Good and Evil
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Apart from explicit and implied references to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in Genesis (see The Two Trees), the phrase "good and evil" occurs
- in Genesis 3:22, where after the man has eaten the forbidden fruit, the LORD God says "the man has become as one of us, to know good and evil"
- in Genesis 24:50, where Laban and Bethuel have nothing to say (they "can speak neither bad nor good")
- in Deuteronomy 1:39, where innocent children are described as not having "knowledge between good and evil"
- in Isaiah 7:15-16, where the prophesied child's experience of blessing gives wisdom to "refuse evil and choose good"
- in 2 Samuel 14:17, where King David is flattered by being described as like and angel of God in discerning good and bad
- in 1 Kings 3:7-9, where Solomon asks for wisdom to govern, distinguishing between right and wrong
For the suggestion that "good and evil" may be a merism (e.g. like "the heavens and the earth") see this note to the JPS Tanakh translation of Genesis 2:17.
See also Islip Collyer: "the two trees"
