Genesis, 2:16-17

Let me quote from The New American Bible: "The Lord God gave man this order: "You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except from the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die." What does all this signify? First, Adam is living in the garden of Eden with great freedom, luxury and ease. Still his freedom and choice of actions are not unlimited. He appears to be innocent and living immortally. Once he disobeys God, he will have real world consciousness, an intimate awareness of good and evil. He will die as a punishment. Once he has knowledge (intellectual awakeness), then he will know tragedy, good and evil, and mortality. Now, it that punishment for his sin or a reward? Once Adam can sins, dies, and gains knowledge of good and evil, then he has free will; then he has a chance to grow, self-perfect, and grow spiritually and morally. It is a life of merit. Here is the same quote from The Holy Bible (KJV): "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of that knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."