Did the forbidden fruit make us wise?

Paul wrote,

Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become "fools" so that ou may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "he catches the wise in their craftiness.

and again, The Lord knows that the thoughts oof the wise are futile.

1 Corinthians 3:18-20

In one sense, you could say that men gained a sort of wisdom, but they lost their "persepective" in the process. Wisdom is not what inherits life, righteousness is. Solomon, for one example, had tremendous wisdom, but he still couldn't keep it together. Despite his great wisdom, his many wives still led him into great sin.

But, even if at some point, wisdom came to the Couple. So what? If you are "like God" in one area, and not like Him in another, you are wholly corrupt. This is why the cross is, indeed, foolishness. God intentionally used the weak things to redeem man, where satan used a corrupted version of what appeared true to deceive.

Did the forbidden fruit make us wise?

Two trees are specifically identified as being created by God.

Genesis 2:9 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.

Adam was given specific instruction not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

When they did eat of the tree, they were able to apprehend immodesty.

Genesis 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Since Adam and Eve still walk around and talk after eating from the tree, we may surmise that the death they experienced was spiritual and may point to the new life that would be made available to those who trusted in Jesus.

What we can understand about the tree was that it would impart knowledge that included the perception of good and evil.

Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Wisdom appears to be distinct from knowledge and appears to come to us from God.

James 1:5 and if any of you do lack wisdom, let him ask from God, who is giving to all liberally, and not reproaching, and it shall be given to him;

My own personal interpretation as a Christian would suggest that the ultimate effect of the Fruit will be to impart the same sort of "wisdom" as the Prodigal Son received from his wayward lifestyle (Luke 15:11-32). Paradise 1.0 (Eden) was the farm prior to the son's departure; Paradise 2.0 (Heaven) will be the farm after his return.

Prior to his departure, the younger son was discontent, and thought the only path to happiness lay beyond the farm's boundaries. He discovered, much to his dismay, that the world outside the farm did not offer the happiness he sought. That does not mean, however, that his original belief was entirely wrong: had he never left the farm, me might have been perpetually discontented, and never have gained the wisdom necessary to find true happiness there.

Returning to the original question, my personal interpretation wouldn't be that the Fruit itself imparted wisdom, but rather that it set in motion a very long and painful chain of events through which wisdom might eventually be acquired. I can't cite any particular basis for such a notion beyond my personal belief, but I think the analogy between the farm, Eden, and Heaven works well to answer a lot of questions to which I'd not seen answers elsewhere (e.g. why create the tree and allow for the possibility of sin? Because giving Adam and Eve free will created the possibility that discontent might grow in them, and the only way to cure such discontent without revoking free will was to set mankind on its arduous journey).

The answer to your question is not an easy answer; Since the original word used here was:

שׂכל Pronounced śâkal

For myself I do believe that choosing our current state as opposed to remaining in God’s pristine state was either wise nor desirable.

Brown Driver Biggs Definition:

1) to be prudent, be circumspect, wisely understand, prosper

1a) (Qal) to be prudent, be circumspect

1b) (Hiphil)

1b1) to look at or upon, have insight

1b2) to give attention to, consider, ponder, be prudent

1b3) to have insight, have comprehension

1b3a) insight, comprehension (substantive)

1b4) to cause to consider, give insight, teach

1b4a) the teachers, the wise

1b5) to act circumspectly, act prudently, act wisely

1b6) to prosper, have success

1b7) to cause to prosper

2) (Piel) to lay crosswise, cross (hands)

Part of Speech: verb

A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root same Word by TWOT Number: 2263, 2264

As defined by Merriam Webster

WISE, a. s as z. [G., to know., L.]

1. Properly, having knowledge; hence, having the power of discerning and judging correctly, or of discriminating between what is true and what is false; between what is fit and proper, and what is improper; as a wise prince; a wise magistrate. Solomon was deemed the wisest man. But a man may be speculatively and not practically wise. Hence,

2. Discrete and judicious in the use or applications of knowledge; choosing laudable ends, and the best means to accomplish them. This is to be practically wise. Gen 41.

According to Easton.

Wise Or wisdom, a moral rather than an intellectual quality. To be “foolish” is to be godless (Psalms 14:1; compare Judges 19:23; 2nd. Samuel 13:13). True wisdom is a gift from God to those who ask it (Job 28:12-28; Proverbs 3:13-18; Romans 1:22; Romans 16:27; 1st. Corinthians 1:17-21; 1st. Corinthians 2:6-8; James 1:5). “Wisdom” in Proverbs 1:20; Proverbs 8:1; Proverbs 9:1-5 may be regarded not as a mere personification of the attribute of wisdom, but as a divine person, “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1st. Corinthians 1:24).

In Matthew 11:19 it is the personified principle of wisdom that is meant.

To my estimation Easton really has the most Biblically accurate definition and actually the word wise was not the most accurate translation in:

Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

As becomes apparent in the next verse:

Genesis 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

Perhaps a better translation would be:

Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to give one knowledge, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

In my way of understanding; the wise choice would be to have never sinned in the first place. While it is true that after eating from the tree they now were faced with a choice to choose either good or evil, it does not seem that they were any wiser in that it has been the underlying desire of mankind to be back in the state of being amicable and acceptable to God.

It appears that the reason God did not want them to gain the knowledge of good and evil is that:

Genesis 8:21 And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

So to wind up in the current state of mankind as opposed to how it was in the Garden of Eden does not seem to my Southern Baptist mind to be a wise choice.

All scripture is quoted from the New King James translation.

They became "wise" in that they now knew (the difference of) Good and Evil. The tree is explicitly called Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, so we should assume it is right that eating the fruit conferred that knowledge. This is also confirmed by them having a different view on their nakedness after eating the fruit.

So, yes, that fruit did confer knowledge of Good and Evil on them.