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.”
KJV
Read in Genesis 2Meaning
The human is given freedom under a command. One tree marks a boundary whose violation is explicitly connected with death.
Read carefully
The phrase about dying has generated debate because Adam and Eve do not physically collapse on the day they eat. The narrative nevertheless depicts death entering their condition and eventual destiny; the wording should be read within Genesis 3 rather than isolated from it.
Reflection
Creaturely freedom is not presented as freedom from every limit. Trust includes receiving some boundaries from the giver of life.