Greek word · G4267

προγινώσκω

proginōskō

to know/choose

Literally 'to know before.' In ordinary Greek it means to know or perceive in advance, or to know previously.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

προ-γινώσκω

[in LXX: Wisdom of Solomon 6:13 8:8 18:6 * ;]

to know beforehand, foreknow: 2 Peter 3:17; with accusative of person(s), Acts 26:5; of the Divine foreknowledge, Romans 8:29 11:2, 1 Peter 1:20.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Romans 8:29

Range of meaning

Literally 'to know before.' In ordinary Greek it means to know or perceive in advance, or to know previously. When God is the subject in the New Testament, it carries the weight of Hebrew 'knowing' (yada), which often means personal acknowledgement, choosing or setting one's regard on someone, not just awareness of facts.

Against the English

English 'foreknow' sounds like advance information: God saw ahead of time what would happen or what people would do. That is one sense the Greek can carry. It does not capture the relational sense that the word, and Paul's Hebrew background, can carry.

How it drifted

In English, 'know' has narrowed toward knowing facts. The Hebrew sense of 'know' as a relationship ('You only have I known of all the families of the earth', Amos 3:2; 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you', Jeremiah 1:5) is not obvious to modern readers.

Used elsewhere in the period

Human use: Acts 26:5 (the Jews 'knew me from before'), 2 Peter 3:17 ('knowing this beforehand'). Wisdom of Solomon 6:13 and 8:8 use it for knowing things in advance. Divine use: Romans 11:2 ('God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew'), where it plainly refers to God's prior commitment to Israel, not his foresight of Israel's behaviour. In 1 Peter 1:20 Christ is 'foreknown before the foundation of the world,' which fits 'chosen in advance' better than 'foreseen.' The related noun appears in Acts 2:23 alongside God's 'set plan.'

From the study of 1 Peter 1:20

Range of meaning
  1. To know something beforehand or in advance: to have prior knowledge or acquaintance. 2) When God is the subject, to know beforehand in the sense of choosing or designating ahead of time. BDAG gives both senses and puts 1 Peter 1:20 under the second.
Against the English

'Foreknown' (WEB, YLT, ESV, NASB) is literal but sounds like mere advance information. 'Known' (BSB) drops the 'before' from the verb and lets the time phrase carry it. 'Foreordained' (KJV) and 'chosen' (NIV) bring out the designating sense but lose the relational word 'know'.

How it drifted

In modern English, 'knowing' is mostly about information. In Hebrew, 'to know' (yada') with God as subject often means to recognise, choose or set apart someone for a purpose (Amos 3:2: 'You only have I known of all the families of the earth'; Jer 1:5: 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you'). Greek-speaking Jews and Christians carried that sense into προγινώσκω and πρόγνωσις.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament books of Wisdom: Wisdom 8:8 (wisdom 'foreknows signs and wonders') and 18:6 ('that night was made known beforehand to our fathers') use it of advance knowledge. Judith 9:6: 'your judgment is with foreknowledge (prognōsis)', meaning God's plans are settled ahead of time. In the New Testament, Peter's speech in Acts 2:23 pairs God's 'set plan (boulē)' with his 'foreknowledge (prognōsis)' for the handing over of Jesus, the same idea as here. Paul uses the verb for God's prior choosing of a people (Rom 8:29; 11:2). In human use it simply means 'to have known before' (Acts 26:5; 2 Pet 3:17).

From the study of Romans 11:2

Range of meaning

In ordinary Greek, "know in advance" or "know previously" (Acts 26:5; 2 Pet 3:17). When God is the subject in the New Testament (Rom 8:29; 11:2; 1 Pet 1:20; compare the noun in Acts 2:23 and 1 Pet 1:2), it means to know relationally and choose beforehand, to set one's regard on someone in advance.

Against the English

"Foreknew" (BSB, KJV, WEB) is literal, but modern English hears it only as advance information ("God knew ahead of time what they would be like"). YLT "knew before" is the same.

How it drifted

In English "know" has narrowed to holding information. Biblical "knowing" (Hebrew yada) also covers relationship, acknowledging and choosing: "You only have I known of all the families of the earth" (Amos 3:2); "before I formed you in the womb I knew you" (Jer 1:5).

Used elsewhere in the period

BDAG gives "choose beforehand" for Rom 8:29; 11:2 and 1 Pet 1:20. The Hebrew background of yada as choosing appears in Gen 18:19, Amos 3:2 and Hos 13:5. Wisdom 6:13 and 8:8 use the verb for knowing in advance.

Similar words

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 26:5 προγινώσκοντές knowing

    They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.

Romans · 2

  1. Romans 8:29 προέγνω, He foreknew,

    For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.

    Here: 'He foreknew.' The subject is God, and the tense presents the act as a single whole. Paul uses the word for God's prior knowing of people (compare Romans 11:2, 'his people whom he foreknew'). That points beyond simply having information in advance toward a prior relationship of acknowledging and setting his regard on them. How far it goes beyond foresight is debated.

  2. Romans 11:2 προέγνω.¶ He foreknew.

    God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel:

    Here: "Whom he knew beforehand." In Paul this means God's prior relationship with and choice of someone, not just advance information about them (compare Rom 8:29). Because God committed himself to Israel ahead of time, rejecting them would contradict his own choice.

1 Peter · 1

  1. 1 Peter 1:20 προεγνωσμένου foreknown

    He was known before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in the last times for your sake.

    Here: This is a perfect passive participle. It describes something done in the past whose result still stands: Christ is 'the one who has been foreknown'. God is the unstated knower. The word is genitive, so it hangs on 'of Christ' at the end of verse 19 and describes the spotless lamb. With God as subject, 'knowing beforehand' carries the sense of prior designation, not just advance information.

2 Peter · 1

  1. 2 Peter 3:17 προγινώσκοντες knowing [this] beforehand

    Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing.

    Here: 'Since you know in advance': they have been forewarned (compare 3:3, 'knowing this first'). It is ordinary human foreknowledge, being told ahead of time, not the divine foreknowledge of Romans 8:29. The present tense and causal sense mean: because you already know, act on it.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.