The tree of life (Hebrew: עֵץ הַחַיִּים, Standard: Etz haChayim) is a term used in the Hebrew Bible that is a component of the world tree motif.
In the Book of Genesis, the tree of life is first described in chapter 2, verse 9 as being planted with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Hebrew: עֵץ הַדַּעַת) "in the midst of the Garden of Eden" by God. In cherubim guard the way to the tree of life at the east end of the Garden. The tree of life has become the subject of some debate as to whether or not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the same tree.
In the Bible outside of Genesis, the term "tree of life" appears in Proverbs (3:18; 11:30; 13:12; 15:4) and Revelation (2:7; 22:2,14,19). It also appears in 2 Esdras (2:12; 8:52) and 4 Maccabees (18:16), which are included among the Jewish apocrypha,