Bible Verses About Tree of Life: 12

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."

— Revelation 22:1-2 (NIV)

People who search bible verses about the tree of life want Scripture on Eden's tree and the New Jerusalem's tree — Greek xylon, Hebrew ʿēts — not only the broader heaven destination inventory, the eternal life gift inventory alone, or the New Jerusalem city inventory alone. This page is a numbered list of twelve passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. Related lists: Bible verses about heaven, Bible verses about eternal life, Bible verses about New Jerusalem, Bible verses about hope, Bible verses about faith, Bible verses about salvation, Bible verses about resurrection, Bible verses about firstfruits, Bible verses about living water, Bible verses about the Branch, and Bible verse of the day. Tree of life here means the tree God planted and restores — distinct from heaven-as-place alone and from eternal-life-as-gift alone. For the Rose of Sharon (chabatstseleth), see Bible verses about Rose of Sharon.

Word study (lead theme). In Greek, "tree" in Revelation's tree of life is often ξύλον xylon (Strong's G3586; Bible Hub G3586) — wood, tree, cross-beam. In Hebrew, עֵץ ʿēts (Strong's H6086; Bible Hub H6086) means tree or wood. Genesis places the tree of life in Eden; Revelation restores access beside the river of life.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 2 marks the tree of life in the garden as life with God (Bible Hub MHC Genesis 2; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on Genesis 2). On Revelation 22 he presses the tree of life and healing leaves for the nations (Bible Hub MHC Revelation 22; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on Revelation 22). (Heaven and New Jerusalem lists live on those pages; this list centers the tree itself.)

12 Bible verses about the tree of life

1. Genesis 2:9. "The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." The tree of life stands in the middle of the garden. See Bible verses about heaven.

2. Genesis 3:22. "And the Lord God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.'" Access to the tree of life is barred after the fall. See Bible verses about salvation.

3. Genesis 3:24. "After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." The way to the tree is guarded. See Bible verses about faith.

4. Revelation 22:1-2. "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations." Tree of life restored — fruit and healing leaves. See Bible verses about New Jerusalem.

5. Revelation 22:14. "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city." Right to the tree of life — washed robes. See Bible verses about salvation.

6. Revelation 2:7. "Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." Overcomers eat from the tree of life. See Bible verses about hope.

7. Proverbs 3:18. "She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed." Wisdom as a tree of life — hold fast. See Bible verses about wisdom.

8. Proverbs 11:30. "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives." Fruit of the righteous — a tree of life. See Bible verses about faith.

9. Proverbs 13:12. "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." Longing fulfilled — tree of life. See Bible verses about hope.

10. Proverbs 15:4. "The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit." A soothing tongue — tree of life. See Bible verses about wisdom.

11. Ezekiel 47:12. "Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing." Leaves for healing — sanctuary river. See Bible verses about living water.

12. Revelation 22:19. "And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll." Share in the tree of life — tied to the word. See Bible verses about scripture.

Questions people ask

What is the tree of life in the Bible? In Genesis it stands in Eden; after the fall access is guarded. In Revelation the tree of life returns beside the river of life in the Holy City, with fruit and healing leaves.

Is the tree of life the same as eternal life? Related but not identical. Eternal life is the gift through the Son; the tree of life is the Eden / New Jerusalem image of access to life with God. See both pages.

Where does Revelation mention the tree of life? Revelation 2:7; 22:1-2, 14, and 19. This page centers those xylon / tree passages rather than the full city inventory.

How is tree of life different from New Jerusalem? New Jerusalem is the Holy City; the tree of life grows beside its river. Link both; keep the inventories distinct.

Sources

• NIV Scripture quotations.
• Strong's G3586 xylon; H6086 ʿēts; Blue Letter Bible and Bible Hub lexicon entries (curl-verified).
• Matthew Henry Concise on Genesis 2 and Revelation 22 (Bible Hub MHC + Blue Letter Bible Comm).