Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 164:653 (Jan 2007)
Article: Anatomy of an Anthropomorphism: Does God Discover Facts?
Author: Robert B. Chisholm, Jr.

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BSac 164:653 (January-March 2007) p. 3

Anatomy of an Anthropomorphism: Does God Discover Facts?

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Robert B. Chisholm Jr. is Chair and Professor of Old Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas.

Several passages in the Old Testament seem to depict God as less than omniscient. Most of these pertain to God’s knowledge of the future, but some seem to indicate that even His knowledge of present realities is less than exhaustive. For example in Genesis 18:20–21 the Lord announced, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant that I must go down and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. If not, I want to know.”1 The Lord was aware that a problem existed in the twin cities, but before unleashing His judgment He decided to observe the situation firsthand in order to know for sure how bad it was and what degree of judgment, if any, was warranted. In Genesis 22 God tested Abraham’s loyalty (v. 1) and then pronounced through His angel, “Now I know that you fear God” (v. 12). The temporal adverb “now” (עַתָּה) gives the impression God had discovered information He did not previously know.

What is one to make of these texts, which seem to fly in the face of the classic understanding of God’s omniscience? Traditionally most theologians have labeled this presentation of God as anthropomorphic. But some respected Old Testament theologians argue that these passages are ontological windows into the divine nature that must be taken at face value. Commenting on Genesis 22:12 Brueggemann states, “It is not a game with God. God genuinely does not know. And that is settled in verse 12, ‘Now I know.’ There is a real development in the plot. The flow of the narrative accomplishes something in the awareness of God. He did not know. Now he knows.”2

BSac 164:653 (January-March 2007) p. 4

Referring to Genesis 18 and 22 as well as other passages, Goldingay argues that these texts “will show that God has extraordinary knowledge, but will incorporate no declaration that Yhwh is omniscient, and preclude that by the way they portray God acting so as to discover things.”3 Goldingay concedes ...

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