The Bible is often misunderstood as a literal story.
The Bible is not to be taken literally – it is full of metaphors and parables. As Jesus said himself:
“Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand” Matthew 13:13
The story of Adam and Eve contains multiple metaphors: here is one about Adam.
Adam and Eve are connected to God, and are at one with God. But due to the suggestion of the snake and the encouragement of Eve, Adam eats an apple.
It is at this point that he is disconnected from God, and he and Eve realise they are naked and cover themselves with fig leaves.
Sidenote: If you look at the logo of an Apple product, you will see an apple with a bite taken out of it. This represents a similar narrative: our disconnection with God and our connection to technology. Technology which is far from anything spiritual.
The term ‘Adams apple’ refers to the lump in a mans throat which is also these days referred to as the ‘ Adams apple’
The symbolism of this is that the apple caught in the throat of man represents his need to be fulfilled, whilst his stomach remains empty. Because the apple is still lodged in his throat and has never landed in his stomach.
This has created in man, a constant yearning to be fulfilled, to ‘fill his belly’ and so he constantly looks for things in the external world to fulfil this ‘hole’.
Money, women, success, fame, sex, drugs, alcohol, unhealthy lifestyles, materialism…. the list goes on.
Man tries and tries to fill this hole with these things because of this apple in his throat that he received from the snake. The apple that disconnected him from God.
As man goes through life, he realises that none of these things will ever fill that hole. Some men die wondering why the hole never gets filled. But others, very few, realise why: it can never be filled with external things from the world.
These few, realise that the only way that they can be fulfilled is by reconnecting with God. By realising the disconnect as explained in the Bible, and by fixing that disconnect, by reconnecting.
That way, man can fill that hole he has spent his whole life trying to fill, and once he does that, he can be finally reconnected with God.
