Lines 716-717:
The text of the link here tells us that Adam and Eve can ascend provided they are obedient to god. This line seems to tell us that eating the apple, or ‘god-like food’ would make one ascend, only they would no longer be obedient to god, and thus no ascension of any sort would happen.
The only reason, then, that these apples would not grant them near-divinity, is because god told them not to eat them, and thus the requirement of obedience to god would not be fulfilled. Were it not for that, perhaps they could partake of the fruit and ascend.
It’s an interesting move on god’s part. Place within the garden apples of immortality- and I call them that due to a resemblance to other mythologies, which I’ll get into momentarily- but forbid your creations from eating them, meaning even if they do, they will not ascend. Still, one could see the gaining of knowledge from the apple as a sort of partial ascension. Eve gains the wisdom of good and evil, and is able to think like she hadn’t before. Did god intend for this to happen? Were his instructions to not eat the apple merely a safeguard so Adam and Eve could never fully ascend even if they did consume the apple?
And Satan, he lies about eating it. Why not eat an apple for himself? Was there no appeal to touching what god decreed untouchable? Could it be that for him to eat one of these apples would be to ascend, something he no longer desires?
Now, I claim the apples make one immortal not only because of that bit of text I’ve quoted, but because this is a recurring theme in mythology, particularly Norse. The fertility goddess Idun holds the apples that grant the gods eternal youth. It’s also worth noting that while the Garden of Hesperides in Greek myth held golden apples, there is no text pointing to these granting immortality, though the journey of Heracles to obtain them may be seen as a metaphor for attempting to obtain immortality (and the futility of doing so), and the tree is garden by a dragon/serpent, Ladon. Similarly, when Apollo seeks to place his temple at Mount Parnassus, he must slay the Python, who is protecting a place of oracle and prophecy (wisdom, knowledge, etc).
TLDR: I think god is preventing Adam and Eve from fully ascending, so they only get wisdom and such from the apple, and I think the apples would otherwise grant immortality of some sort due to similar ideas on other mythologies.
Also as a note, Satan possessed a serpent that was already there. Could it be that god placed a serpent upon the tree to protect the fruit from being eaten, hence why Satan took over it to tempt Eve? It would be a great f-you to god.
