[Avodah] tree of knowledge of good and evil

[Rabbi Y. H. Henkin]

According to Hebrew grammar (semichut), the verse should properly read :
"etz da'at tov vera" without a "heh" (and not : "etz hadaat...").

One possibility is that there is a missing word implied, as follows:
"etz hada'at -- (da'at) tov vera." A parallel can be found in Bamidbar
(34:2) "baim el haaretz -- (eretz) Canaan," and elsewhere. The author
of Torah Temimah discusses this in his Tosefet Berachah.

Another possibility is to vocalize it differently: "etz hoda'at tov
vera." In fact, even without changing the vowels, "lada'at", to know,
often is transitive and means "lehodi'a," to make known or promulgate;
see Shemot (31:13) and Bamidbar (10:31) and frequently in Tanach. This
is the meaning of the Serpent's statement "You shall be like elohim
(judges) yode'ei tov vera." Judges determine what is good and bad for
others. So, too, eating from the tree enabled man to establish his own
standards of good and evil. Before eating, man might sin but know he
sinned; after eating he would sin and call it a mitzvah.

Those who have access to Bnei Banim vol.2 are invited to see in greater
detail in my peirush on the Torah "Chibah Yeteirah" appended at the
back and at the back of vol. 3..