“None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them” (Hebrews 8:11).
As new students of the English language quickly learn, there are many words that assume different meanings depending on their context. For instance, words like fine, watch, ship, park, and bark are among the words that carry alternate meanings depending on the way they are used. The same can also be said of the word “know” as seen in the passage quoted above.
You see, the word “know” appears twice in the span of eight words in the New King James version of Hebrews 8:8. However, a closer look at the original language of this passage reveals that this word carries two distinct meanings…
“In the statement ‘know the Lord, for all shall know me,’ there are two different Greek words for know. The first word (ginosko) means ‘to come to know’ or ‘to know personally.’ It can designate ongoing, personal knowledge, which implies a relationship between the knower and the person who is known. The second word (oida) is derived from the Greek verb meaning ‘to see.’ Thus, oida means ‘to perceive’ or ‘to know absolutely.’ It suggests complete knowledge, while ginosko means a growing knowledge.” (1)
This passage should thus encourage us to pursue a deep, personal, and growing knowledge of God. In keeping with the overall theme of this book, it should not be surprising to find that Jesus is the source of such knowledge…
“My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matthew 11:27 NLT).
“Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him'” (John 14:6-7 CSB).
“Righteous Father! The world does not know you, but I know you, and these [disciples] know that you sent me. I made you known to them, and I will continue to do so, in order that the love you have for me may be in them, and so that I also may be in them” (John 17:25-26 GNT).
God desires this kind of personal relationship with us- and this is the kind of relationship He offers under the New Covenant.
(1) Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne House, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999), 1648.