The famous line from John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden (1952) is “Timshel,” a Hebrew word translated in the book as “Thou mayest.” The word is used during a discussion between three characters—Samuel Hamilton, his neighbor Adam Trask, and Adam’s cook Lee—about sin and the nature of good and evil. Lee argues that the translation of the word timshel in the Bible as “Thou mayest” (rather than “Thou shalt,” as in the King James version) means that humans have free will.
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