Genesis 3:22
“Yahweh God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand, and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—””
What does Genesis 3:22 mean?
After Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge, God recognizes they've crossed a threshold: they now understand the difference between right and wrong in a way they didn't before. This knowledge changed something fundamental in them. God's concern here isn't jealousy but a kind of protective boundary, because if they were to eat from the tree of life while in this new state of moral awareness and separation from God, they'd live forever in that broken condition. It's like saying: having lost innocence and trust, immortality would become a curse rather than a blessing. God is preventing them from compounding one consequence with another that would trap them permanently.