physical worlds.
Implied in virtually all traditions regarding the Tree of Life is the idea that human beings desire to reconnect to the nature of divinity and attain eternal life by consuming the life-giving fruit of the Tree or embodying the symbolic qualities of the Tree itself.
The Coptic Book of Enoch describes the Tree of Life as "a fragrance beyond all fragrances; its leaves and bloom and wood wither not forever; its fruit is beautiful and resembles the date-palm" (Ethiopic Enoch 24:4) The Slavonic Book of Enoch says "In the midst there is the tree of life… and this tree cannot be described for its excellence and sweet odor" (Slavonic Enoch 8:3). The Book of 2 Esdras describes the future and says "Unto you is paradise opened, the tree of life is planted”.