God gave Adam great freedom of choice. He only forbade one of all the trees. God"s command also implies that He alone knows what is good and not good for man. Adam would die because of disobedience, not because of the fruit of the tree. [1][source]
"That famous tree symbolizes the ability to discern good (i.e, what advances life) and evil (i.e, what hinders life). Such knowledge belongs to God alone because, as Agur inferentially argues in Proverbs 30:1-6, one must know comprehensively in order to speak absolutely about what is good and bad." [2][source]
"On the whole it seems probable that we should understand "death" to mean a spiritual state, but a state aptly symbolized by physical death. When man sinned he passed into a new state, one dominated by, and at the same time symbolized by death. It is likely that spiritual death and physical death are not being thought of as separate, so that the one involves the other." [3][source]
The Hebrew construction emphasizes the certainty of death, however it is defined. Why did Adam and Eve not die immediately? The phrase "in the day" in Hebrew is an idiom meaning "for certain" (cf. Exodus 10:28; 1 Kings 2:37; 1 Kings 2:42). [source][source][source]
"Before Adam and Eve fell into sin, God made a proposition to them that some have regarded as a covenant, as stated in Genesis 1:26-31; Genesis 2:16-17. God gave Adam authority over the creatures of the world, commanded him to be fruitful, and gave him permission to eat from every green plant. The only restriction was that Adam and Eve not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for if they did so they would surely die ( Genesis 2:16-17). Basically, the covenant was conditional, requiring obedience; but it also declared God"s purpose to elevate humanity to a place of authority and prominence, ultimately fulfilled by Christ." [4][source]
The covenant in Genesis 2:16-17 has been called the Edenic Covenant. A covenant is a divine pronouncement by which God establishes a relationship involving responsibility. The relationship may involve Himself and an individual (e.g, Adam in the Edenic Covenant; Genesis 2:16-17), or Himself and humankind in general (e.g, humanity in the Noahic Covenant; Genesis 9:9-17). It may involve Himself and a nation (e.g, Israel in the Mosaic Covenant; Exodus 19:3-8), or Himself and a human family (e.g, David"s family in the Davidic Covenant; 2 Samuel 7:12-17). A covenant of one type may overlap another covenant or other covenants of a different type or different types. For example, the Noahic Covenant overlaps the Mosaic Covenant, and the Davidic Covenant overlaps the Mosaic and New Covenants. [source][source][source]
The biblical covenants normally involved unconditional promises in which God obligated Himself to accomplish certain purposes despite human failure, though they may contain conditional elements. An exception is the Mosaic Covenant in which the fulfillment of the promises contained in the covenant depended on Israel"s obedience. The Edenic Covenant was also different in that God promised death for failure to obey His command to abstain from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. [source][source][source]
The three universal covenants, which affect the whole human race, are the Edenic, Adamic, and Noahic Covenants. All the subsequent covenants affect Israel primarily, though they all affect the rest of humanity secondarily. There are eight major biblical covenants and they help us understand how God is working out His purposes with humankind. These are the Edenic ( Genesis 2:16), the Adamic ( Genesis 3:15), the Noahic ( Genesis 9:16), the Abrahamic ( Genesis 12:2), the Mosaic ( Exodus 19:5), the Palestinian ( Deuteronomy 30:3), the Davidic ( 2 Samuel 7:16), and the New ( Hebrews 8:8). [source][source][source]
The Edenic Covenant required five things from Adam. He was to propagate the human race, to subdue the earth for human habitation, to exercise dominion over the animal creation, to care for and enjoy the Garden of Eden and its fruits, and to abstain from eating from one tree in the garden. [source][source][source]