– For the Hebrews, this word means much more than pure intellectual perception. It includes the idea of participation, experience and, for this reason, it is particularly applied to designate the sexual act.
Isaiah speaks of the knowledge of suffering; Jeremiah speaks of the knowledge of the power of God. In this sense, the man knows the woman:
Is 53,3 : He was despised, he was the scum of mankind, a man of sorrows, experienced in suffering.
Jer 16:21 : I will show them my hand and my power, so that they may know that my name is the Lord.
Gen 4:1.17 : Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain.
1Sm 1,20 : Elkanah knew Anna, his wife, and the Lord remembered her.
Mt 1:25 : And without his knowing her, she gave birth to his son, who was named Jesus.
Lk 1:34 : Mary asked the angel: “How can this be done, since I do not know a man?”.
Gen 19:5 : Lead them to us so that we may know them.
Judg 11:39 : After the period, he returned to his father and he fulfilled the vow he had made. She hadn’t known a man.
Jz 19,22.25 : Bring out the man who entered your house so that we may know him!
Jt 16:22 : She added courage to chastity, […] she never […] knew another man since Manasseh, her husband, died.
