His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains that the word knowledge in the Holy Bible has multiple facets and must be distinguished according to the place and context.

1. Knowledge as Science and Information

Knowledge means perceiving something that was not known before or adding new information, as appears in the prayers of the Psalms: “Make me know Your ways, O Lord.” This is a practical scientific meaning that leads to understanding and behavior.

2. Knowledge as Revelation or Announcement

It also comes in the sense of informing and announcing facts, such as: “Declare to me the number of my days.” Here the meaning is that something is declared to the person so that he may be enlightened and understand his situation.

3. Intimate Knowledge (Conjugal)

Knowledge is sometimes used in the sense of conjugal intercourse of a husband with his wife (Adam knew his wife and she conceived) as a kind of intimate union, bodily and spiritual.

4. The Special and Complete Knowledge of God

Then there is another deeper kind: the knowledge of God Himself —a comprehensive knowledge different from human knowledge because it is complete and without media. God knows the hidden and the manifest, what is in hearts and minds, and His knowledge does not need instruments or gradual steps.

5. Practical Examples and the Tone of Divine Questions

Scripture uses examples like the testing of Abraham to show that God already knew, and said “now I know” to express the presentation of practical proof. Sometimes God asks as though He does not know (Cain: Where is Abel?) not from ignorance but for a pedagogical purpose or to reveal the heart.

🌿 The Spiritual Dimension from the Coptic Orthodox Faith Perspective

True knowledge in the Coptic tradition is the knowledge of God and the person of Christ in depth, a knowledge that leads to repentance and change. Distinguishing between kinds of knowledge protects us from superficial understanding and urges us to seek the comprehensive knowledge of God that transforms heart and action.

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